Lifeboat (film)

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Lifeboat
original film poster
Directed by	Alfred Hitchcock
Produced by	Kenneth Macgowan
Written by	Novella: John Steinbeck Screenplay: Jo Swerling Uncredited (screenplay): Ben Hecht
Starring	Tallulah Bankhead William Bendix Walter Slezak Mary Anderson John Hodiak Henry Hull Heather Angel Hume Cronyn
Music by	Hugo W. Friedhofer
Cinematography	Glen MacWilliams
Editing by	Dorothy Spencer
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	January 11, 1944
Running time	96 min.
Language	English
Budget	$1,590,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Lifeboat is a 1944 World War II war film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock from a story written by John Steinbeck. It stars Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn and Canada Lee. The whole film takes place in a lifeboat.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Critical reaction 3 Remake 4 Trivia 5 External links

[edit] Plot summary

A group of American and British citizens are stuck in a lifeboat after their ship is sunk by a U-boat. A German survivor (Walter Slezak) who is allowed aboard, after some debate, is later revealed to be the wily Nazi captain of the U-boat.

[edit] Critical reaction

According to Hitchcock's daughter, Patricia, in a 2005 DVD-released documentary, some critics, after initial rave reviews, gave the film poor reviews because of the so-called "positive" portrayal of the German character in the film. (Today, film reviewers think just the opposite. Critics call the film almost an American propaganda film.) Other film critics caught on to the critical damnation and many writers began giving the film poor reviews. 20th Century Fox executives, under pressure, decided to give the film a limited release instead of the wide release most of Hitchcock's films received. Advertising for the film was also reduced, causing the film to have a poor box office when released in 1944. Today, the film is considered a classic.

[edit] Remake

In 1993, the movie was remade as a science fiction TV movie titled Lifepod. Moving the action from a lifeboat to a spaceship's escape capsule, the remake starred Ron Silver, Robert Loggia and CCH Pounder. Silver also directed.

[edit] Trivia

• Alfred Hitchcock cameo: Of all Hitchcock's films, this is perhaps the one in which we would least expect to see a Hitchcock cameo since the action takes place entirely on a lifeboat. However, in one scene, one of the characters can be seen reading a newspaper. In the newspaper, an advertisement for Reduco Obesity Slayer is visible which features before and after pictures of Hitchcock's world-famous profile. "Reduco" was also used in Hitchcock's cameo in Rope. Hitchcock later said that he received letters shortly after the film was released asking where they could obtain this miraculous, though fictitious, dieting aid.

[edit] External links

• Lifeboat at the Internet Movie Database

v • d • e Films directed by Alfred Hitchcock

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