Directed by:
Alfred HitchcockComposer:
Hugo FriedhoferCast:
Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn, Canada Lee, Alfred Hitchcock (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
After a Nazi torpedo reduces an ocean liner to wooden splinters and scorched personal effects, the survivors of the attack pull themselves aboard a drifting lifeboat in the hope of eventual rescue. But the motivations of the German submarine captain (played by Walter Slezak) on the eponymous craft might extend beyond mere survival. Based on an unpublished novella by John Steinbeck (written on commission expressly to provide treatment material for Hitchcock's screen scenario), Lifeboat found the Master of Suspense navigating a course of maximal tension in the most minimal of settings with a consistently inventive, beautifully paced drama that would foreshadow the single-set experiments of Rope and Dial M for Murder. With a cast including Shadow of a Doubt veteran Hume Cronyn and the extraordinary, irrepressible Tallulah Bankhead, this "picture of characters", as François Truffaut aptly termed the film, oscillates dazzlingly between comic repartée and white-knuckle suspense a perfect example of "the Hitchcock touch". (Eureka Entertainment)
(more)Reviews (1)
A solid minimalist drama from Hitchcock that plays out entirely on a lifeboat. After a ship sinks, a fascinating mix of survivors, plus a German from the responsible submarine, find themselves stranded together. The brilliant script kept me engaged throughout, making me ponder how I'd react in a similar situation. The final, slightly warlike scene is a fantastic cherry on top. I also got a kick out of Hitchcock's classic cameo, as he cleverly manages to appear on the lifeboat without being one of the passengers.
()