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Lifeboat (1944)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Steinbeck (story), Jo Swerling (screenplay)
Cast: Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak, Walter Slezak, William Bendix
Genre: Drama Suspense

About: In a lifeboat adrift at sea, the sole occupant is a woman dressed in fur and jewels. She seems aloof and oddly calm. As time goes by other passengers from the ship a U-boat sunk, begin to swim towards the lifeboat. Eventually the life boat becomes full with people of different social levels and personality. Then one more man is pulled out of the water, a German from the U-boat that sank the ship...CR




Thoughts: This reminded me of Stagecoach (1939), in that it's a character study about a group of people with vastly different life styles and view points who come into conflict due to confinement in a small area and threatening circumstances.

I've seen Lifeboat now three times, and each viewing I felt the same...for such a dramatic event, the characters and the way they interact is uninteresting. The story felt lifeless to me, even though the visuals of the lifeboat lost at sea, look amazing. The premise is a good one, but the actual script and the characters dialogue was a let down for me. Several times the characters go on and on about their past lives which I found boring and not at all reflective or telling.

This didn't stir my imagination, I never cared or even believed these people were real. Though it's still fun to watch people helplessly adrift at sea, ha. So I didn't hate it or anything, but it felt like a wasted opportunity.

and that rating is as high as it is for Hitch's amazing visuals and special effects.