Lifeboat (1944) User Reviews (188)

The film's propaganda message was widely misunderstood at the time

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 8/10 · 29 April 2005]

More than one director has realized that the perfect plausible way of confining your characters to provide suspense is to put them in a boat – a mini-world of people, unable to get away from each other and isolated in the vast impersonal ocean with perils of its own...

The film is set in World War II… An Allied ship was sunk by a German U-boat and a mixed bunch of survivors got away in the lifeboat… The enemy submarine was also sunk by the explosion and its Nazi commander joined the survivors in their lifeboat…

At first they were prepared to throw him overboard – but it was his skill which saved their little craft and gradually, while the allies were torn by dissension, selfishness, divided aims and views, his single-minded strength of purpose and his disciplined abilities took command… Unknown to the others, he was stealing their rations to keep up his strength, and directing them towards a rendez-vous with a German supply ship…

Tallulah Bankhead, incidentally, dominated the acting of the whole fine cast except possibly Walter Slezak, as the Nazi… As the woman journalist, keeping close to her material possessions, and only emotionally more friendly, she gave a performance with the power and the pain of a thirty feet salt wave…

It is ironic that the film's propaganda message, which I believe weakened and over-simplified it, was widely misunderstood at the time… Hitchcock intended to show at that stage of the war that the democracies should settle their differences and unite forces against the common enemy, who was disciplined, strong, and knew just where he was going… Instead, a lot of people attacked the film for showing the strongest character as the Nazi!

"Lifeboat" is an interesting thriller from the mounting tensions of the interplay of conflicting characters, trapped and isolated in the planks of their little boat

another great experiment....

[tripper0 · 9/10 · 23 May 2002]

"Lifeboat" is an excellent film. It is a great achievement by Alfred Hitchcock that he could create a film set on only a lifeboat interesting for its duration. Hitchcock had a knack for experimental films, such as "Rope", which seems to be one continuous shot, and "Rear Window", which features one small apartment and a man in a wheel chair. With so little, he is always able to do so much.

In "Lifeboat", we start out with the sinking of a ship and people gathering on the lifeboat. It's really that simple. This is a character driven film. There are no lush chase sequences, there are no gunfights, there is no mystery. Nope, its all about how this collection of characters interact with each other. Its a study of how difference of opinion can creat tensions, and how people can deal with those tensions. Its really fascinating to watch, and when its all said and done, you get the impression that it wasn't just an experiment, but that it had something to say, and it did.

The only slight flaw in the film is that we don't really get a sense of how long(exactly)they've been at sea. I "Cast Away" we saw Tom Hanks lost a considerable amount of weight and grow a considerable amount of hair. Well, that is the one thing you don't see with this movie. Its really a minor quibble anyway because it doesn't diminish the entertainment value at all.

Hitchcock was the master of suspense, but he was never afraid to try other things, from screwball comedy(Mr. and Mrs.Smith) to psychological thrillers(Vertigo). This film is definitely one of his best and most interesting experiments. 9 out of 10.

Intelligent and engrossing picture about some shipwrecked survivors of a torpedoing

[ma-cortes · 8/10 · 2 May 2015]

Lifeboat chronicles the trip of eight passengers after being sunk the ship they were traveling . As during WWII , several survivors of a torpedoed ship find themselves in the same boat with one of the men who sunk it . They adrift on a lifeboat when they take on a German aboard .

This is a very good film , a highly theatrical experiment similarly to ¨The rope¨ ; dealing with several survivors in lonely lifeboat and it is based in part on a real shipwrecked . However , at film premiere was dumbly panned as an artistic flop by most critics , dismissed for a few embarrassing failures and flaws ; but is , nonetheless , today very well deemed . This sea-going ¨Grand Hotel¨ was filmed in a few takes to provide a seamless of movement but it remains nowadays what it was them a perfect film about shipwrecked survivors . Interesting screenplay , though partially claustrophobic , by Jo Swerling who adapted John Steinbeck's original story . The film was shot entirely on a restricted set in which the boat was secured in a large studio tank . Alfred Hitchcock , always striving for realism , insisted that the boat never remain stationary and that there always be an added touch of ocean mist and fog compounded of oil forced through dry ice . Remarkable performances from a great cast such as tunnel-voiced Tallulah Bankhead as spoiled reporter Constance 'Connie' Porter , the veteran Henry Hull , the beautiful Mary Anderson , a tough John Hodiak , Canada Lee who was allowed to write his own lines , the character actor Hume Cronyn , William Bendix who joined the cast a few days into shooting when the original actor as Gus -Murray Alper- fell sick and special mention for Walter Slezak as astute Nazi in growing suspicion of the other survivors about him . The cast suffered harsh conditions during the hard shooting : actors were soaked with water and oil . Seasickness hit the entire cast at various times during production , and many of them caught pneumonia after constant exposure to cold water which led to two cases of pneumonia for Tallulah Bankhead , an illness for actress Mary Anderson and two cracked ribs for actor Hume Cronyn who almost drowned in a storm scene when he got caught under a large metal water-activator according to his autobiography . Production was temporarily halted twice to allow for recovery of the cast . And look for Hitchcock's photography trademark on a newspaper that the survivors are reading .

Aside from the opening and closing scene , there is no score in this film , the only music is the flute . Evocative and atmospheric cinematography by Glen MacWilliams , though Arthur C. Miller was the initial director of photography but he was replaced after the first two weeks of filming, when Miller became ill . The motion picture was compellingly directed by the great maestro of suspense , Alfred Hitchcock ; only Hitch would face off the challenge of such a flick . Although the film did good business and succeed in New York as well as other big cities , it failed to attract audiences in smaller theatres and rural areas . As a result, it was a rare Alfred Hitchcock film that actually lost money at the box office . Remade as a Sci-Fi movie titled ¨Lifepod¨ (1981) by Bruce Bryant with Joe Penny , Kristine DeBell , Neil Ross , Carl Lumbly and ¨Lifepod¨ (1993) by Ron Silver with Robert Loggia , Jessica Tuck , Stan Shaw , Adam Storke , Kelli Williams and CCH Pounder .

Quite Interesting

[Snow Leopard · 12 August 2002]

One of the things that made Hitchcock great was his willingness to experiment, rather than just sticking with a proven formula all of the time. While not all of his experimental movies measure up to his greatest achievements, they're always worth watching, and "Lifeboat" is much more than just watchable. It's a tense drama that combines psychology and action in an efficient and memorable style.

This is quite an interesting movie in several respects, and not least for the ways that Hitchcock squeezes so much out of one single setting. Into the simple "Lifeboat" setting, he puts lots of details that are both interesting and appropriate. The characters are interesting and believable, and most of all, the story is full of both suspense and substance. As an extra bonus, there is one of Hitchcock's most creative cameo appearances.

Aside from the technical features, it is also noteworthy to see the ways that the characters are portrayed, with the contrasts among them perhaps a bit stylized at times, but done so as to make some important points. The cast does a good job in making each of the characters come to life, and all of them get a chance to have some good moments. It all fits together to make an unusual movie that is well worth watching.

"That isn't funny, it's logical"

[Steffi_P · 8/10 · 8 November 2010]

During the years of World War Two, Hollywood production followed the necessities of morale and propaganda, but tended towards movies that were minimalist and stripped down. Due to the conflict available resources were even lower than the cash-strapped days of the depression, and crews were smaller as many studio employees joined the armed forces. As far as the quality of the pictures produced is concerned, it wasn't always a bad thing. With fewer elements, filmmakers were encouraged towards inventiveness, as well as a more personal focus.

In the case of Lifeboat, it lead to the first in a series of pictures directed by Alfred Hitchcock made entirely in one confined set. Four years later he would make one called Rope, which gave the illusion of being shot in one continuous take. As such there was a constant feel of the artificiality of the process as the director's self-imposed limitations forced him to change angle and focus by moving the camera around. Lifeboat is different, not because Hitch didn't have the level of technical expertise yet, but because it has a far more timely and important story, and he could not afford to turn it into some self-indulgent technical exercise.

What we actually have is Hitch at his most thoughtful and least extravagant. Rather than drawing our attention to the smallness of the space, he makes the drama revolve entirely around the characters. His shot compositions are mostly designed to show only the actors, not the boat. This isn't just done with close-ups, but many cleverly arranged group shots. In acknowledgement of just how much the human brain can take in at once, he might have one character talking, while several others stand around them, not as bits of scenery but as part of the narrative. A good example is Walter Slezak, whom Hitch will place in some innocuous part of the shot, only to have the actor turn his head at some key moment while someone else is speaking, making us suddenly remember him and wonder if perhaps he is listening. While Hitch generally let actors get on with their own job, I am sure such precisely timed and presented bits of business were at his behest.

This is not to say the actors in Lifeboat are mere puppets for the director. Slezak is in fact a brilliant performer, intelligently displaying an air of innocence, with now and then a touch of something deeper. His manner is genuinely ambiguous, which makes it believable for the other characters to be divided in their opinion of him. Tallulah Bankhead seems more or less to be playing herself, or at least the delightfully vibrant persona that she crafted for herself. On dry land she could easily come across as a bit of a fraud, but here in the Lifeboat she personifies the spirit of defiance in the face of it all. From the rest of the cast come solid turns which are distinctive and lively, but never quite going so far as stereotype or overstatement.

The end result is not the most conventional piece of wartime propaganda ever. But while not exactly rousing, it is certainly entertaining. And this is what is best about Hitchcock – when he wasn't busy being a technical show-off, he always kept his mind on thrilling and enthralling the audience. A director who plays TO an audience, pandering to a specific set of sensibilities, will make films that will only ever appeal to the tastes of one era. Hitch on the other hand plays WITH the audience, and this has made his pictures stand the test of time.

As gut-wrenching as any Hitchcock

[Sprewell · 10/10 · 9 February 1999]

For some reason, "Lifeboat" has remained a relatively obscure and overlooked Hitchcock film. True, the pace is nothing like a North By Northwest or Rear Window, but the level of drama provided is as high as any of Hitchcock's films, early or late. The scene where the mother wakes up in Tallulah's fur coat and asks where her little Johnny is was one of the most gut wrenching scenes I've ever seen in a movie, and I've seen plenty of movies. The movie, while wonderfully developing its own nine characters, also raises questions aimed at the viewer, pointedly questioning how each one of us would react in those certain situations. Personally, I thought the movie was another Hitchcock masterpiece, and I would definitely give it four out of four stars.

I'd like to be lost at sea with this great cast anyday

[sabby · 7/10 · 16 April 1999]

In one of Alfred Hitchcock's earliest films, six people with different personalities and backgrounds are stranded together in a lifeboat after the passenger-carrying freighter they are on is sunk by a German u-boat in the Mid-Atlantic. The cast includes the fabulous Tallulah Bankhead as a bitchy photo-journalist, Hume Cronyn as kind-hearted man who finds love on the lifeboat, Canada Lee as a kind steward, Walter Slezak as a mysterious German, and John Hodiak who has to dodge Tallulah's nonstop advances. Hitchcock did this film on one set - the single lifeboat. What's amazing is that he could keep things interesting for two hours, but he managed to somehow. Bankhead is this movie's greatest asset. Reportedly, she didn't wear underwear on the set and constantly kept the crew at attention! This is a great, novel film.

U Boat

[jotix100 · 10/10 · 10 March 2005]

John Steinbeck's story was cleverly adapted by Jo Swerling, although it appears Ben Hecht was also a collaborator in the screen play. Without a doubt, Alfred Hitchcock scored another hit with "Lifeboat". For being done in one set, the boat, the movie never feels claustrophobic. The camera work is extremely effective because it conveys the hard voyage these survivors undertook after their Trans Atlantic ship was attacked by a German U boat.

The mood in the boat is driven by a sense of survival. The motley crew that gets on board after the shipwreck presents an assortment of people so different, but joined together by their predicament. It would have been highly impossible if these lives ever met, had it not been for the accident.

The characters are well defined. We see a glamorous reporter who manages to be in the boat by herself right after the wreck. The earthy Constance finds more from this experience than with her own work. Kovac, is the rough sailor who takes command. Gus, the injured sailor can't do much more but rely on happy moments in order to keep sane after his terrible predicament. Willy, the devious German, who the group rescues, has an agenda, but the others are too involved in their own problems to see right through this man. Sparks and Alice finally find peace and love with one another. The rich man, Rittenhouse realizes his money is not worth anything if they are not rescued soon.

Hitchcock's direction is what made "Lifeboat" the fine movie, and the classic it became. In a way, the ending is completely anti-climatic as the survivors realize Willy, the captain has steered them into a trap, but at the same time, after they watch the other German ship destroyed by an Allied vessel, they rescue a sailor, who threatens them, but is easily overpowered. We never see them saved, but we know they will be taken care by the approaching ship.

Tallulah Bankhead is excellent as Constance. In fact, her performance is perhaps exaggerated in order to convey the sophistication of the character. Little by little she is reduced to nothing as she loses all her material possessions, so dear to her and accepts the reality of the situation. John Hodiak, as Kovac, offers a mysterious side, as well as commanding power. William Bendix as Gus, offers a man who keeps thinking about happier times with his girlfriend.

Walter Slezak's performance is also equally satisfying. We know from the beginning he is hiding things from the people in the boat, but at the same time, he offers their only salvation. Hume Cronyn, an actor that worked with Hitchcock in a few movies, is good as Sparks. Mary Anderson is the sweet Alice who acts as a balancing agent. Henry Hull and Canada Lee, round out the magnificent cast of the film.

This is a Hitchcock film that deserves to be seen more often, for it offers tremendous rewards to its viewers.

Classic World War Two Confrontational Drama

[ShootingShark · 6/10 · 26 June 2005]

During World War II, a US merchant marine ship and a German U-Boat sink each other in the mid-Atlantic. Eight motley survivors of the freighter gather one by one on a small lifeboat, when a ninth man pulls himself aboard and utters a heartfelt, "Danke schön" ...

There are relatively few good films about the Second World War which were actually made during the war (The Great Dictator is the only other one that comes to mind), and only a director of Hitchcock's stature would attempt a film that is so politically charged - Allied morality versus Nazi sensibility - and technically challenging - a movie set entirely on a tiny boat. The fact that it stands up as a suspenseful and intriguing film sixty years after it was made is a testament to his genius. Written by John Steinbeck and Jo Swerling, it's a great idea for a claustrophobic movie; throw together eight people in wartime from one side and one from the other and watch how they treat each other. Bankhead, a much-acclaimed stage actress who didn't have much luck in films shines as a society hack, Hodiak and Hull square off nicely as young buck and rich old man rivals, Cronyn (who wrote and acted in a couple of other Hitchcock movies) has a nice part as a quiet good guy and the rest of the cast give strong support. Slezak (who was Austrian), has the role of a lifetime as Willy, the wily U-Boat Captain, using all his strength and guile to slowly take charge of events. His devious and sinister cunning are chilling, but the astonishing scene where the others snap and lynch him is one of the most disturbing and powerful scenes I have ever come across. A lot of war films deal with tragedy and injustice in a moving and dramatic way, but this film, made during a terrible bloody war, captures a thought-provoking truth about what conflict does to people with a truly intense and lingering profundity. Don't miss Hitch's amusing and clever method of including his standard cameo appearance, despite the film's setting.

A lesser-known Hitchcock masterclass!

[The_Void · 8/10 · 30 January 2006]

Hitchcock made a lot of great films, many of which have been met with the acclaim that they rightly deserve. Lifeboat deserves a lot of acclaim, yet its lesser-known status doesn't allow justice in that respect. This film represents one of Hitchcock's major successes in scene setting and drawing the audience into the story. The way that Hitchcock uses his camera aboard the lifeboat is amazing, as by keeping the action on the claustrophobic craft, the great director ensures that his audience is always plugged into the plight of his characters; which helps the film no end when it comes to the story, as we know their situation at all times. In fact, it's amazing just how well Hitchcock does do this; while they were starving, I was too! The plot is simple, yet a great base for a wartime thriller. We follow the surviving members of a crew from a ship that was bombed by a German U-Boat. They're crammed onto a small lifeboat, but there's one survivor that isn't quite welcome. His name is Willy, and he's a survivor of the U-Boat that sank the ill-fated ship.

Given the time when this was made (towards the end of World War 2), it's hardly surprising that it's filled with propaganda. Usually, this annoys me; but here it's done really well, and the propaganda is actually worked into the story instead of just being there to rally the allied population at the time. Hitchcock turns this into a twist, and the way that he parodies the war on the whole on just a small lifeboat in the middle of the big ocean is great. The entire film takes place on just one single set. The action never leaves the lifeboat (aside from to pan around the surrounding area), but Hitchcock uses this to his advantage. The lack of locations really enforces the crew's isolation. The acting is melodramatic in typical forties fashion; but all of the cast members do well in their roles. Tallulah Bankhead takes the lead role and really is the linchpin of the movie. She is joined by the likes of William Bendix, Walter Slezak and John Hodiak, who give great turns despite not being A-class actors. Overall, this is a Hitchcock film that I would say is just as important to see as the likes of Rear Window and Strangers on a Train. This is Hitchcock at his best, and the film is a great ninety-five minutes to boot. Don't miss this one!

Claustrophobic but still suspenseful tale on the open seas...

[Doylenf · 7/10 · 25 January 2007]

There are times during LIFEBOAT where the claustrophobia can't be avoided, since Hitchcock chose to film it on one set--a lifeboat in the open seas. But thanks to his craftsmanship, it never ceases to absorb the viewer as it becomes a tightly-knit character study of the survivors and their interaction.

Most prominent among the players is TALLULAH BANKHEAD, losing her possessions but gaining some humanity. She's described rather accurately by another poster as "the Maureen Dowd of the '40s", the shallow but sophisticated columnist with a condescending attitude toward everyone but herself.

But it's the WALTER SLEZAK character, a German among the survivors, who holds the most attention and proves that nothing can be seen in terms of black and white when it comes to human character. On the good side, he operates on WILLIAM BENDIX to successfully amputate his leg--but later resorts to murder when Bendix outlives his usefulness.

The other characters are more or less stock types--but are well played by JOHN HODIAK, CANADA LEE, HEATHER ANGEL, HENRY HULL and HUME CRONYN.

Summing up: Absorbing entertainment, stark tale of survival with the Hitchcock touch.

Single-set thriller of the kind that only Hitchcock could make.

[barnabyrudge · 9/10 · 9 May 2005]

Lifeboat was Alfred Hitchcock's only film for 20th Century Fox. It is not widely remembered nowadays - certainly not in the way that Psycho, North By Northwest and Rebecca are remembered - but it still ranks very highly in the director's canon. In the film Hitchcock demonstrates a fascination with restricting the action to a single set. He would return later in his career to the concept of single set stories, for movies such as Rope, Dial M For Murder and Rear Window. It is an approach that would bring most directors to their knees, but Hitch rises to the challenge admirably, finding ingenious ways to maintain audience interest and providing a ceaseless undercurrent of excitement.

A passenger ship torpedoed by a German U-Boat sinks in the Atlantic Ocean. Well-groomed society lady Constance Porter (Tallulah Bankhead, in an absolutely outstanding performance) successfully mans one of the sunken ship's lifeboats and steers it around the debris in search of survivors. She picks up various types from the sea, including injured sailor Gus Smith (William Bendix), crewman John Kovac (John Hodiak) and the German U-Boat captain (Walter Slezak) whose own submarine was critically damaged in the attack. The dynamic of the group is severely strained by the German's presence, as the other survivors contemplate and argue over whether to toss him to the sharks, or put their trust in him to steer their lifeboat to safety.

Slezak is very good as the tricky German, deviously keeping a stash of water to himself while the others struggle against chronic thirst, and at one point murdering a fellow survivor to keep his water supply a secret. Hitchcock and his script-writer Jo Swerling wisely let us in on the German's true nature, while the characters surrounding him are unaware of his treachery. This keeps tension on a knife-edge throughout the film, and holds the viewer in suspense for the whole story. Similarly, Bankhead's casting is so unorthodox, her character so intentionally ill-fitting to the oceanic setting, that her role in the proceedings casts a strange fascination. The film has a lot of political and propagandist subtext, and many people have viewed it as an allegory of the Nazi rise in Europe (Slezak is the metaphor for Nazi Germany; the others metaphors for surrounding nations duped into believing that the Nazi neighbour in their midst is helpful and trustworthy). Whatever else Lifeboat can and can't be interpreted as, one thing is certain - it's a mighty fine movie!

Surprising Steinbeck reaction to negative evaluation by some critics

[JuguAbraham · 7/10 · 2 March 2018]

Engaging. Interesting Steinbeck story. Even more interesting to note that Steinbeck dissociated himself from the film when critics were negative about a German portrayed as a somewhat positive individual. This Hitchcock film is important because of its tale as much as its filming.

Glossy, overcooked, sub-par Hitchcock

[moonspinner55 · 5/10 · 15 October 2005]

Alfred Hitchcock drama about a lifeboat full of disparate characters adrift on the seas during WWII is overheated and unhappy throughout. A good cast featuring Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, and Hume Cronyn get stuck playing irritating stereotypes, and the dialogue is equally clichéd. Bankhead keeps too cool a head as famous shutterbug who actually finds romance on the choppy waters, but Walter Slezak steals the show with colorful role as mysterious German on-board. For a much tougher take on a similar scenario, try 1957's "Abandon Ship". This one doesn't treat the subject matter with the brutal realism that is called for. ** from ****

One of Hitchcock's best that rarely gets a mention. Don't overlook this one!

[Infofreak · 26 March 2003]

'Lifeboat' must be extremely high on the list of THE most underrated Alfred Hitchcock movies! I very rarely hear anyone talk about this little gem, which is a damn shame as it is as good as many of Hitch's better known films. The plot is simple but the film makes the most of it with inventive direction, a strong script, and an interesting ensemble cast, most of whom are very good. I believe that Tallulah Bankhead irritates many people but I thought she was effective enough and well cast. I must say I was much more interested in Walter Slezak who played the Nazi and John Hodiak the tattooed tough guy. Both were excellent performances that really added to my enjoyment of the movie. Anybody who likes Hitchcock who hasn't seen 'Lifeboat' is in for a treat. Don't overlook this one. It's dated in some ways sure, but still much more entertaining than 90% of today's so-called thrillers. I strongly recommend it.

See It for Tallulah

[twanurit · 8/10 · 23 June 2000]

Ms. Bankhead's performance is amazing in this compelling film. In the first scene we are shown astounding destruction at sea from a capsized ship until the camera pans over to a lifeboat where the lone, well-coiffured, mink-draped, all made-up Tallulah is sitting, cross-legged, smoking a cigarette. Then we are shown a close-up of her leg. There's a run in her stocking! She looks more annoyed at that than all the carnage surrounding her! Later on, with more survivors on board and in danger of starving, she worries about how she looks and applies more lipstick! Oh Darling! This is classic cinema and one of the few films of this great lady (she was mostly on stage). John Hodiak (very handsome) is her enemy (at first), while Walter Slezak, Hume Cronin, William Bendix and the others ably support. An astonishing Alfred Hitchcock film.

Your Rescuer Or Your Captor

[bkoganbing · 9/10 · 1 June 2007]

When David O. Selznick got some loan out money from Darryl Zanuck for Alfred Hitchcock's services for two films (the second was never made), I'm sure Zanuck must have just loved Hitchcock when he told him that he wanted to make a film with just one set. Talk about cost cutting, anyway after a few failed scripts, Zanuck got American premier novelist John Steinbeck to write an original screenplay and since it was timely patriotic, Hitchcock did it.

So for Hitchcock asking for a one set film, the movie going public got Lifeboat. A disparate group of passengers and crew are torpedoed in the mid-Atlantic and wind up together in a lifeboat. After their ship went down however, another ship in the convoy rammed in the U-Boat that sank them. The last one picked up on board is a German.

The crew members include John Hodiak, William Bendix, Hume Cronyn and Canada Lee. Passengers are Mary Anderson, Heather Angel and a dead baby she clings to, and millionaire Henry Hull. And of course playing a Dorothy Thompson like correspondent is the great Tallulah Bankhead.

Lifeboat is a wonderful film not just for the fact that Alfred Hitchcock succeeded in making a one set film that you are never conscious of while watching. But it's the only opportunity to see Tallulah at the height of her fame. She made a bunch of Hollywood features at the beginning of the sound era, but they flopped for the most part. So she went back to Broadway which loved her best and her season box seat at the Polo Grounds where she was the New York Giants most devoted fan. Lifeboat should have rejuvenated a movie career, but she apparently didn't care. Lifeboat even on its own is her best work on film, let alone in comparison to other films.

The villain of Lifeboat is our German, Walter Slezak. He's a devious and cunning individual, he seems stronger and more fit than the other Lifeboat survivors and because of that and in spite of the fact he's hated, he gradually assumes charge. There's a reason for his actions and his fitness and when it's discovered, grave consequences erupt.

Canada Lee, distinguished black actor from the stage, gets a role here that's far from Willie Best or Step N' Fetchit. My favorite scene in Lifeboat is when Hodiak who represents the left on the boat is trying to rouse the rest to just toss Walter Slezak to the sharks when he first arrives, asks Lee for his opinion as he's a member of the party. Lee replies simply he didn't realize he had any vote or say in the matter, a very trenchant observation about how blacks were disenfranchised in a quarter of the USA, some twenty years before the Voting Rights Act.

The Lifeboat survivors are a cross section of the American people and this World War II allegory in microcosm is to show just why these Nazis are as evil as they are and why we have to resist. Even today more than sixty years after it was first made, Lifeboat is still a great cinematic achievement from Alfred Hitchcock.

And it was made so cheaply which Darryl Zanuck ecstatic.

Location!

[caspian1978 · 7/10 · 24 June 2001]

Just like in Rope, Hitchcock is successful in doing an entire movie in one location. At sea, Hitchcock sets the stage in a lifeboat. An interesting thriller, Hitchcock sets the story during World War 2 like many of his past films. Keep your eye open for Hitchcock's cameo on a newspaper advertisement.

For Tallulah

[Boyo-2 · 10/10 · 21 December 1998]

Thank God Hitchcock made this movie with Tallulah Bankhead, who never was successful in movies but had a great stage career. She is great in "Lifeboat" but everyone else is, too. The level of suspense and drama is high, and there is one very "Hitckcock" scene that is frightening and scary.

One of my less favorite Hitchcock films

[itamarscomix · 6/10 · 16 April 2012]

This early piece from Hitchcock is probably notable mainly for being his first real attempt at a single-set film, all taking place in one location with a limited number of actors. It was an interesting experiment, no doubt, but the same thing was done again later with much better results in Rope and Rear Window, which makes Lifeboat pretty obsolete. It doesn't fulfill its potential for character study (an obvious route to take with such an excellent and compact cast) and instead serves mostly as wartime propaganda - that was confusing enough to be considered inappropriate back in 1944, and seems simplistic and xenophobic now.

It's still a Hitchcock film so of course the cinematography is excellent and there are some truly gripping and effective scenes - not to mention terrific acting - but not as many as you'd think. The actors and dialog are good enough to give the hint of fascinating and complex characters, but they're given only the shadow of a personality and serve as allegorical prototypes more than human beings, merely serving the film's dubious message. Lifeboat is a notable point in the Hitchcock filmography, but it just feels outdated and doesn't play well today.

one of the best Hitchcock movies ever!

[hillbillyfromhell · 10/10 · 18 November 2007]

this was one of those films where the premise made me groan. I pictured a tedious slightly cheese-ball dated experience. Boy was I wrong. This movie was so well-done, so well-written and directed that I didn't want it to end. One setting is all that exists and Hitch certainly knew how to stage this and make it work. Hitch is truly the master at 1 set movies, from Rope to Rear Window to this. Intense! I consider it one of his greatest films alongside such classics as Shadow Of A DOubt and the afore-mentioned Rope and the dark comedy The Trouble With Harry.

Of proof of Hitch's genius, look for his cameo. Classic!

This is a must-see!

Hitchcock Light

[evanston_dad · 7/10 · 5 July 2005]

This Hitchcock film, made soon after he burst into prominence in America with films like "Rebecca" and "Suspicion," is a lot of fun, but it's ultimately more of a technical experiment than it is a satisfying narrative film, much like "Rope" would be 4 years later. The suspense here comes more from wondering how Hitchcock is going to sustain interest in a film shot entirely within the confines of a small boat rather than through any dramatic tension. Still, any Hitchcock fan should see it, and Hitch works in his trademark cameo in a particularly clever way.

Tallulah Bankhead is sexy and vampy in the lead role. She has the glamour and acerbic wit of a Bette Davis, and it's a shame she didn't do more film.

Grade: B

A brilliant and harsh ride

[greenman_99 · 9/10 · 24 January 2001]

Before today, all I really knew of Hitchcock was his murder mysteries (I consider myself a huge fan of those). Now I see why he is more often described as a master of SUSPENSE. You would think: how much suspense can there be within the confines of a 12 or 15 foot long lifeboat?

There is plenty- from a shellshocked woman tied to a chair after her baby is buried at sea, to an amputation performed by a Nazi during a rising storm, to the experience of being in a leaky boat caught between two ships that are shelling each other- this movie was a much harsher ride than I expected, and makes me respect the genius of Hitchcock even more than I already did. I watched it alone on VHS in broad daylight, and I STILL felt rattled by the experience... I can only imagine what it must have felt like to see this on the silver screen in a darkened theater back in the day.

The brilliance of this movie is how it portrays good and evil in little glimpses instead of broad strokes. Every character is morally ambiguous to some point, acting nobly one moment, brutally the next. Despite the presence of a black man, an affluent woman, a (probably Nazi) German, a blue-collar sailor, and so on, there are no stereotypes aboard this lifeboat by the end. Each has surprised you, possibly disappointed you, and definitely made sure that you will REMEMBER them as a person, not as a "type," long after the movie is over.

Lifeboat

[bruscinoa833 · 6/10 · 27 April 2010]

This film is interesting in many respects, the greatest of these is the setting of the film. The entire 97 minute film is shot on a small lifeboat. There are no shots of the characters in their former lives, the stories they tell are the only look back into their past. Saying this, each actor did a great job bringing their respective characters come to life, each one was vibrant and very much alive. The diversity of the cast added to the tension, which is felt quite strongly throughout the entire film. Other than the work of the actors, Hitchcock's use of the camera and special effects worked very well for them film as well. The constant rocking of the boat narrow shots never let the audience forget that the characters were stuck on that boat. At times shots faded into one another giving the impression that the days were dragging on and on. The combination of the directing and the acting made this film a very interesting psychological thriller.

Another Hitchcock movie I didn't like

[deexsocalygal · 3/10 · 8 August 2020]

This movie is WAY over-rated. I kept falling asleep. I thought it was an extremely unrealistic portrayal of being lost at sea in a rowboat. People would not behave in this way. First of all they would have easily caught plenty of fish. Second of all with all their water on board PLUS all that rain, they wouldn't of been dying of thirst. They would of saved up, rationed, & secured precious water. Third, a man with a gangrene leg would need far more than a few shots of brandy to kill his pain. A few gulps of brandy would not keep a man unconscious while his infected leg's getting amputated with a tiny dull knife. He would scream in agony. He would die without sterile water, antiseptic, clean bandages & antibiotics. He didn't even moan when he woke up after they cut his leg off. When asked how he felt he said "fine". Yeah, right. Duh. Fourth, there wasn't a drop of blood on him, in the rowboat, or on anyone who helped with the amputation. I won't go on. So far the only Hitchcock movie I've enjoyed is Rope & I don't think I will watch anymore.