Lifeboat (1944)
“Dying together's even more personal than living together.” – Connie Porter
This lesser-known Hitchcock masterpiece is one of his best, and it’s my personal favourite. Based on a story written by the great John Steinbeck, Lifeboat absolutely nails the small-cast, single-location premise. It places a group of misfit survivors together in a boat to fight it out under endlessly perilous conditions: this is human nature at its most pure and revelatory.
There is a genuine reason why you may not be familiar with Lifeboat. The film was initially released to wide critical acclaim, but this attention quickly turned sour when anti-German sentiment surfaced due to the film’s portrayal of a German character. Reviews turned negative out of protest against this so-called wartime propaganda film, which, today, seems ludicrous because the German character in the film is unmistakeably villainous. The effect of a couple of bad critics snowballed into a whole swarm of bad critics, and, consequently, 20th Century Fox decided to give the film a limited release, reducing its advertising, and ensuring a poor box office performance in 1944.
What instantly surprised me about this film is how dark and complicated its characters and situations were for such an old film. Lifeboat still carries a lot of raw power and insight for a film made during the era of old-style Hollywood. The German U-boat captain, for example, that the survivors pull from the sea is far from two-dimensional. He is resourceful and cunning; at one time he is invaluable to the crew, and at one time he is detrimental. There is a scene when the German is first brought on board: the crew ask him if he is the captain of the U-Boat that destroyed their ship. The fact that he denies this post makes him somehow less responsible. The crew maintains that if he was the captain, they would throw him back in the water. This punishment-by-responsibility routine is fascinating to me: someone who did not grow up during the Great War. Why does it matter what rank he is? How can anyone there judge his level of responsibility? The crew does the humane thing by saving the man, but the movie later raises the question as to whether this was the right decision. Hitchcock revels in this ambiguity between right and wrong, and it is this dissertation that makes for such a compelling viewing experience.
The acting does suffer from that old Hollywood, stage-style; it doesn’t always feel genuine or natural. As the film progresses, however, the characters become further embroiled in the horrors of being lost at sea. They become soaked in water, and even blood. Consider how this affects the actors. They seem to loosen up as the situation becomes progressively dire. I believe that by putting his actors through the proverbial ringer, Hitchcock creates the desired effect of more natural performances from his actors. Lifeboat actually creates a unique bridge between old Hollywood and new Hollywood. When the characters first meet on the lifeboat, they perform much like stage actors typical of Hollywood acting up to that point. The dialogue is performed melodramatically, with unnaturally emphases. By the time they realize they are at the mercy of a devious German U-Boat captain, by the time they are all morbidly dehydrated, and by the time they are forced to perform an amputation right there in the lifeboat, these characters have literally had the reality scared into them. Welcome to new Hollywood.
This is Hitchcock’s most underappreciated film. It is also his best.
This lesser-known Hitchcock masterpiece is one of his best, and it’s my personal favourite. Based on a story written by the great John Steinbeck, Lifeboat absolutely nails the small-cast, single-location premise. It places a group of misfit survivors together in a boat to fight it out under endlessly perilous conditions: this is human nature at its most pure and revelatory.
There is a genuine reason why you may not be familiar with Lifeboat. The film was initially released to wide critical acclaim, but this attention quickly turned sour when anti-German sentiment surfaced due to the film’s portrayal of a German character. Reviews turned negative out of protest against this so-called wartime propaganda film, which, today, seems ludicrous because the German character in the film is unmistakeably villainous. The effect of a couple of bad critics snowballed into a whole swarm of bad critics, and, consequently, 20th Century Fox decided to give the film a limited release, reducing its advertising, and ensuring a poor box office performance in 1944.
What instantly surprised me about this film is how dark and complicated its characters and situations were for such an old film. Lifeboat still carries a lot of raw power and insight for a film made during the era of old-style Hollywood. The German U-boat captain, for example, that the survivors pull from the sea is far from two-dimensional. He is resourceful and cunning; at one time he is invaluable to the crew, and at one time he is detrimental. There is a scene when the German is first brought on board: the crew ask him if he is the captain of the U-Boat that destroyed their ship. The fact that he denies this post makes him somehow less responsible. The crew maintains that if he was the captain, they would throw him back in the water. This punishment-by-responsibility routine is fascinating to me: someone who did not grow up during the Great War. Why does it matter what rank he is? How can anyone there judge his level of responsibility? The crew does the humane thing by saving the man, but the movie later raises the question as to whether this was the right decision. Hitchcock revels in this ambiguity between right and wrong, and it is this dissertation that makes for such a compelling viewing experience.
The acting does suffer from that old Hollywood, stage-style; it doesn’t always feel genuine or natural. As the film progresses, however, the characters become further embroiled in the horrors of being lost at sea. They become soaked in water, and even blood. Consider how this affects the actors. They seem to loosen up as the situation becomes progressively dire. I believe that by putting his actors through the proverbial ringer, Hitchcock creates the desired effect of more natural performances from his actors. Lifeboat actually creates a unique bridge between old Hollywood and new Hollywood. When the characters first meet on the lifeboat, they perform much like stage actors typical of Hollywood acting up to that point. The dialogue is performed melodramatically, with unnaturally emphases. By the time they realize they are at the mercy of a devious German U-Boat captain, by the time they are all morbidly dehydrated, and by the time they are forced to perform an amputation right there in the lifeboat, these characters have literally had the reality scared into them. Welcome to new Hollywood.
This is Hitchcock’s most underappreciated film. It is also his best.
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