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(1942) Arthur Askey, Moore Marriott, Graham Moffatt, Vera Frances, Googie Withers, Joyce Howard. Dumped by his fiancée, Askey gets a job as far away from women as he can, taking a weather station post at a lonely lighthouse. Landing on the island, he discovers a twelve-year-old girl has stowed away in his boat. He’s soon joined by another woman whose ship was torpedoed, and later on a boatload of twelve shipwrecked females (all gorgeous of course) also show up. Complicating matters is fact that the lighthouse is supposedly haunted by a ghostly mermaid. And when the girls start disappearing one by one, it appears the ghostly legends may be true. There are many creepy, atmospheric moments in this film. The sets are terrific. Soon a scheme involving Nazi spies comes to the surface. The plot is similar to Askey’s Ghost Train from the year before, with a not too dissimilar climax. This film is a lot of fun, having great moments of humor and creepiness that are seamlessly interlaced. One of the highlights is Vera Frances as the twelve-year-old stowaway, whose low-key performance is a delight. One of Askey’s best films for sure. From 35mm.
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