Lifeboat (1944)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Graham J

  
  Though inevitably a minor work for Hitchcock. you've gotta give it to him for stepping outside the box to create a very enjoyable film.

• Alexander D

  
  I love black humor!

• Pierluigi P

  
  Hitchcock proves his dedication and proficiency for telling stories so fluidly and mostly in such tiny confines. He surrounds himself also with an excellent cast, lead by the charming Tallulah Bankhead, seemingly impervious to tragedy and human sensitivities up until a point where the… More
  Hitchcock proves his dedication and proficiency for telling stories so fluidly and mostly in such tiny confines. He surrounds himself also with an excellent cast, lead by the charming Tallulah Bankhead, seemingly impervious to tragedy and human sensitivities up until a point where the hopes, dignity and the initial compassion of all the rest on board seem to reach a drastic end. Propaganda film indeed, but it isn't shallow and one dimensional, all the contrary.

• AJ V

  
  This movie is great, it's a Hitckcock film so it's suspenseful, but it's also a wartime drama. It's really very good, so if that sounds interesting, please check out this movie without hesitation.

• Anthony L

  
  Sure Lifeboat is a propaganda film but when you consider it was made in 1944 it is also at times quite balanced. To say it is bordering on xenophobic or even racist is a bit silly, there isn't anything wrong with anti-Nazism and to me, in the final scene, it actually shows the… More
  Sure Lifeboat is a propaganda film but when you consider it was made in 1944 it is also at times quite balanced. To say it is bordering on xenophobic or even racist is a bit silly, there isn't anything wrong with anti-Nazism and to me, in the final scene, it actually shows the vulnerability of young Germans who followed orders and were convinced they were doing right. The premise is fantastic though, Willy the German is great villain and the every character plays his or her part brilliantly. There is so much more to this film than it to just simply be labelled a propaganda film, for me, it's probably one of Hitchcock's best, certainly one of my favourites of his.

• Conner R

  
  While I really like the idea of Lifeboat, it isnâ??t exactly all that rewarding of a film. One set films is something that Hitchcock later mastered with Rope, but this suffers from just being one long conversation about the lives of people during the war. While it has its moments and… More
  While I really like the idea of Lifeboat, it isnâ??t exactly all that rewarding of a film. One set films is something that Hitchcock later mastered with Rope, but this suffers from just being one long conversation about the lives of people during the war. While it has its moments and certainly isnâ??t a terrible film, it just suffers from being a little too mediocre and not having the desired suspense element. The characters are often one noted and sadly forgettable, much like the performances that accompany them.

• First L

  
  Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" is a study in ethics in the form of a World War II parable. When a U-boat sinks their freighter, a group of disparate survivors manage to pull themselves up out of the wreckage. The group is a cross-section of society, from rich to poor,… More
  Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" is a study in ethics in the form of a World War II parable. When a U-boat sinks their freighter, a group of disparate survivors manage to pull themselves up out of the wreckage. The group is a cross-section of society, from rich to poor, educated to blue collar, conservative and liberal. There is also one german on board, as the very boat the U-boat sunk also sunk them. The rest of the passengers argue and debate over the best way to treat the german, eventually deciding to treat him with compassion. It's a metaphor for the war itself: while the rest of the world figures out how best to appease everyone, the germans make plans and plot. One of the most interesting things about this film is it's technique. Hitchcock uses the lifeboat as the sole setting, and in fact, we never see the characters in any other setting (neither at the beginning of the picture nor the end). It's a novel approach that adds to the sense of hopelessness we feel for the characters. The cast is excellent and the story by John Steinbeck is well-crafted. It's just another example of why Hitchcock is the greatest of all filmmakers.

• Randy T

  
  Strongly anti-German, specifically anti-Nazi, rendition of John Steinbeck's novel. Hitchcock's commendable contribution to the allied effort of WWII may seem a bit racist when viewed with 21st century eyes but one has to keep in mind that public sentiment was understandably… More
  Strongly anti-German, specifically anti-Nazi, rendition of John Steinbeck's novel. Hitchcock's commendable contribution to the allied effort of WWII may seem a bit racist when viewed with 21st century eyes but one has to keep in mind that public sentiment was understandably less empathetic in 1944. This one is definitely NOT politically correct so, depending on your point of view, you can either credit Hitchcock or blame Hitler.

• Jason S

  
  A really good flick set in the smallest location I have ever seen. The whole thing takes place in a lifeboat with a few shipwreck survivors. More of a character study than anything else it raises some good questions about what one needs to do to survive. Good acting and an… More
  A really good flick set in the smallest location I have ever seen. The whole thing takes place in a lifeboat with a few shipwreck survivors. More of a character study than anything else it raises some good questions about what one needs to do to survive. Good acting and an interesting premise makes this a flick that you should watch.

• Ken S

  
  Really well done, only Hitchcock would take on the challenge of making a film that takes place completely on small life boat.

• xGary X

  
  Hitchcock made a few propaganda pieces during the course of WWII, but this is easily the best. Based on a story by American novelist, John Steinbeck, the entire film takes place within the confines of a small lifeboat which serves as a microcosm reflecting the world affected by the… More
  Hitchcock made a few propaganda pieces during the course of WWII, but this is easily the best. Based on a story by American novelist, John Steinbeck, the entire film takes place within the confines of a small lifeboat which serves as a microcosm reflecting the world affected by the war. The story revolves around the two main characters, Tallulah Bankhead's sassy reporter, and Walter Slezak's obsequious U-Boat captain, who is rescued after his submarine is sank during the battle. Bankhead plays a particularly strong character, devoid of the usual femme fatale traits that usually associated strong female leads during this period, perhaps nodding towards the changing role of women in society necessitated by the war. She seems to represent the role of America, initially acting only as observer, unwilling to get her hands dirty (literally). As she experiences the hardships suffered by the other characters she gradually sheds her interest in material posessions, eventually becoming the driving force that unites them to escape their situation. Slezak personifies the Nazis, not demonised or shown as a monster, but rather an insidious, arrogant and self superior man, who lacks any hint of human compassion. This lack of demonisation is added to by the treatment of the young German sailor who pulls a gun on them as gratitude for his rescue, but he is shown more like the victim of indoctrination into an evil mindset, rather than an evil person himself. The final speech by Bankhead is the crux of the story, as she claims that they were only victims of "mob" thinking while subjugating themselves to Slezak's will when it seemed most convenient to them, rather than fighting for their liberty; not only a criticism of the German people for allowing Hitler's rise to power, but a warning to the rest of the world as to the price of complacency. All in all a cleverly scripted and unusually sophisticated propaganda piece directed by a master.

• Veronique K

  
  "lifeboat" is hitchcock's commentary on wwii, and it condenses the cosmos into an atom with besieged passengers striving to survive that contains various social classes from bolshevik rags to the well-to-do capitalist...engrossingly, the existence of blacks is also… More
  "lifeboat" is hitchcock's commentary on wwii, and it condenses the cosmos into an atom with besieged passengers striving to survive that contains various social classes from bolshevik rags to the well-to-do capitalist...engrossingly, the existence of blacks is also included...a nurse in dillemma of disgraceful affair with married doctor...a lonesome but kindred workingman....a lovelorn one-legged sap...a deranged mother with her dead infant..a tycoon who assumingly chews his last cigar by his mouth.....of course, mostly capitivating of all, the cynically sassy cosmopolitan female journalist connie porter played by husky tallulah bankhead who has the sexiest siren voice when she utters "darling!" as she unbashfully makes love to the hulky capitalist-loathing virile bolshevik. essentially, there must be a vile enemy: a german nazi captain who methodically reverse his disvantage of POW(captive) into his advantage of the captor by utilizing the shipmember's disintergration as his favors, sneering at the polarizing system of our so-called "democracy", smirking at the naievete of americanism. whether it's hitchcock's uglification of german nazi or realisticly sharp depiction of their inhumanity by interpretating nazi as the shrewd selfish kind who is too keenly with his own survival without sharing the water with his generous rescuers, pretending to be ignorant of english for self-protection, reserving the beneficiary equipment such as compass merely for himself, ruthlessly eliminating any possible member to saboteur his scheme: sending them all to concentration camp. talluah bankhead's connie is the only character with enough mettle(or willpower) to contend for survival since she makes a mytical class adjustment from the rags to the rich with her un-defeated stamina. she has the foresight to occupy a lifeboat beforehand then she loses every item of her personal belongings such as typewritter, minkcoat and her precious diamond bracelet in the course of helping others selflessly that symbolizes her denuniciations of egoism by the gradual loss of her possessions that are the tokens of her social level, thus graudually she's descended into more endeared humanistic affinity instead of her aloof egoistic self......maybe scarstically the breavement of her diamond bracele due to the distraction of the ship members might manifest the flawed discord of democracy...as for the tumultous reacton(casting the nazi off the boat) everyone has toward the german after she/he exposes to his sinister contrivance, it declares one thing outloud: democracy is sometimes just a mob.

• jay n

  
  only hitchcock could make a film completely set in a lifeboat this interesting

• Drew S

  
  Nears the pinnacle of really great older movies. Certainly a strong Hitchcock iteration. The piece is extremely character-driven, but it feels unusually safe - like you know they're going to get out okay. Still a great movie for what it is.

• Anthony V

  
  A Hitchcock classic.

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