This is a list of movies released up to the end of 1959 that I know ( because I have watched them) or I believe ( 'cause I've read about them but not seen them...yet?) have shots of model ships in them. I will be adding to this list from time to time as my research progresses, so this page is always under construction. Please let me know of any I have might have missed, particularly from European and Japanese films of which I know very little about and would like to know a great deal more.
Clicking on any link will take you to the page for that title. No link means I haven't done that title yet.
Some links may take you to the sister site modelaircraftinthecinema.blogspot.com when there has a title that has a model ship appearing in it though it predominantly features model aircraft.
| TITLE | YEAR | RELEASING COMPANY | VFX SUPERVISOR |
| 1920's | |||
| Isle of Lost Ships | 1929 | Warner Bros | |
| 1930's | |||
| The Most Dangerous Game | 1932 | RKO | Vernon L Walker |
| The Devil and the Deep | 1932 | Paramount | |
| A House Divided | 1932 | Universal | John P Fulton |
| King Kong | 1933 | RKO | |
| Whom the Gods Destroy | 1934 | Columbia | |
| China Seas | 1935 | MGM | James Basevi |
| Dantes Inferno | 1935 | 20th Century Fox | Fred Sersen |
| Captain Blood | 1935 | Warner Bros | Fred Jackman |
| Hearts in Bondage | 1936 | Republic Pictures | Bud Thackery |
| Sea Devils | 1937 | RKO | Vernon L Walker |
| Souls at Sea | 1937 | Paramount | Gordon Jennings |
| Submarine D1 | 1937 | Warner Bros | Byron Haskin H F Koenekamp |
| Captains Courageous | 1937 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| Fire Over England | 1937 | London Films | Ned Mann Lawrence Butler |
| History is made at night | 1937 | United Artists | James Basevi |
| Spawn of the North | 1938 | Paramount | |
| The Big Broadcast of 1938 | 1938 | Paramount | Gordon Jennings |
| Jamaica Inn | 1939 | Paramount | |
| Q Planes | 1939 | Columbia | |
| Rulers of the Sea | 1939 | Paramount | |
| Thunder Afloat | 1939 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| The Roaring Twenties | 1939 | Warner Bros | Byron Haskin |
| Only Angels Have Wings | 1939 | Columbia | Roy Davidson |
| 1940's | |||
| Swiss Family Robinson | 1940 | RKO | Vernon L Walker |
| The Sea Hawk | 1940 | Warner Bros | |
| The Long Voyage Home | 1940 | United Artists | Ray Binger, R T Layton |
| Women in War | 1940 | Republic Pictures | |
| Convoy | 1940 | RKO | |
| Captain Caution | 1940 | United Artists | |
| New Moon | 1940 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| Phantom Raiders | 1940 | MGM | |
| Strange Cargo | 1940 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| Sailors Three | 1940 | Ealing studios | Roy Kellino Douglas Woolsey |
| AllThroughTheNight | 1941 | Warner Bros | Edwin DuPar |
| This Woman is Mine | 1941 | Universal | John P Fulton |
| The Sea Wolf | 1941 | Warner Bros | |
| That Hamilton Woman | 1941 | United Artists | |
| Ships With Wings | 1941 | Ealing Studios | Roy Kellino, Norman Ough, Cliff Richardson, Douglas Woolsey |
| The War at Sea from Hawaii to Malaya aka Hawai Mare Okikaisen | 1942 | Toho | Eiji Tsubaraya |
| AcrossThePacific | 1942 | Warner Bros | Byron Haskin, Willard Van Enger |
| The Navy Comes Through | 1942 | RKO | |
| Mrs Minniver | 1942 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| In Which We Serve | 1942 | United Artists | |
| Reap the Wild Wind | 1942 | Paramount | Gordon Jennings |
| The Black Swan | 1942 | 20th Century Fox | Fred Sersen |
| San Demetrio London | 1943 | Syd Howell, Roy Kellino | |
| Northern Pursuit | 1943 | Warner Bros | Roy Davidson |
| So Proudly We Hail | 1943 | Paramount | Gordon Jennings |
| Corvette K-225 | 1943 | Universal | |
| Crash Dive | 1943 | 20th Century Fox | Fred Sersen |
| A Guy named Joe | 1943 | MGM | A. Arnold Gillespie, Don Jahraus |
| Action in the North Atlantic | 1943 | Warner Bros | Jack Cosgrove |
| Destroyer | 1943 | Columbia | |
| Stand by for Action | 1943 | MGM | A. Arnold Gillespie |
| We Dive At Dawn | 1943 | Gainsborough | |
| Destination Tokyo | 1943 | Warner Bros | |
| Edge of Darkness | 1943 | Warner Bros | Lawrence Butler |
| Dangerous Passage | 1944 | ||
| The Princess and the Pirate | 1944 | Samuel Goldwyn Company | R.O.Binger Clarence Slifer |
| Passage To Marseille | 1944 | Warner Bros | Jack Cosgrove |
| Lifeboat | 1944 | 20th Century Fox | Fred Sersen |
| Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo | 1944 | MGM | A. Arnold Gillespie, Donald Jahraus |
| They Were Expendable | 1945 | MGM | A. Arnold Gillespie |
| Captain Kidd | 1945 | United Artists | |
| The Spanish Main | 1945 | RKO | Vernon L. Walker |
| Two Years Before the Mast | 1946 | Paramount | Gordon Jennings |
| Anna and the King of Siam | 1946 | 20th Century Fox | Fred Serson |
| Green Dolphin Street | 1947 | MGM | A. Arnold Gillespie |
| Sinbad the Sailor | 1947 | RKO | Vernon L. Walker Harold Wellman |
| Unconquered | 1947 | Paramount | Gordon Jennings |
| Deep waters | 1948 | 20th Century Fox | Fred Sersen |
| Hamlet | 1948 | Denham Studios | George Blackwell, Bill Warrington, James Snow |
| Luxury Liner | 1948 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| Wake of the red Witch | 1948 | Republic Pictures | Howard Lydcker, Theodore lydecker |
| Portrait of Jennie | 1948 | The Selznick Studio | Clarence Slifer |
| Malaya | 1949 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| Kind Hearts and Coronets | 1949 | Ealing Studios | Syd Pearson |
| Down to the Sea in Ships | 1949 | 20th Century Fox | |
| Whiskey galore | 1949 | Ealing Studios | Syd Pearson |
| 1950's | |||
| Buccaneers Girl | 1950 | Universal | David S Horsley |
| Captain China | 1950 | Paramount | |
| Last of the Buccaneers | 1950 | Columbia | |
| Fortunes of Captain Blood | 1950 | Columbia | |
| Morning Departure | 1950 | ||
| Tripoli | 1950 | Paramount | Darrel A. Anderson, Alex Weldon |
| Adventures of Captain Fabian | 1951 | Republic Pictures | |
| Anne of the Indies | 1951 | Twentieth Century Fox | Fred Sersen |
| Captain Horatio Hornblower | 1951 | Warner Bros | |
| Double Crossbones | 1951 | Universal | |
| Operation Pacific | 1951 | warner Bros | H.F. Koenekamp |
| The African Queen | 1951 | United Artists | |
| Sealed Cargo | 1951 | RKO | |
| Against All flags | 1952 | Universal | David S Horsley |
| Blackbeard the Pirate | 1952 | RKO | |
| Captain Pirate | 1952 | Columbia | |
| The Crimson Pirate | 1952 | Warner Bros | |
| Plymouth Adventure | 1952 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| Les Miserables | 1952 | Twentieth Century Fox | |
| Yankee Buccaneer | 1952 | Universal | David S Horsley |
| Glory At Sea AKA Gift Horse | 1952 | Wally Veevers | |
| Mutiny | 1952 | Jack Cosgrove | |
| Stars and Stripes Forever | 1952 | 20th Century Fox | Ray Kellogg |
| Fair Wind to Java | 1953 | Republic Pictures | |
| City Beneath the Sea | 1953 | Universal | |
| The Cruel Sea | 1953 | Universal | |
| Sea of Lost Ships | 1953 | Republic Pictures | |
| Botany Bay | 1953 | Paramount | Gordon Jennings |
| Titanic (1953) | 1953 | Twentieth Century Fox | Ray Kellogg |
| Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | 1953 | Twentieth Century Fox | Ray Kellogg |
| Dangerous Crossing | 1953 | Twentieth Century Fox | Ray Kellogg |
| Blueprint For Murder | 1953 | Twentieth Century Fox | Ray Kellogg |
| Sailor of the King | 1953 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| All the Brothers Were Valiant | 1953 | Twentieth Century Fox | |
| Hell and High Water | 1954 | Twentieth Century Fox | |
| Hell below Zero | 1954 | Columbia | Bill Warrington |
| 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea | 1954 | Beuna Vista | |
| The Caine Mutiny | 1954 | Columbia | |
| Crest of a Wave AKA Seagulls over Sorrento | 1954 | < /span> |
Tom Howard |
| Ulysses | 1954 | ||
| The Maggie AKA High and Dry | 1954 | Ealing Studios | |
| The Cockleshell Heroes | 1955 | Columbia | |
| The Sea Chase | 1955 | Warner Bros | H.F. Koenekamp |
| Away All Boats | 1956 | Universal | Clifford Stine |
| The Revolt of Mamie Stover | 1956 | 20th Century Fox | Ray Kellogg |
| The Battle of the River Plate | 1956 | Rank Organization | |
| Moby Dick | 1956 | Warner Bros | |
| The King and I | 1956 | 20th Century Fox | Ray Kellogg |
| Around the World in 80 Days | 1956 | Fred Sersen | |
| Yangtse Incident | 1957 | George Blackwell | |
| The Enemy Below | 1957 | Twentieth Century Fox | L B Abbott |
| Barnacle Bill AKA All at Sea | 1957 | ||
| The Buccaneer | 1958 | Paramount | John P Fulton |
| The Key | 1958 | Columbia | Willis Cook |
| Run Silent Run Deep | 1958 | United Artists | A Arnold Gillespie |
| Torpedo Run | 1958 | MGM | |
| A Night to Remember | 1958 | Rank Organization | |
| Dunkirk | 1958 | MGM | |
| Up the Creek | 1958 | ||
| Submarine Seahawk | 1958 | American International Pictures | |
| 7th Voyage of Sinbad | 1958 | Columbia | Ray Harryhausen |
| Battle of the Coral sea | 1959 | Columbia | |
| Ben-Hur | 1959 | MGM | |
| The Wreck of the Mary Deare | 1959 | MGM | A Arnold Gillespie |
| Ferry to Hong Kong | 1959 | Syd Pearson |
With regard to the US Navy submarine that tangled with the dreaded 'Sectopus' creature in the movie "It Came from Beneath the Sea" (1955)
ReplyDeleteProfiles in History "Hollywood Auction 96" December 11-14, 2018
https://profilesinhistory.com/auctions/hollywood-auction-96/
Using their pdf catalog:
https://profilesinhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/96HollywoodSs.pdf
On page 223:
"799. Ray Harryhausen submarine model miniature from It Came from Beneath the Sea. (Columbia, 1955) Vintage original model miniature or maquette constructed of carved wood, metal components and an acetate fin measuring 9.5 in. long x 1.25 in wide. Expertly painted in gunmetal, military gray and with hand painted black portals on the hull and the number “347” in pale gray paint on the turret. This model resembles the actual subs that appear in stock footage in the film. It could have been used as a model maquette or as a scale model for interaction with the miniature “Sectopus” stop-motion puppet (Harryhausen lacked the budget for the additional 2-tentacles that would have made it an Octopus!) From Ray Harryhausen’s 3rd feature. Exhibiting production wear, use, age and handling. Some worn paint, and partial missing wood from fin. In vintage good to very good condition.$4,000 - $6,000"
Entry includes one photo of the model and a film still.
Missing from the list is the 1938 musical comedy 'The Big Broadcast of 1938'. The plotline is built around a TransAtlantic race between two ocean liners, the 'Colossal' (A thinly disguised version of the 'Normandie'.) and the 'Gigantic' (The model is based off 1930s proposals for a never built streamlined ocean liner with the addition of a large number of aero engines.)
ReplyDeleteThanks Graham, I have that title on my radar but have neglected to add it to the list.I will attend to that oversight.
DeleteThe 1943 movie "Air Force" makes extensive use of ship models in a climactic sea and air battle towards the end of the movie.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. I am aware of that movie, It was on my radar for the modelaircraftinthecinema site but it does certainly deserve an entry here.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen this great film? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangtse_Incident:_The_Story_of_H.M.S._Amethyst
ReplyDeleteI have a copy of it but have not yet watched it. Thanks for reminding me, it should be on the list but I seem to have omitted it.
Delete