Another Hitchcock Master Work

Rating: 9/10 (10 April 2016)

Released during WWII, Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" is a wonderful study of human nature. Seven survivors of a ship torpedoed by a German U-boat are joined by a German survivor. Without many resources, their ultimate goal is survival.
This wonderful cast of eight portrays characters from every part of society--from the upper crust woman (Tallulah Bankhead as Connie Porter) adorned with fur and diamonds to a ship's laborer (Canada Lee as Joe Spencer), from a nurse to an industrialist. But the differences between appearance and reality are illuminated as the story presents hardship after hardship.
Issues of class, race and politics are highlighted as Hitchcock strips away the veneer of society's rules and peels back the layers that make up the personality of each character. The film asks if you can truly know anyone. It suggests that people behave differently in times of emergency and extreme stress. But are we merely seeing the true nature of people in such moments?
Given world circumstances, the German character (Walter Slezak as Willi) becomes the symbol for an entire nation and its political philosophy. Or is he merely a man who also suffers at the hands of his misguided military leaders?
The boat becomes its own "country", where concepts of governance are tested. This is an important part of the story, for it shows that one's political preferences reveal one's true beliefs about the nature of man.
With such a brilliant script (from a story by William Steinbeck), an excellent cast, and Hitchcock's shining stewardship, it is no wonder that "Lifeboat" is a film that will never lose its luster or its relevance.