Lifeboat (1944)

Tallulah rocks!

Sometimes greatness can be achieved in a singular way, even if the totality of a work of art is not great. This came to me upon watching one of my dad's all time favorite films, and one which I have watched several dozen times in my life- Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 black and white Lifeboat, which is also one of the three or four best films Hitchcock ever made, and did receive Academy Award nominations for Best Direction, Best Cinematography, and Best Original Screenplay. While I am not a rabid devotee of Hitchcock, because most of his thrillers are filled with rather cardboard cutout characters, despite the films' technical excellence, this is still probably my favorite Hitchcock film; not only because of the memories of watching it with my dad, but because it is one of the least Hitchcockian films in his canon- in terms of its relative lack of formulaic suspense, and because of the great and inimitable Tallulah Bankhead (one of my dad's favorite actresses), who utterly dominates every scene of the film she's in.
The film's greatness comes in the way it realistically sketches human reactions and nature in extremis, even as it relies on some of the grossest human caricatures, stereotypes, and is a blatant bit of agitprop. That said, and given the limitations of having the film set totally in a boat, that Hitchcock comes even within spitting distance of the film being a great work of art (it's not; it misses by a hair, for the flaws mentioned) is, itself, evidence of greatness at work. It is also one of the most brilliant and odd character studies on film.
The very schizophrenic screenplay, which alternately depicts real human emotions in characters blatantly constructed to teach a didactic lesson, and be props to push the tale forward (i.e.- how convenient it is to have both a doctor and a nurse in the same boat when another character's leg needs to be amputated; among many), and then reduces them to utter stereotypes, was adapted from an original novella, of the same title, that Hitchcock commissioned John Steinbeck to write. When Steinbeck was done, and went off to the Second World War, Hitchcock hired playwright Jo Swerling to punch up the dialogue.... For Hitchcock fans, wondering how the director snuck in his cameo, it's when Gus is reading a newspaper, and we see an ad for a diet pill- Reduco, which features before and after pictures of Hitchcock. That same gag was reused in Rope. If Lifeboat is not a great film, it's damned close, and given all the technical and script problems it had to overcome, that's a hell of an achievement, for, unlike many Hitchcock films, this one can be seen over and again and force deeper conversation each time, because it is not dependent upon a simple-minded twist ending. Thus, despite all its failings, Lifeboat is a true work of art, something its heroine has also been called. Viva recapitulation!
September 14, 2008

"Man Overboard!"

Walter Slezack and Talluluh Bankhead steal the show in this classic Hitchcock movie. "People in lifeboats tend to 'act up,'" as we have seen in the original Titanic with Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck and more notably in this wonderful movie. Hitchcock's genius comes through with more artistic subtlety and mysterious beauty than in some of his more blatantly diabolical productions--cresting and falling ocean waves are the backdrop for the rich black and white tones, a microcosm contained within the confines of the lifeboat. Histryonic babblings of the characters are better than any musical score. September 9, 2008

Good, but not Great

Being a compulsive Hitchcock fan, I have a difficult time not giving every one of his films 5 stars, but I have some reservations with this film.

Obviously this is a propaganda film for the Allies in WWII. With this in mind, I realized there would be melodramatic, patriotic and democratic dialogue--and there was almost instantly. But my difficulty and problems lie mostly with my confusion about what I was supposed to feel. The message is not clear. I find this troubling since Hitchcock, being the master, was always able to control his audience without them ever knowing (remember during Psycho, when suddenly the car NOT going into the lake scared you, and you may have noticed later that your allegiance shifted, without a conscious decision, from Marion to Norman?).

Regardless of that, Tallulah Bankhead was marvelous, as was Canada Lee (even in his confined role of George "Joe" Spencer).

Great for WWII propaganda, but a little lacking in the Hitchcock--still a great movie. Recommended.
July 10, 2008

Poor quality DVD not as advertised

The DVD would not work in any of my machines. When the DVD was returned I was credited a small amount of what I had paid for it. July 9, 2008

lifeboat

This is a time less classic. What a great movie! They don't make them like this any more June 21, 2008

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