Lifeboat (on DVD)

1944’s Lifeboat is a true masterpiece. I have always been a fan of Alfred Hitchcock. After watching this movie, I realize that I still don’t worship this man enough. While taking a few film courses in college, I noticed that Lifeboat was used far more frequently in textbooks than other famous Hitchcock works. Now I understand why.

The entire movie takes place in a lifeboat, but don’t let the simple setting fool you. There are so many twists and turns, so many different genres mixed into one movie. It is a suspense, a romance and a political drama. Nobel-winning author John Steinbeck touches on some edgy subjects in the movie that are still relevant today. The movie keeps us on our seats throughout and begs us to consider both humanity and the darkest corner in our nature. The movie was made during WWII and is about WWII, but soars above all the propaganda movies churned out by the studio. Its even-handed treatment of the German captain is not even common in today’s war movies. The movie can also serve as a lesson to current filmmakers about how to display violence on screen. Hitchcock didn’t show any violence or gore in the movie. Every time when there are some violent acts, we only see people’s backs. However, it is far more powerful to one’s psyche than blatant display of fights and blood.

This movie may also be the only well-known one that stars the Broadway legend, Tallulah Bankhead. She may be a little hard to watch at the beginning because of her tendency of overacting for stage audiences, but gradually her character grows on you. Even though Hitchcock didn’t make a cameo in this movie (it is impossible to do that for this movie. Once you see it, you will know why.), his presence is still felt (look for it).

The movie also once again proves that the Academy doesn’t reward deserving artists. The movie was not even nominated for Best Picture that year (the winner was Going My Way. Trust me it is a far inferior movie.) Hitchcock was nominated for Best Director, but along with Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity) and Otto Preminger (Laura), lost to Leo McCarey (Going My Way). In fact, Hitchcock never won an Oscar in a contested category. Nowadays those three movies have all become classics, high on all the critics’ lists where they should be. Rent all three if you can, but at least watch Lifeboat.