Interesting, lesser-known Hitchcock WW2 drama

Rating: 7/10 (18 January 2016)

Interesting, lesser-known Hitchcock WW2 drama.
It is World War 2 and a merchant ship has been torpedoed and sunk in the Atlantic. However, it managed to destroy the U-Boat that sank it. A group of survivors is huddled together on a lifeboat. Soon they are joined by an unwelcome guest, a survivor from the U-Boat...
Written by John Steinbeck (of Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men fame) and directed by Alfred Hitchcock this has, on paper, the makings of a great examination of how humans act towards their fellow man, especially enemies, during times of war. The movie does go down that path, but is forced into clichéd, predictable outcomes due to when it was filmed.
While the plot is interesting and there are some good twists, there is a great deal of anti-German propaganda present in this film. It was made in 1944, after all. The finished article thus hardly feels objective at all.
Overall: interesting as a survival movie and war story, just a pity about the propaganda.