The Phantom Light – 1935 | 76 mins | Thriller | B&W

Plot Synopsis

New keeper Sam Higgins is sent to North Stack lighthouse where ships have been lost on the nearby rocks. Jim Pearce deliberately, maroons himself on the rock along with Alice Bright. When the light is later smashed, Jim reveals that his brother’s ship is the wreckers’ latest target, while Alice is a detective tent to investigate. Jim alerts the coastguard as Sam and Alice relight the beacon and avert a tragedy. Trapped on the lighthouse, saboteur Dr Carey leaps to his death rather than face capture.

Completing the Gaumont-British deal, The Phantom Light was by far Michael Powell‘s most accomplished picture to date. Well photographed by Roy Kellino – later a director himself – and sharply edited by Derek Twist, the film also benefited greatly from an expert comic performance by Gordon Harker, a great character of British cinema described by Powell as ‘wonderful in silent films, but even better in talkies. Close-ups were made for him, and we both took full advantage of it’.

For the role of Jim Pearce, Powell had wanted to cast Roger Livesey, then at tile Old Vic in a company which included Charles Laughton and James Mason. After shooting a test of the actor, Powell was overruled by Michael Balcon who announced that he did not like Livesey’s voice, which Powell considered one of his most attractive features! The role fell to the Gaumont contract player Ian Hunter. Of the film itself, Powell later enthused, ‘I said “yes” to this one right away, and never regretted it. I enjoyed every minute’. So, too, did audiences.