Waves of Wrath

Rating: 9/10 (21 February 2014)

In the Atlantic Ocean, during World War II, a German U-boat sinks a ship of peace-loving American and British citizens. Eight survivors find themselves afloat on a tiny lifeboat. First on board is world-weary columnist Tallulah Bankhead (as Constance "Connie" Porter). She is dressed in in fur and diamonds, darling, but we later hear how Ms. Bankhead clawed her way to the top. Next up is heroically handsome leading man John Hodiak (as John Kovac). A wise seaman, Mr. Hodiak started roughly, in a Chicago slaughterhouse. These two represent debating democracy; we hope they will eventually come together. They, and the other allied survivors, are joined by a ninth man. Welcome aboard, suspicious-looking Nazi sailor Walter Slezak (as Willi). It turns out the Nazi U-boat was also destroyed, and Mr. Slezak may have been responsible...
This World War II propaganda film warns us not to trust Germans or show any weakness in dealing with them. The advice wasn't bad during the war years, but hindsight reveals most wartime films as flippant and one-dimensional. Not so on this "Lifeboat"...
Taken from an original story by John Steinbeck (which explains why the players sometimes speak like they are characters from a John Steinbeck novel), this drama holds up extraordinarily well. Despite the presence of international passengers, the cast is meant to represent the collective American immigrant experience. Note that Germany receives dual representation, when you consider wounded William Bendix (as Gus Smith). Also interesting is the way Canada Lee (as Joe "Charcoal" Spencer) is given the right to vote; moreover, he demonstrates how religious beliefs helped achieve freedom from slavery. The debating travelers are quite engaging. It certainly helps that they are marvelously directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He holds your interest and gets his "cameo" appearance in, although the entire motion picture is set on a small lifeboat.
********* Lifeboat (1/11/44) Alfred Hitchcock ~ Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak, William Bendix, Walter Slezak