Lifeboat (1944)
Like Rope, this wartime Hitchcock effort
sees the director thriving on the technical challenge of basing a film around a single
location. The script from John Steinbeck maintains the character drama
throughout, throwing in battles with the elements and thwarted plans to reach
safe harbour. The characters need to be sufficiently compelling as the suspense
element is limited by the scenario. Hitchcock was keen to do his patriotic duty
during WWII, so it's ironic that some critics suggested the film was pro-Nazi in
presenting a German character who was several steps ahead of his fellow
survivors; the director's intention was for the lifeboat's occupants to
represent the allies in a microcosm, and only by uniting could they defeat the
more prepared and resilient enemy.
Tallulah Bankhead makes the most of the
ostensible lead (certainly the only big name in the cast), a smart-mouthed,
lusty photo-journalist. The first time we see her she is the sole occupant of
th…
