Lifeboat (1944)

All in a Row

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Lifeboat on DVD.

It's hard to imagine the mischievous Alfred Hitchcock as someone who would get patriotic and pitch in to the war effort. But he did; he made two war shorts, Bon Voyage (1944) and Aventure malgache (1944), and his Lifeboat is a tightly-wound film whose plot hinges on wartime attitudes. It's a technical tour-de-force, as a handful of ocean liner passengers gather in the title boat to await rescue. Unfortunately, one of the passengers happens to be the U-Boat captain responsible for sinking the Americans' ship. The catch is that no one can decide whether or not to trust the German, whose naval skills could arguably save their lives, but who could also betray them at any moment. Sexy, scene-stealing Talulah Bankhead leads the cast as a headstrong newspaper columnist clinging to her worldly possessions. William Bendix also makes an impression as a New Jersey mug with an injured leg. Without ever leaving the boat, Hitchcock plays psychological tensions against one another, continually ramping up the stakes as food and water run out. But Hitchcock also manages Lifeboat as a visual, cinematic exercise; he avoids repeating the same shots, and though it must have been a nightmare to cut together, the continuity is flawless.

DVD Details: Fox Home Video has released this 2005 DVD to make your Hitchcock library that much more complete. It comes with a fascinating making-of featurette and a commentary track by film historian Drew Casper, as well as a photo gallery.

Starring: Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, John Hodiak, Hume Cronyn, Canada Lee, Mary Anderson, Henry Hull, Heather Angel
Written by: Jo Swerling, based on a story by John Steinbeck
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Running Time: 96 minutes
Date: November 26, 2005