Classic Cinema: Ships of the Silent Era and the Golden Age of Hollywood
Buster Keaton's liner in The Navigator, Steamboat Bill, the Black Pirate, Old Ironsides, the Mary Celeste, Show Boat and Pandora's Flying Dutchman. Very old films, and very beautiful ships.
This chapter of Ships on Screen holds 59 ships and boats. For each one you will find the film or the book, the year, who was in it, what the ship does in the story, and the scene we would bring to life. See all 1,404 ships on one page.
Marea can build every one of these ships as a scale model, with the maximum detail the scale permits, finished to be inspected. But we don’t stop at the ship. We bring the scene with it: a few hand painted figurines on deck, caught in the one moment you remember. It isn’t a diorama. It’s the ship, with its story on board.
This database was put together by Ai Refloat™, Marea’s own artificial intelligence. Ai Refloat is still young & like any teenager, it can be a little volatile and unpredictable at times, but above all, it is learning fast. So this list may well contain mistakes and we welcome the input of everyone who knows these films, books and ships better than we do: listening, correcting and learning is one of the many ways we work towards perfection in this craft.
Have you spotted a mistake? Tell us which film, series, book, cartoon or boat, and we will amend it accordingly. Tell us here
The ships
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Vesta Fictional
Dracula (1931)
Directed by Tod Browning
Starring Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, Dwight Frye, Edward Van Sloan
The schooner that carries Count Dracula and the mad Renfield from Varna to England. She reaches Whitby with her entire crew dead and Renfield laughing in the hold.
The Marea scene Renfield grinning up out of the hold of the storm tossed Vesta.
On set Studio sets and models.
Photo: Universal, Public domain
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
La Malaisie (Marius) and Escartefigue's ferry Fictional
Marius (1931)
Directed by Alexander Korda (Marcel Pagnol supervising)
Starring Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Fernand Charpin
Marius, son of the Marseille bar owner César, longs for the sea and finally sails away on La Malaisie, leaving Fanny behind. Captain Escartefigue runs the Vieux Port ferry and joins the famous card game.
The Marea scene Marius slipping away from the bar to board La Malaisie as she casts off from the Old Port.
On set Location filming in the Vieux Port, Marseille; La Malaisie is fictional.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Transatlantic liner Fictional
Monkey Business (1931)
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
Starring Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx
The four Marx Brothers cross the Atlantic as stowaways hidden in herring barrels on a liner. They cause chaos all over the ship, running from the crew.
The Marea scene Four barrels on deck with the brothers singing Sweet Adeline from inside them.
On set Studio sets.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Schooner (unnamed trading schooner) Fictional
Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
Directed by F. W. Murnau
Starring Matahi, Anne Chevalier, Bill Bambridge, Hitu
A young pearl diver elopes with a girl declared tabu. They try to escape by buying passage on a schooner, but the money is seized for his debts, and the elder Hitu takes her away by boat.
The Marea scene Matahi swimming after Hitu's departing boat, grasping the trailing rope before it is cut.
On set Real vessels in Tahiti and Bora Bora.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Marius's expedition ship and Escartefigue's ferry Fictional
Fanny (1932)
Directed by Marc Allégret
Starring Raimu, Pierre Fresnay, Orane Demazis, Fernand Charpin
The sequel to Marius: Marius is away on a five year scientific voyage while pregnant Fanny marries Panisse. The ship's absence, and Marius's return, drive the drama around the Marseille waterfront.
The Marea scene César and Panisse on the quay reading Marius's letter from the ship.
On set Location filming in the Vieux Port, Marseille.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
RMS Titanic Real ship
Cavalcade (1933)
Directed by Frank Lloyd
Starring Diana Wynyard, Clive Brook, Una O'Connor
A honeymoon couple on a liner talk about their future at the ship's rail. As they walk away, the lifebelt behind them reveals the name Titanic.
The Marea scene The honeymooners leaving the rail to show the lifebelt marked Titanic.
On set Studio set; the real Titanic sank in 1912.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Tugboat Narcissus Fictional
Tugboat Annie (1933)
Directed by Mervyn LeRoy
Starring Marie Dressler, Wallace Beery, Robert Young
Annie Brennan runs a Seattle tug while looking after her drunken husband Terry. Her son grows up to be captain of a big liner, and the tug saves the day in a storm.
The Marea scene Annie at the wheel of the old tug in the storm, heading out to the stricken liner.
On set Filmed on Puget Sound.
Photo: MGM, Public domain
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
L'Atalante Fictional
L'Atalante (1934)
Directed by Jean Vigo
Starring Jean Dasté, Dita Parlo, Michel Simon, Louis Lefebvre
Newly married Jean takes his bride Juliette to live aboard his barge L'Atalante, with the eccentric mate Père Jules and a cabin boy. The barge travels to Paris along the canals, and Juliette's escape ashore strains the marriage.
The Marea scene Père Jules showing Juliette the curiosities crammed into his cabin, cats everywhere.
On set The real barge Louise XVI was leased for filming, with a replica built at a Gaumont studio for interiors.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Aran currach Real ship
Man of Aran (1934)
Directed by Robert J. Flaherty
Presented by Colman 'Tiger' King, Maggie Dirrane, Michael Dirrane, Pat Mullen
A dramatised documentary of life on Inishmore, where the islanders' flimsy currach is their only link with the sea. The men battle huge seas to land the boat and hunt basking sharks from it.
The Marea scene Three men fighting to land the currach through breaking surf while the wife and son wait on the rocks.
On set Real Aran currachs, filmed on location on Inishmore.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Hispaniola Fictional
Treasure Island (1934)
Directed by Victor Fleming
Starring Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Lionel Barrymore, Lewis Stone
Jim Hawkins sails on the Hispaniola to find Captain Flint's treasure, with Long John Silver among the crew. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's novel.
The Marea scene Jim hiding in the apple barrel on deck, overhearing Silver's mutiny plot.
On set The schooner Nanuk, converted to a full rigged ship, moored in Catalina's Emerald Bay (same vessel later used as Pandora in Mutiny on the Bounty).
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Transatlantic liner (stateroom scene) Fictional
A Night at the Opera (1935)
Directed by Sam Wood
Starring Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Margaret Dumont
The Marx Brothers smuggle opera singers to New York as stowaways aboard a liner. The crossing gives the famous stateroom scene in which an ever larger crowd crams into Driftwood's tiny cabin.
The Marea scene Groucho's tiny stateroom packed with stewards, maids and stowaways until they all spill out.
On set Studio set at MGM.
Photo: Al Hirschfeld, Public domain
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Kin Lung Fictional
China Seas (1935)
Directed by Tay Garnett
Starring Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Wallace Beery, Rosalind Russell
Captain Alan Gaskell's steamer Kin Lung sails from Hong Kong to Singapore with gold bullion hidden aboard. It survives a typhoon, a loose steamroller on deck and an attack by Malay pirates.
The Marea scene Gaskell wrestling the runaway steamroller lashed to the storm swept deck.
On set Studio sets at MGM.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Claremore Queen Fictional
Steamboat Round the Bend (1935)
Directed by John Ford
Starring Will Rogers, Anne Shirley, Irvin S. Cobb
Doctor John sells patent medicine from his run down steamboat and races it down the Mississippi to save his nephew from hanging. The crew burn everything aboard, even the ship's fittings, to win the race.
The Marea scene Will Rogers's crew throwing the boat's furniture into the furnace as the Claremore Queen overtakes her rival.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Mary Celeste Real ship
The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935)
Directed by Denison Clift
Starring Bela Lugosi, Shirley Grey, Arthur Margetson
A Hammer film imagining how the crew of the Mary Celeste disappeared. A vengeful sailor kills the crew one by one.
The Marea scene The Mary Celeste drifting empty under sail on a calm sea.
Photo: Public domain
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
RMS Queen Mary Real ship
Dodsworth (1936)
Directed by William Wyler
Starring Walter Huston, Ruth Chatterton, Mary Astor, David Niven
Retired car maker Sam Dodsworth and his wife Fran cross to Europe by liner. On board Fran flirts with Captain Lockert while Sam meets Edith Cortright, and at the end Sam leaves the homebound ship to return to Edith.
The Marea scene Sam hurrying down the gangway off the liner, leaving Fran aboard.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Cotton Palace Fictional
Show Boat (1936)
Directed by James Whale
Starring Irene Dunne, Allan Jones, Charles Winninger, Paul Robeson
Magnolia Hawks grows up aboard her family's showboat, which travels the Mississippi putting on shows. The boat is home, stage and meeting place for Magnolia and the gambler Gaylord Ravenal. In the stage musical the boat is the Cotton Blossom; this film's plot names it Cotton Palace.
The Marea scene Paul Robeson as Joe singing Ol' Man River on the levee beside the showboat.
On set Studio built showboat at Universal.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
We're Here (and rival Jennie Cushman) Fictional
Captains Courageous (1937)
Directed by Victor Fleming
Starring Freddie Bartholomew, Spencer Tracy, Lionel Barrymore, Melvyn Douglas
Spoilt rich boy Harvey falls from a liner and is picked up by the Gloucester schooner We're Here. Working the Grand Banks with fisherman Manuel, he grows up, and the season ends in a race home against the Jennie Cushman. Based on Rudyard Kipling's novel.
The Marea scene Manuel tangled in the broken mast and rigging, asking Captain Troop to cut him free.
On set Real schooners were used.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
SS Princess Irene Fictional
History Is Made at Night (1937)
Directed by Frank Borzage
Starring Charles Boyer, Jean Arthur, Leo Carrillo, Colin Clive
A jealous shipping magnate orders his liner to speed through an ice field to break a record, hoping to keep his wife from her lover. The ship strikes an iceberg.
The Marea scene The lovers on the tilting deck of the Princess Irene as the lifeboats are lowered.
On set Studio sets and models.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Transatlantic liner (unnamed) Fictional
Shall We Dance (1937)
Directed by Mark Sandrich
Starring Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Edward Everett Horton, Eric Blore
Ballet star Petrov and tap dancer Linda Keene cross the Atlantic on the same liner, where rumours of their secret marriage are born. The ship also provides the Art Deco engine room for Slap That Bass.
The Marea scene Astaire tap dancing to Slap That Bass among the gleaming engines of the liner.
On set Studio sets at RKO.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Captain Lovett's slave ship Fictional
Slave Ship (1937)
Directed by Tay Garnett
Starring Warner Baxter, Wallace Beery, Elizabeth Allan, Mickey Rooney
Captain Jim Lovett wants to quit the slave trade after his marriage, but his mate Thompson forces one more voyage to Africa. Lovett regains control, the ship burns and the captives are freed.
The Marea scene Lovett and Thompson facing each other across the deck as the ship catches fire.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
William Brown (and an unnamed slave ship) Real ship
Souls at Sea (1937)
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Starring Gary Cooper, George Raft, Frances Dee, Henry Wilcoxon
An abolitionist working undercover against slave ships sails in the William Brown, which catches fire. He takes charge of an overloaded lifeboat and must stop swimmers swamping it, leading to a murder trial. The real William Brown sank after hitting an iceberg in 1841.
The Marea scene Taylor standing in the crowded lifeboat, pistol in hand, as the burning ship lights the sea.
On set Filmed off Santa Catalina in November 1936.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
SS Gigantic and SS Colossal Fictional
The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)
Directed by Mitchell Leisen
Starring W. C. Fields, Bob Hope, Martha Raye, Dorothy Lamour
Two giant liners race across the Atlantic while a radio broadcast is made from aboard the Gigantic. Bob Hope introduces the song Thanks for the Memory on the ship.
The Marea scene Bob Hope and Shirley Ross singing Thanks for the Memory at the ship's bar.
On set Studio sets and streamlined models.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Pioneer steamship (Sirius) Real ship
Rulers of the Sea (1939)
Directed by Frank Lloyd
Starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Margaret Lockwood, Will Fyffe
A Scottish engineer and his daughter's suitor fight to prove that a steamship can cross the Atlantic. The film draws on the race of the first steamships to cross in 1838.
The Marea scene The steamship's crew burning spars and furniture to keep her boilers going in mid Atlantic.
On set Real historical ship SS Sirius (1837) inspired the story.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Je Reviens (Rebecca's sailing boat) Fictional
Rebecca (1940)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders
The late Rebecca de Winter's boat, lost in the bay at Manderley, is found by a diver after a shipwreck. Her body is in the cabin, reopening the question of how she died. Based on Daphne du Maurier's novel.
The Marea scene The diver's discovery of the sunken boat in the cove below Manderley (off screen, recounted).
On set Studio.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Glencairn Fictional
The Long Voyage Home (1940)
Directed by John Ford
Starring John Wayne, Thomas Mitchell, Ian Hunter, Barry Fitzgerald
The crew of a British tramp steamer carry a cargo of explosives from the West Indies to England at the start of the war. Adapted from four one act plays by Eugene O'Neill.
The Marea scene Sailors lounging on the moonlit deck of the Glencairn in Gregg Toland's shadowy lighting.
On set Studio sets.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Tug Cyclone and the Mirva Fictional
Remorques (1941)
Directed by Jean Grémillon
Starring Jean Gabin, Madeleine Renaud, Michèle Morgan
Captain André Laurent lives for his Brest salvage tug. During a storm rescue of the Mirva he meets her captain's wife Catherine, and a love affair threatens his marriage.
The Marea scene André on the tug's bridge in the storm as the towline is passed to the stricken Mirva.
On set Billancourt Studios and location around Brest, Finistère.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Unnamed transatlantic liner Fictional
The Lady Eve (1941)
Directed by Preston Sturges
Starring Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Charles Coburn
Con artist Jean Harrington and her father board a liner to fleece Charles Pike, heir to a brewing fortune who is returning from a snake hunting expedition. Jean catches him by tripping him in the dining room, and later repeats the trick on another voyage as Lady Eve.
The Marea scene Jean sticking out her foot to trip Charles as he passes her table in the ship's dining saloon.
On set Studio sets at Paramount.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Ghost Fictional
The Sea Wolf (1941)
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Starring Edward G. Robinson, Ida Lupino, John Garfield, Alexander Knox
After a San Francisco ferry sinks, a writer and a fugitive woman are picked up by the sealing schooner Ghost under the brutal Wolf Larsen. The ship becomes a floating prison pursued by his brother's vessel. Based on Jack London's novel.
The Marea scene Wolf Larsen on the fog bound deck of the Ghost, holding forth to the rescued writer.
On set Full scale deck sets on Warner Bros.' largest sound stage with a new fog machine.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Jubilee Fictional
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Raymond Massey
In 1840s Key West, salvager Loxi Claiborne races to the wrecks that feed the port. The wreck of the Jubilee brings her together with its captain Jack Stuart and his rival in love, the shipping line's Steve Tolliver. The Pelican also appears.
The Marea scene Loxi's schooner racing out to the Jubilee aground on the reef.
On set Studio ships, tank work and miniatures at Paramount; Oscar for Best Special Effects.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Southern Cross Fictional
Reap the Wild Wind (1942)
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Raymond Massey
Jack Stuart, in league with the wrecker Cutler, deliberately wrecks the new ship Southern Cross on a reef. Divers go down to the wreck to find out whether a stowaway died aboard.
The Marea scene Two helmeted divers in the sunken Southern Cross fighting the giant squid.
On set Underwater set and mechanical squid built in a studio tank; Oscar for Best Special Effects.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Altair Fictional
The Ghost Ship (1943)
Directed by Mark Robson
Starring Richard Dix, Russell Wade, Edith Barrett
A young officer joins the Altair and realises her calm captain is a killer. Nobody aboard believes him.
The Marea scene The great hook swinging across the dark deck of the Altair.
On set Studio sets at RKO.
Photo: William Rose, Public domain
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Motor boat in the Corryvreckan whirlpool Fictional
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Starring Wendy Hiller, Roger Livesey, Pamela Brown
Joan hires a small boat to reach the island where her rich fiancé waits, despite the weather. It is caught in the whirlpool of Corryvreckan and almost lost.
The Marea scene The little motor boat spinning at the edge of the Corryvreckan whirlpool.
On set Real boat and models; filmed around Mull.
Photo: Walter Baxter, CC BY-SA 2.0
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Rowing boat and paddle steamer on the Thames Fictional
Great Expectations (1946)
Directed by David Lean
Starring John Mills, Valerie Hobson, Alec Guinness, Finlay Currie
Pip tries to smuggle the convict Magwitch out of England in a rowing boat to meet a steamer on the Thames. A paddle steamer runs them down and Magwitch is recaptured.
The Marea scene The rowing boat swamped under the paddle wheel of the steamer on the misty Thames.
On set Paddle steamer and sets.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Hesperus Fictional
The Wreck of the Hesperus (1948)
Directed by John Hoffman
Starring Willard Parker, Edgar Buchanan, Patricia Barry
Captain John McReady loses his ship in a storm after being misled by a false channel light. Unable to get a new command, he works for the salvage man who caused the wreck.
The Marea scene The Hesperus driving onto the rocks in the storm, lured by the false light.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Pride of New Bedford Fictional
Down to the Sea in Ships (1949)
Directed by Henry Hathaway
Starring Richard Widmark, Lionel Barrymore, Dean Stockwell, Cecil Kellaway
An old whaling captain takes his grandson to sea, with a college educated first mate to tutor him. Near Antarctica the ship strikes an iceberg in fog.
The Marea scene Crew working in the flooded hold to patch the hull after the iceberg strike.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Local fishing boats and the tuna fleet Fictional
Stromboli (1950)
Directed by Roberto Rossellini
Starring Ingrid Bergman, Mario Vitale, Renzo Cesana
A displaced woman marries a young fisherman to leave an internment camp and settles on the volcanic island. The islanders' fishing boats and their tuna hunt shape her new life.
The Marea scene The fishermen hauling the netted tuna into their boats in the mattanza.
On set Real fishing boats on Stromboli.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Hendrik van der Zee's yacht Fictional
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)
Directed by Albert Lewin
Starring James Mason, Ava Gardner, Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim
The mysterious Hendrik, in reality the cursed Flying Dutchman, anchors his yacht off a Spanish coastal village. Pandora swims out to it and falls in love with him.
The Marea scene Pandora swimming out at night to the yacht lying at anchor in the bay.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Cotton Blossom Fictional
Show Boat (1951)
Directed by George Sidney
Starring Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, William Warfield
MGM's Technicolor remake follows Magnolia Hawks and gambler Gaylord Ravenal aboard her father's showboat Cotton Blossom as it plays the river towns.
The Marea scene The Cotton Blossom paddling into town with the troupe on deck as crowds run along the bank.
On set A full scale stern wheeler built on the MGM backlot, sold at the MGM auction in 1970.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Transatlantic liner (unnamed) Fictional
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Directed by Howard Hawks
Starring Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Charles Coburn, Elliott Reid
Showgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw sail to France on a liner. On board Dorothy admires the US Olympic team while Lorelei charms Sir Francis Beekman and wins his wife's tiara.
The Marea scene Jane Russell singing Ain't There Anyone Here for Love among the Olympic athletes in the ship's gym.
On set Studio sets at 20th Century Fox.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Nautilus Fictional
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Starring Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre
Captain Nemo's Nautilus sinks warships and takes Professor Aronnax, Conseil and harpooner Ned Land prisoner. Harper Goff's riveted, finned design won an Oscar for Art Direction and another for Special Effects.
The Marea scene Ned Land on the storm lashed deck of the Nautilus fighting the giant squid.
On set Studio models and full size sets; Harper Goff design, location work in the Bahamas and Jamaica. The design lived on in Disney park attractions.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Maggie Fictional
The Maggie (1954)
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick
Starring Paul Douglas, Alex Mackenzie, Tommy Kearins
An American businessman's cargo is loaded by mistake onto an ancient Clyde puffer. Her crafty Scottish captain and crew lead him a merry chase around the islands.
The Marea scene The Maggie chugging through the Crinan Canal with the angry American on deck.
On set Two J. and J. Hay puffers, the Boer and the Inca, played the Maggie.
Photo: Jmb, CC BY 2.5
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Henrietta (plus Rangoon and Carnatic) Fictional
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Directed by Michael Anderson
Starring David Niven, Cantinflas, Shirley MacLaine, Robert Newton
Phileas Fogg crosses the Atlantic on the steamer Henrietta and, when coal runs out, buys the ship and burns her upperworks to reach Liverpool. The balloon flight over the Alps is an invention of the film, not in Verne's novel.
The Marea scene The crew tearing up the Henrietta's woodwork, even the lifeboats, and feeding it to the furnaces.
On set Most steamships were miniatures in an outdoor tank; the Japanese training barque Kaiwo Maru appears as the ship at the intermission.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
HMS Berkeley Fictional
Up the Creek (1958)
Directed by Val Guest
Starring David Tomlinson, Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White
An inventive but hapless naval officer is sent to command the forgotten HMS Berkeley, a ship laid up in a quiet creek. Its crew, led by a scheming petty officer, run businesses with the local village.
The Marea scene Peter Sellers's bosun selling ship's stores to villagers over the rail.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Icelandic fishing trawler / schooner of Concarneau Fictional
Pêcheur d'Islande (1959)
Directed by Pierre Schoendoerffer
Starring Jean-Claude Pascal, Juliette Mayniel, Charles Vanel
A Concarneau crew fishes off Iceland; when the captain is injured, first mate Yan takes command and later marries the shipowner's daughter. It shares only its title with Loti's novel.
The Marea scene Yan swept overboard in heavy seas before a foreign ship rescues him.
On set Location filming in Brittany.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
New Caledonia (Osgood's yacht) and his motor launch Fictional
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Directed by Billy Wilder
Starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Joe E. Brown
Joe, disguised as a millionaire, lures Sugar aboard Osgood Fielding's yacht New Caledonia, claiming it as his own. The film ends aboard Osgood's launch with the line Nobody's perfect.
The Marea scene Osgood at the launch's wheel beside Jerry in drag as he says Well, nobody's perfect.
On set Studio sets at Samuel Goldwyn Studios; beach scenes at the Hotel del Coronado.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Golden Age
Lauren Belle Fictional
Maverick (1994)
Directed by Richard Donner
Starring Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, James Garner, James Coburn
Bret Maverick scrapes together the entry fee for a great poker championship held aboard the riverboat Lauren Belle. The final hand is played at a table on board.
The Marea scene Maverick drawing his last card at the final table in the Lauren Belle's saloon.
On set The Portland, the last sternwheel tugboat in the United States, belonging to the Oregon Maritime Museum, was dressed as the Lauren Belle.
Photo: Wikipedia
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Immigrant steamship Fictional
The Immigrant (1917)
Directed by Charlie Chaplin
Starring Charlie Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell
The Tramp sails to America on a crowded steamship, where the rolling deck makes eating dinner a battle. The passengers crowd the rail as they see the Statue of Liberty.
The Marea scene The Tramp at the dining table sliding back and forth as the ship rolls.
On set Set on rockers.
Photo: Mutual Film, Public domain
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Damfino Fictional
The Boat (1921)
Directed by Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline
Starring Buster Keaton, Sybil Seely
Buster builds a boat in his basement, demolishes the house getting it out, and then sinks it on launch. Once afloat, the family endure storms and disasters at sea.
The Marea scene Buster standing on the deck as the boat slides down the ramp and sinks straight under him, leaving his hat floating.
On set Studio built boat.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Charles W. Morgan Real ship
Down to the Sea in Ships (1922)
Directed by Elmer Clifton
Starring Clara Bow, William Walcott, Marguerite Courtot, Raymond McKee
A 19th century New Bedford whaling family story in which a young man is shanghaied aboard a whaler and proves himself by harpooning a whale. The film mixes drama with semi documentary footage of real whaling, and a young Clara Bow stows away aboard.
The Marea scene A whaleboat crew bending to the oars as the harpooner stands in the bow ready to strike.
On set The real whaleship Charles W. Morgan (1841) was used; today she is preserved at Mystic Seaport Museum, Connecticut.
Photo: Copyrighted free use
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Nanook's kayak Real ship
Nanook of the North (1922)
Directed by Robert J. Flaherty
Presented by Allakariallak (Nanook), his family
Flaherty's pioneering documentary follows an Inuit hunter and his family in Arctic Quebec. The kayak carries Nanook to the trading post and on his hunts along the ice edge.
The Marea scene Nanook's whole family climbing one after another out of the single small kayak.
On set Real Inuit kayak.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Icelandic fishing schooner (Paimpol fleet) Fictional
Pêcheur d'Islande (1924)
Directed by Jacques de Baroncelli
Starring Charles Vanel, Sandra Milowanoff
Adapted from Pierre Loti's novel about the Paimpol fishermen who sail each year to the cod grounds off Iceland. Yann Gaos loves Gaud Mével but the sea, and the schooner's long seasons away, stand between them.
The Marea scene Yann aboard the schooner in heavy seas off Iceland as Gaud waits on the Paimpol shore.
On set Location filming at Paimpol, Brittany.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Roman galley (flagship of Quintus Arrius) and pirate ships Fictional
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
Directed by Fred Niblo
Starring Ramon Novarro, Francis X. Bushman, May McAvoy
Judah Ben-Hur, condemned to the galleys, rows in the flagship of Quintus Arrius. When pirates attack, Judah saves Arrius, which wins his freedom and adoption.
The Marea scene Judah chained at the oar deep in the galley as the pirate ram strikes.
On set Full size galleys built for location shooting in Italy.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") Real ship
Old Ironsides (1926)
Directed by James Cruze
Starring Charles Farrell, Esther Ralston, Wallace Beery, George Bancroft
The frigate Constitution is launched in 1798 and sent with merchant ships against the Barbary corsairs of North Africa. Her battles form the spectacular climax, shown at the premiere in Paramount's Magnascope enlarged screen process.
The Marea scene Old Ironsides firing a broadside at the corsairs' fortifications in the Mediterranean.
On set The Maine built sailing ship Llewellyn J. Morse was refitted to portray Constitution; the 1886 ship S. N. Castle was burned and sunk off Catalina Island for the film. The real USS Constitution is afloat in Boston.
Photo: U.S. Navy, Public domain
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Pirate ship and merchant galleon Fictional
The Black Pirate (1926)
Directed by Albert Parker
Starring Douglas Fairbanks, Billie Dove, Donald Crisp, Anders Randolf
A nobleman joins the pirates who killed his father in order to destroy them from within, winning command by capturing a merchant ship single handed. The pirate vessel and its captured prize are the stage for his swashbuckling revenge, shot in early two strip Technicolor.
The Marea scene Fairbanks sliding down the great mainsail, slicing it open with his dagger.
On set Studio built: three galleons of 30 to 65 metres and a 100 oar galley were constructed, plus a 60 by 60 metre tank at the Pickford Fairbanks studio.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Narwhal Fictional
The Sea Beast (1926)
Directed by Millard Webb
Starring John Barrymore, Dolores Costello, George O'Hara
A loose adaptation of Moby-Dick in which Ahab Ceeley loses his leg to the white whale aboard the whaler Narwhal and hunts it to win back the woman he loves. Unlike Melville's novel, the film adds a romance and a happy ending.
The Marea scene Ahab, harpoon raised, in the whaleboat as the white whale breaches.
On set A former fighting ship was used for the Narwhal.
Photo: Warner Bros, Public domain
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Hesperus Fictional
The Wreck of the Hesperus (1927)
Directed by Elmer Clifton
Starring Sam De Grasse, Virginia Bradford, Francis Ford, Alan Hale
A seafaring melodrama built around Longfellow's poem of the schooner Hesperus wrecked in a winter storm with the captain's daughter aboard. Long thought lost, the film was rediscovered at Cineteca Milano in 2025.
The Marea scene Captain Slocum lashing his daughter to the mast as the Hesperus drives onto the reef.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Stonewall Jackson Fictional
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
Directed by Charles Reisner (Buster Keaton, uncredited)
Starring Buster Keaton, Ernest Torrence, Marion Byron, Tom Lewis
William Canfield's worn out paddle steamer Stonewall Jackson competes with the King, a smart new boat owned by the town magnate. His college educated son arrives to help, and during a cyclone the steamer becomes the scene of the rescues that settle the feud.
The Marea scene Keaton at the steamer's wheel amid the cyclone, rigging ropes and levers so that he can steer the Stonewall Jackson single handed.
On set Paddle steamers filmed on location at Sacramento, California; the famous falling facade and cyclone used full size breakaway sets.
Silent Era and Golden Age · Silent era
Leif Ericsson's Viking longship Fictional
The Viking (1928)
Directed by Roy William Neill
Starring Donald Crisp, Pauline Starke, LeRoy Mason
Leif Ericsson sails beyond Greenland in search of new lands, facing a mutiny from crewmen who fear falling off the edge of the world. The longship reaches America, where Leif lands and founds a settlement. It was the first feature in Technicolor with a synchronised soundtrack.
The Marea scene Leif stepping ashore in the New World bearing a makeshift cross, the dragon prowed longship behind him.
On set Studio built longship.
Explore Ships on Screen by chapter
- The Second World War at Sea: Dunkirk, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean92 ships
- The Pacific War, the Great War and the Cold War: Warships and Submarines on Screen101 ships
- Pirates, Privateers and the Age of Sail: Galleons, Frigates and Whalers on Screen94 ships
- Explorers, Armadas and the Ancient World: From the Argo to the Santa Maria80 ships
- Ocean Liners, Disasters and Lost at Sea: Titanic, Poseidon and the Survivors92 ships
- Thrillers, Yachts, James Bond and Television: The Boats Everyone Remembers176 ships
- Animation, Comics and Fantasy: From Tintin's Unicorn to the Durmstrang Ship183 ships
- Documentaries and Real Explorers: Calypso, Kon-Tiki, Endurance and the Rainbow Warrior128 ships
- Classic Cinema: Ships of the Silent Era and the Golden Age of Hollywood59 ships
- World Cinema: Ships in French, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean and Russian Films118 ships
- Famous Ships in Books: From the Pequod and the Nautilus to the Hispaniola281 ships
See all 1,404 ships on one page
How a Marea screen ship comes to life
- You choose the ship. Any vessel from any film, series, documentary or book, including the ones missing from this page.
- You choose the moment. A line of dialogue, a storm, an arrival, a farewell. The scene you want to keep.
- We research her. Plans, stills, the real ship used on set where there was one, and our Ai Refloat™ reconstruction when no plans survive at all.
- We place the figurines. Sculpted and painted by hand, in the costumes and poses of the scene.
- We take care of the rights. Some of these ships belong to someone: a film studio, an author’s estate, a boat builder. When that’s the case, we contact the rights holder and pay for the licence ourselves, so the model you receive is entirely legitimate. Each licence is agreed with its owner, and we will always tell you up front where things stand.
Want one of these ships built, with its scene on board? Tell us which one and we will prepare your quote.