Winters_Sorrow
Well-Known Member
Lifeboat
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn & Canada Lee
Plot Synopsis:
During World War 2 an allied transport ship in the Mid-Atlantic, on its way to England, is torpedoed by a U-Boat and 8 disparate survivors make it to the only remaining Lifeboat. Shortly afterwards they pick up another survivor, who happens to be from the also destroyed U-Boat...
Review:
This film has a style all to it's own. All of the action takes place within the lifeboat and is basically a study on the effects of isolation and pressure on human nature as the situation onboard gets progressively worse for the inhabitants. The camera has an almost documentary feel to it at times as it focuses on one actor as dialogue & movement between the other actors can be heard and seen in glimpses. This has the telling effect of 'drawing' you into the boat and helping you to empathise with the plight on those onboard. The survivors are a very mixed bunch comprising of Connie Porter (Tallulah Bankhead), a jaded & cold journalist, John Kovac (John Hodiak), an engineer from the ship, 'Sparks' Garrett (Hume Cronyn), the radio operator from the ship, 'Joe' Spencer (Canada Lee), the ship steward, Charles 'Ritt' Rittenhouse (Henry Hull), a self-made millionaire, Alice MacKenzie (Mary Anderson), a nurse, Gus Smith (William Bendix) an able seaman from the ship, Mrs Higley (Heather Angel), a passenger and, of course, Willy (Walter Slezak) the German U-Boat captain. As the film first begins, the survivors are quite calm and consider themselves fortunate to have lived through the destruction of their ship and feel the worst is over. There is a debate about the fate of the U-Boat crewman, but the preservation of life is foremost in the minds of most of the characters so any idea of leaving him to the sea is quickly quashed. However, once the first survivor commits suicide and the depth of their situation begins to sink in, the first pangs of desperation and paranoia set in, and following a storm at sea and the discovery of Willy's secret, the situation quickly degenerates...
My Thoughts:
Well I had heard about this film as it has been copied, parodied and remade but this was the first chance I had to view the original and I must say I enjoyed it. It has a very different feel to other Hitchcock movies I have seen and, in some ways, has not dated that well (some of the characters seem very clichéd by today's standards) but the cranking up of tension and watching the players crack under the pressure was still very well done and the technological feats involved must have been ground-breaking in their day (take that, Waterworld!). The cast give a good account of themselves and the dialogue is razor-sharp at times. The characters of Connie Porter (Tallulah Bankhead), Willy (Walter Slezak), Gus (William Bendix), Ritt (Henry Hull) and John Kovac (John Hodiak) are all superbly realised and each have their own standout moments, but the other characters are not given much to do other than to react and I feel that the Sparks & Alice love element in particular was tacked on and unnecessary to the movie.
The build up to the tense finale is very well done and executed although the somewhat "Lord of the Flies" moralistic message is a trifle overdone when viewed today.
Overall Rating:
7/10. A good watch for any Hitchcock fan and a great study of how humans react under extreme pressure. Barbarity is only a meal away indeed...
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn & Canada Lee
Plot Synopsis:
During World War 2 an allied transport ship in the Mid-Atlantic, on its way to England, is torpedoed by a U-Boat and 8 disparate survivors make it to the only remaining Lifeboat. Shortly afterwards they pick up another survivor, who happens to be from the also destroyed U-Boat...
Review:
This film has a style all to it's own. All of the action takes place within the lifeboat and is basically a study on the effects of isolation and pressure on human nature as the situation onboard gets progressively worse for the inhabitants. The camera has an almost documentary feel to it at times as it focuses on one actor as dialogue & movement between the other actors can be heard and seen in glimpses. This has the telling effect of 'drawing' you into the boat and helping you to empathise with the plight on those onboard. The survivors are a very mixed bunch comprising of Connie Porter (Tallulah Bankhead), a jaded & cold journalist, John Kovac (John Hodiak), an engineer from the ship, 'Sparks' Garrett (Hume Cronyn), the radio operator from the ship, 'Joe' Spencer (Canada Lee), the ship steward, Charles 'Ritt' Rittenhouse (Henry Hull), a self-made millionaire, Alice MacKenzie (Mary Anderson), a nurse, Gus Smith (William Bendix) an able seaman from the ship, Mrs Higley (Heather Angel), a passenger and, of course, Willy (Walter Slezak) the German U-Boat captain. As the film first begins, the survivors are quite calm and consider themselves fortunate to have lived through the destruction of their ship and feel the worst is over. There is a debate about the fate of the U-Boat crewman, but the preservation of life is foremost in the minds of most of the characters so any idea of leaving him to the sea is quickly quashed. However, once the first survivor commits suicide and the depth of their situation begins to sink in, the first pangs of desperation and paranoia set in, and following a storm at sea and the discovery of Willy's secret, the situation quickly degenerates...
My Thoughts:
Well I had heard about this film as it has been copied, parodied and remade but this was the first chance I had to view the original and I must say I enjoyed it. It has a very different feel to other Hitchcock movies I have seen and, in some ways, has not dated that well (some of the characters seem very clichéd by today's standards) but the cranking up of tension and watching the players crack under the pressure was still very well done and the technological feats involved must have been ground-breaking in their day (take that, Waterworld!). The cast give a good account of themselves and the dialogue is razor-sharp at times. The characters of Connie Porter (Tallulah Bankhead), Willy (Walter Slezak), Gus (William Bendix), Ritt (Henry Hull) and John Kovac (John Hodiak) are all superbly realised and each have their own standout moments, but the other characters are not given much to do other than to react and I feel that the Sparks & Alice love element in particular was tacked on and unnecessary to the movie.
The build up to the tense finale is very well done and executed although the somewhat "Lord of the Flies" moralistic message is a trifle overdone when viewed today.
Overall Rating:
7/10. A good watch for any Hitchcock fan and a great study of how humans react under extreme pressure. Barbarity is only a meal away indeed...
