Optimum **

What do you do when a boatyard owner advises you against buying an old tub because it's reputedly haunted? Why, you chuckle dismissively, of course, and sign the cheque regardless.

That's just what Dermot Walsh and Hazel Court do in this black-and-white "B" film, only to suspect that there may be more to the rumours than they thought when strange things begin to happen onboard.

This British movie from 1952 is typical of its time in that the action tends to be stilted and the characters all sound like old-style BBC newsreaders. But it's watchable enough, if only for its curiosity value. The plot's not bad and there's an unexpected twist. Just don't expect your timbers to be shivered!