This review does not refer to other lighthouse titles such as Robert Eggars THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019) or Britain’s 2016 THE LIGHTHOUSE both of which are inspired by a real life tragedy from 1801. Those two movies have a contemporary edge (especially the former) but this LIGHTHOUSE (no THE) is a 1947 B movie from Poverty Row studio PRC. It was directed by German emigre’ Frank Wisbar who the year before made the creepy, atmospheric, and highly recommended STRANGLER OF THE SWAMP for the same outfit.
The story in this movie revolves around 3 people. There’s Hank the older lighthouse keeper (John Litel), Sam, his younger assistant (Don Castle) and Connie, the woman both men are in love with (June Lang). Connie starts off being in love with Sam until she learns he’s already married so she marries Hank out of spite. As she discovers Hank truly loves her despite her checkered past she comes to realize love is more important than lust and begins to love Hank back. Sam has other ideas which lead to confrontation, attempted murder and a final showdown.
As is typical of PRC, this movie runs a little over an hour and was shot on location at a lighthouse in California although there are also the usual cramped PRC interiors. While not listed in the credits, I discovered that the lighthouse used was the Angel Bay lighthouse in Los Angeles harbor. The lighthouse pictured on the poster is the Minot’s Ledge Light in Massachusetts. As is usually the case with most Alpha videos, their print is from a public domain 16mm TV copy which is battered in places and has some contrast issues.
Still it’s better than most public domain copies out there and the movie is worth seeing for the quality of the performances (Marion Martin as Connie’s friend Jo Jo is especially wonderful) and the simple but rewarding story it tells. The Alpha Video DVD of LIGHTHOUSE used to be the only one available but in 2023 a restored version was issued on Blu-ray by Film Masters. It’s a revelation and is definitely the one to see.
The Capsule Critic 