Hitch At Sea

Rating: 10/10 (8 August 2001)

Filmed entirely in a studio, Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat is set on a lifeboat containing the survivors of a ship torpedoed by a German submarine. It is among other things a very good take on the Allied predicament, and on the position of the Germans in the world at that time (adversaries, but smart and capable).
The American and British survivors know nothing about navigation, and only a little more about how to survive at sea, despite the presence of several seamen! There is a snobbish woman journalist along for the ride; also a rich industrialist. At things develop, a German sub captain is picked up and it is he who shows the way, as he is more adept at survival than the others, as well as a skilled surgeon, which comes in handy when a man's leg needs to be amputated. The others on board despise the German and yet depend on him. They also squabble among themselves, fall in love, play cards, discuss politics, and get to know one another. Things do not end as one might expect, and the climax of the film is exciting and frightening, visually and dramatically. Hitchcock as usual is in perfect control.
Jo Swerling's script, from a John Steinbeck story, is deceptively excellent. The characters continually surpise us, and the plot twists are believable and never predictable. I especially like the forties slang, which does not feel dated, and is always used dramatically and in character, not for 'effect'. There is a good deal of wistful talk about the outside world, which makes the film feel less cramped, and in this sense it is like a skillfully written radio play.
The actors are all fine. Some may object to stage diva Tallulah Bankhead's over the top performance, but her audience-hogging mannerisms have the paradoxical effect of making the other actors look good, as they seem to work harder than she does, which is the point. John Hodiak is surprisingly strong and alert as the leftist working man whom Miss Bankhead has an eye on. Bill Bendix is very moving as a simple man way over his head in everything. Canada Lee plays a black man whose race is never mentioned and who is never treated differently by the others, but in various small ways one is continually aware of his race and predicament. Walter Slezak is perhaps a bit too jolly and refined for the sub captain, but is such a fine actor that one forgive his slight miscasting. That he is decidedly not your typical World War II Nazi fiend works in his favor.
From what I gather Hitchock regarded this film as a technical challenge as much as anything else, and in this respect Lifeboat resembles his cut-less Rope of a few years later. The movie also perhaps anticipates Psycho a bit in showing how much delight Hitchock could take in stretching himself a bit, just for the fun of it, to see how far he could go. That he chose such a confined setting to stretch his talent seems in character for a director who relished the irony and paradox in everything he did.