Ghost Ship (1952)

Starring Hazel Court, Dermot Walsh, Hugh Burden, John Robinson, Hugh Latimer
Directed by Vernon Sewell

(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A young couple invest in a yacht they want to make their home on, and ignore the warnings that it's a haunted ship, but when they experience proof there are ghosts on the ship, they turn to psychics for help. 

Don't expect any special effects or attempts to scare the audience with spectral manifestations, but that doesn't mean this isn't a worthwhile film.  The main characters had my interest and sympathy, particularly Court, who is ever charming as the young bride eager to help her husband turn the yacht into a happy home.  The film itself is more of a mystery than a thriller, as Court and Walsh slowly learn all the secrets of the yacht's former owners in flashback scenes which are well staged and directed.  This is by no means a great picture, but it is a fun diversion.  

The Tell-Tale Heart (1960)

Starring Laurence Payne, Adrienne Corri, Dermot Walsh, Selma Vaz Dias, John Scott
Directed by Ernest Morris
(actor & director credits courtesy IMDB.com)

A killer is tormented by his imagined beating of the heart of his victim's body, and recalls the love affair that drove him to commit murder.

Edgar Allan Poe's famous short story is winningly adapted by writers Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard in a well-acted and directed thriller.  To expand the story to future length, they divert from the original victim as Poe described him, and make the murder a crime of passion with Corri's character at the heart of the conflict between two men.  She is excellent in the film, giving one of the best performances I've seen from her, and is mesmerizing in a sequence where she dances with Payne, but her eyes never leave Walsh.  Payne is introduced to us as playing Edgar Allan Poe himself, before this changes somewhat, one of the many elements in the film that kept me guessing.  He gives a fine performance as well, and the way the screenplay builds his madness gradually is expertly done.  There's very good camerawork by James Wilson also on display, showing Payne and Corri's different reactions to their relationship through closeups and memorable framing.  It's not a perfect film, but Morris has assembled a piece of work that certainly is worthy of admiration and respect.