Another Excellent Hitchcock Film

Rating: 10/10 (19 January 2011)

Alfred Hitchcock's 'Lifeboat', based on a John Steinbeck story about a group of American passengers during World War II whose ship is sunk by a German U-boat, and must pile into a small lifeboat to survive. The entire film is set within the confines of this lifeboat, and the story is set by the emotion and the conversations the passengers have. The story is a dramatic one at best. An array of passengers are aboard, a young woman who loses her child to the rich woman who speaks German and is accused as a Nazi sympathizer.
Along with them, a German Nazi from the U-boat comes aboard as well. At first, the Americans feel sympathy for him, but as time goes on, the Nazi comes to overpower the Americans. Critics at the time of its release were outraged by this fact, and demanded that Hitchcock change the premise. It is thankful he did not hinder to them. The film turned out to be a spectacular success, for both Hitchcock and Steinbeck.