Alfred Hitchcock directed several very well done movies during his career. Over the years, I have seen and enjoyed several of his movies, though there are still several that I haven't seen yet. During the last few months, I have added more of his movies to my DVD collection and have been watching some of his movies for the first time. Lifeboat is one of those movies.
During World War II, a ship carrying American and British civilians and a German U-boat both sink after being in combat with each other. The first survivor, Constance Porter is shown sitting in a lifeboat wearing a mink coat with her baggage. She doesn't look like she has just survived the sinking of a ship and her biggest upset seems to be that her stocking has a run in it. Other survivors - some men who had been working on the boat, a woman traveling with her baby, a nurse - make their way to the lifeboat. The last man to join them on the boat is Willy, a German from the U-boat. Constance knows German and is able to ask him a few questions and he says that he hadn't been an officer. A few of the survivors want to throw Willy back in the ocean, but that ultimately isn't done. The survivors have to deal with limited supplies, injuries, and growing distrust.
Lifeboat is based on a story written by John Steinbeck. Evidently Steinbeck had originally intended to write the story as a novel and then sell the rights to the studio, but it was never published in book form. A version of the story appeared in a magazine that was published in 1942, almost a year before filming started on the movie. Other writers worked on drafts of the story. I have no idea how much the story might have been changed through the various drafts.
The plot for Lifeboat is mostly simple and very straight forward, though there are one or two surprises over the course of the movie. Things are just focused on the survivors who are stuck together in a lifeboat. They have some food and water, but not much, so it isn't long before they are running out of both. As more time passes, the survivors start to feel more like being rescued isn't as likely and tempers start to flare over various things. The survivors deal with things in different ways, with one or two of them not coping well at all. More suspicions start to develop regarding Willy as well, which does add to the tension. There is a small amount of mystery tied to a few things, mostly connected to Willy. That does help to make things more interesting even though the mystery isn't really strong. The pace does move slower, though I don't think it was so slow that things were boring. There are even a few hints at romance, including Constance kissing John.
During his career, Hitchcock made a few movies that were confined to one location. Lifeboat is the first movie he made with a single location. It also has the smallest location for his movies since it takes place within the confines of a lifeboat. It is a rather small space, though it does look larger in some shots. Once or twice, it looks big enough for the survivors to be able to stand up in it and have the boat remain stable. When they are standing up, the sides of the boat are about waist high. In other shots, the lifeboat doesn't look as large and the survivors look more cramped. Different shots are used to show the boat differently at times. The confined setting does give things a claustrophobic feel which works perfectly with the plot of the movie. Some of the scenes do show more of the ocean and horizon, and there are a few scenes that involve very rough water when the lifeboat was supposed to be in some kind of storm.
When Lifeboat begins, the ship is shown sinking. The attack that causes the damage is not shown. During the course of the movie, there is some mild violence between a few characters on the lifeboat. Later in the movie, everyone is involved in a violent act that isn't really shown, though it is clear what is happening. Something else adds more violence to the last few minutes. Overall, the movie isn't really that violent, though there are some disturbing things shown. When the survivors first get in the lifeboat one of them has an injury that gets worse and ends up requiring a rather drastic treatment. The treatment isn't shown, but again, it is very clear what is happening. That wasn't gory or graphic, but it is still a bit disturbing and might bother some viewers.
Even though no battles are shown, the war plays a big part in Lifeboat. The ship is full of American and British people. Most of the survivors are very suspicious of Willy once he joins them in the boat just because he is German. At that point, a few even want to thrown him back overboard. During the movie, some of the characters do discuss the war, including how it has impacted their lives. The survivors are concerned about being picked up by a German ship and becoming prisoners. Evidently the content tied to the war did cause some controversy when the movie was released. That probably impacted how successful the movie was.
Lifeboat does have a fairly small cast and all of them are in the boat. I think the most is shared about Constance, the first woman in the lifeboat. She somehow manages to get in the boat while remaining dry and uninjured. The only thing wrong is that she got a run in one of her stockings. She is very outspoken, which does seem to bother some of the others. She is a reporter who is use to the good life. Tallulah Bankhead does very well with the part.
John, Sparks, Gus, and Joe are men who had been working on the ship. They all have different ideas about how to handle their situation. John seems a bit more rough than the others at times, and he is the one that Constance starts showing interest in. Alice is a nurse that had been on the ship. Mrs. Higley is the woman in the lifeboat with a baby. Willy is German and from the U-boat so many of the others don't trust him even when he seems to be trying to help. Things don't go well for some of the survivors, though I don't want to mention more specifics on what happens because I think that would be a spoiler. All of the cast handles their parts well.
Main Cast
Mary Anderson - Alice Heather Angel - Mrs. Higley Tallulah Bankhead - Constance Porter William Bendix - Gus Hume Cronyn - Sparks John Hodiak - John Henry Hull - Charles D. "Ritt" Rittenhouse Canada Lee - Joe Walter Slezak - Willie
Alfred Hitchcock - Director
DVD Information
I believe that Lifeboat has been released a few different times on DVD. I have the version that is part of The Alfred Hitchcock Premiere Collection. The set features some of Hitchcock's earlier movies and the movies in the set are also available as single titles. As far as I can tell from the information in the book with the set, this movie wasn't restored. The picture still looks good, though it isn't as sharp as some of the ones that have been restored. The special features include a still gallery, a commentary with a film historian that I haven't listened to and a featurette on the making of the movie. Some people, including Hitchcock's daughter, talk about the making of the movie. The reception of the movie is also discussed. The featurette isn't that long, but it is interesting.
Lifeboat is another wonderful, very well done thriller from Hitchcock that deserves to be seen. It is a bit different from some of his other more popular movies, but it is still very good.
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