Harrison's Reports (1944) - Lifeboat
Details
- article: Lifeboat
- journal: Harrison's Reports (15/Jan/1944)
- issue: volume 26, issue 3, page 11
- journal ISSN:
- publisher: Harrison's Reports, Inc.
- keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Canada Lee, Heather Angel, Henry Hull, Hume Cronyn, Jo Swerling, John Hodiak, John Steinbeck, Kenneth Macgowan, Lifeboat (1944), Tallulah Bankhead, Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, Walter Slezak, William Bendix
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Article
"Lifeboat" with Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix and Henry Hull
(Twentieth Century-Fox; January 21; time, 96 min.)
Very good! Although somewhat depressing because of its depiction of human suffering, this drama tells an absorbing tale of six men and three women, each with varied backgrounds, who survive the torpedoing of a ship and are cast adrift in a lifeboat for many torturous days. The story combines heart interest, romance, murder, and mystery, and deals with the survivors' gradual disintegration under the strain of extreme hardships and personal conflicts. The film is unusual in that, throughout its ninety-six minutes running time, all the action takes place within the confines of the lifeboat; and yet it holds one's interest tightly, for the construction of the plot is skillful, the acting of the highest order, and Alfred Hitchcock's direction so expert that he keeps one in a high pitch of excitement from beginning to end :—
Only one lifeboat remains afloat after the sinking of a freighter by a Nazi sub, which in turn had been sunk by the freighter's gun crew. The survivors include Tallulah Bankhead, a sharp-witted, chic journalist; John Hodiak, a hardy, outspoken engine crew member; Hume Cronyn, a radio operator; William Bendix, a sailor with a wounded leg; Henry Hull, a wealthy industrialist; Canada Lee, a colored steward; Heather Angel, a half-crazed woman with a dead baby; and Walter Slezak, Nazi captain of the sunken submarine. Despite Hodiak's demands that Slezak be thrown overboard, the others permit him to stay. Miss Angel, griefstricken over the baby's death, jumps overboard while the others sleep. In the course of events, all come to depend on Slezak, a cold, calculating person, despite their hatred for him. When Bendix's life is threatened by gangrene, Slezak amputates his leg, and when a powerful wind blows the boat out of control the Nazi saves all their lives by his quick thinking. After many days without food and water, all except Slezak feel the effects of hunger and thirst. They accept his leadership, fully aware that he will lead them to a Nazi supply ship. One night, as the others sleep, Slezak pushes Bendix overboard when the crippled sailor catches him drinking from a hidden flask. Bendix's cries awaken the others, who suspect Slezak and discover the water flask. Mute with anguish at his cold-bloodedness, they hurl themselves at the Nazi, beat him severely, and throw him overboard. All are grateful when a ship hoves in sight, even though it is Nazi. A sudden flash over the horizon, followed by an explosion near the ship, reveals to them the presence of an Allied cruiser. They narrowly miss death when the Nazi ship tries to run them down before it disintegrates in a terrific explosion. All wait patiently to be rescued by the cruiser.
Jo Swerling wrote the screen play from an original story by John Steinbeck, and Kenneth Macgowan produced it.
Adult entertainment.
