{"id":10701,"date":"2010-05-14T17:01:02","date_gmt":"2010-05-15T00:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=10701"},"modified":"2021-12-17T13:46:22","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T20:46:22","slug":"lifeboat-1944","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=10701","title":{"rendered":"Lifeboat (1944)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;The more we quarrel and criticize and misunderstand each other, the bigger the ocean gets, and the smaller the boat.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Lifeboat-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Lifeboat-Poster-198x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-56618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Lifeboat-Poster-198x300.png 198w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Lifeboat-Poster-676x1024.png 676w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Lifeboat-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Lifeboat-Poster-178x270.png 178w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/05\/Lifeboat-Poster.png 737w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA disparate group of survivors from a torpedoed ship &#8212; including a journalist (Tallulah Bankhead), a tycoon (Henry Hull), a seaman (John Hodiak), a wounded stoker (William Bendix), a radio operator (Hume Cronyn), a nurse (Mary Anderson), a shell-shocked mother (Heather Angel), and a steward (Canada Lee) &#8212; allow a German U-Boat survivor (Walter Slezak) on board their lifeboat, but are never quite sure how much they can trust him.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>At Sea<\/li>\n<li>Hitchcock Films<\/li>\n<li>Hume Cronyn Films<\/li>\n<li>Ensemble Cast<\/li>\n<li>Mistaken or Hidden Identities<\/li>\n<li>Survival<\/li>\n<li>Tallulah Bankhead Films<\/li>\n<li>William Bendix Films<\/li>\n<li>World War Two<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary refers to this cleverly conceived &#8220;character-propaganda piece&#8221; as &#8220;flawed but enjoyable&#8221;, arguing that director Hitchcock &#8220;does wonders with his challenging set, never moving his camera outside the lifeboat&#8221;. Indeed, it&#8217;s remarkable to realize that, as noted by critic Dave Kehr, &#8220;the drama is developed without recourse to flashbacks or cutaways&#8221; &#8212; yet our attention never flags. While John Steinbeck and Jo Swerling&#8217;s script is perhaps a bit &#8220;obvious and too didactic&#8221;, the performances by the motley cast members are strong enough to carry the film and hold our interest throughout. Especially memorable is Tallulah Bankhead, giving &#8220;bite to her every line&#8221; in a rare film appearance as a socialite reporter who is gradually forced to give up all physical remnants of her prestige; Hitchcock apparently cast her because he wanted <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0037017\/trivia\">&#8220;the most oblique, incongruous person imaginable in such a situation&#8221;<\/a>. Equally impressive is Walter Slezak as &#8220;the German&#8221;, a &#8220;great villain whose cunning is revealed a little at a time&#8221; &#8212; he&#8217;s a genuinely menacing presence on board the tiny ship.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tallulah Bankhead as Connie Porter<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/lifeboat-bankhead.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/lifeboat-bankhead.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10705\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Walter Slezak as Willy<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/lifeboat-slezak.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/lifeboat-slezak.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10706\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine direction in a decidedly cramped shooting location<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/lifeboat-direction.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/lifeboat-direction.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10707\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A compelling tale of survival<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/lifeboat-survival.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/lifeboat-survival.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"400\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10708\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a fine Hitchcock drama. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Important Director<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0037017\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1944\/01\/13\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-lifeboat-a-film-picturization-of-shipwrecked.html\">NY Times Original Review (spoiler alerts)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.qnetwork.com\/index.php?page=review&#038;id=1543\">Q Network Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/lifeboat.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1771life.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.avclub.com\/articles\/lifeboat,9788\/\">Onion AV Club Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/movies.tvguide.com\/lifeboat\/review\/104259\">TV Guide Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/81373\/lifeboat#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/80410\/lifeboat.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/rgo-qGmULzQ\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;The more we quarrel and criticize and misunderstand each other, the bigger the ocean gets, and the smaller the boat.&#8221; Synopsis: A disparate group of survivors from a torpedoed ship &#8212; including a journalist (Tallulah Bankhead), a tycoon (Henry Hull), a seaman (John Hodiak), a wounded stoker (William Bendix), a radio operator (Hume Cronyn), a nurse (Mary Anderson), a shell-shocked mother (Heather Angel), and a steward (Canada Lee) &#8212; allow a German U-Boat survivor (Walter Slezak) on board their lifeboat,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=10701\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10701"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78726,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10701\/revisions\/78726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}