Review of Lifeboat (1944) by Matt C — 22 Nov 2009

Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" is a study in ethics in the form of a World War II parable. When a U-boat sinks their freighter, a group of disparate survivors manage to pull themselves up out of the wreckage.

The group is a cross-section of society, from rich to poor, educated to blue collar, conservative and liberal. There is also one german on board, as the very boat the U-boat sunk also sunk them. The rest of the passengers argue and debate over the best way to treat the german, eventually deciding to treat him with compassion.

It's a metaphor for the war itself: while the rest of the world figures out how best to appease everyone, the germans make plans and plot. One of the most interesting things about this film is it's technique.

Hitchcock uses the lifeboat as the sole setting, and in fact, we never see the characters in any other setting (neither at the beginning of the picture nor the end). It's a novel approach that adds to the sense of hopelessness we feel for the characters.

The cast is excellent and the story by John Steinbeck is well-crafted. It's just another example of why Hitchcock is the greatest of all filmmakers.