SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Gareth Crook This is a bit of a rarity, a Hitchcock film I've not seen before. I discovered Hitch in my teens and became obsessed, watching and loving everything I could get my hands on. How this slipped the net I'm not sure, but I'm mighty pleased I've caught up. Nearly 75 years old, this is still faultless with a wonderful cast of characters, stuck in a lifeboat after a U-Boat takes out their WW2 ship. The dialogue is masterful and the delivery more so. Tallulah Bankhead is particularly mesmerising. The camerawork simple, before the trickery and techniques of later films, but still amazingly effective. Packed with drama, tension and a story deeper than the ocean they find themselves alone on.

Dan1863Sickles Everyone remembers this as a Hitchcock film, and all of the reviews focus on how the great director shaped the material and gave every scene and frame his distinctive style. I saw this movie at the age of 12 and I loved it, but more than forty years later I'm really struck by the literary themes and the presence of great novelist John Steinbeck.There's a reason why they call this "John Steinbeck's Lifeboat."First I want to point out that this is a study of a group. Just the way THE GRAPES OF WRATH is about the Joads, and the Okies in flight, much more than about individuals like Tom or Casy, so in this story the lifeboat survivors are only meant to matter to the extent that they work together for common goals and uphold common values. In fact the one way the villain sticks out is that he's self- sufficient, able to keep his own counsel and do everything on his own. Steinbeck is always suspicious of individualism and even of individual strengths. The collective is everything to him, the survival of the group and not the triumph of the individual. At the same time, when you look at the terrible murder in the middle of the movie, it bears an uncanny resemblance to the end of OF MICE AND MEN. Willi the U-Boat Captain and Gus the doomed cripple have a very personal scene in which they sound a lot like George and Lennie! Of course the viewer can decide if Willi really felt any compassion at all for Lennie or if he's an evil Nazi through and through. But the arguments he makes for getting rid of Gus are those George makes about Lennie in similar circumstances. This movie reflects the great strengths of John Steinbeck's humanity and concern for the survival of the human community. It also reflects some of his weaknesses, particularly where the female characters are concerned. Tallulah Bankhead does wonders as Connie, the tough, hard-edged journalist, but it's fair to say that Steinbeck had a tendency to see women as either hard, vicious, and predatory, or weak, soft, and helpless. The young mother with the dead baby is presented as a pitiable victim but at the same time there's a sense of Steinbeck's vague distaste for the maternal instinct, since it reduces women to an animal-like state or to a state of total hysteria. It's no accident that the mother gets killed off early and that the hard, aggressive woman is not allowed much in the way of affection or friendship. Of course there is a romance between the British sailor and the nurse, but they are probably more Hitchcock's invention than Steinbeck's. Both are good comrades who keep a stiff upper lip, more English than American. To sum up, this movie is a Hitchcock classic, but it's also a fascinating look at the world view of a Nobel prize winning author who was then at the height of his powers.

zkonedog Though many of Alfred Hitchcock's films are extraordinary at developing characters, that development often plays second-fiddle to suspense, drama, & even subtle comedy. In "Lifeboat", however, the characters are on center stage throughout the entire experience, with Hitchcock masterful crafting them one by one...until the ending, of course.For a basic plot summary, "Lifeboat" tells the story of a group of Americans trapped on a lifeboat after the Nazi bombing of a freighter. When a German U-boat captain is pulled aboard and portends to know the direction they should be sailing, the characters must decide whether or not to trust the enemy captain. Along the way, all the personality types and individual prejudices are the survivors are explored.In terms of a character treatise, this is an excellent film...one of Hitch's very best. I am a big fan of "bunch of people trapped in a situation" movies, so I was instantly drawn to this type of movie and was not let down. Though Hitch usually deals with personal/political topics in a very off- hand, tongue-in-cheek sort of way, he really seems to delve into them with much more gusto in "Lifeboat". Upon reaching the end, you'll feel as if you truly care about the characters and their motives/personalities.The acting is also top-notch, with a case of seasoned veterans like Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, John Hodiak, and Henry Hull, among others. In films of this nature (think: 12 Angry Men, for instance) the acting must be spot-in in order to generate emotion, as very few outside factors can be utilized.Minor Spoiler: Sadly, the glaring weakness of this movie (and what keeps it from being a true classic) is its horrible ending. Hitchcock has a long history of sub-par endings, but this one might be the "cream of the crop" in terms of ridiculousness. For a film screaming for character resolution, this one gives you NOTHING. It literally just ends. Perhaps that was acceptable back in the 1940s, but today it is unforgivable.Overall, though, "Lifeboat" is a very interesting character study that is easily worthy of four- stars. Had it offered a bit of resolution, this could have rocketed to the top of Hitchcock's filmography. As it is, it's just a solid effort that fails in one key area.

sol- Stranded on a lifeboat after their ship is torpedoed by a German U- boat, a group of survivors find themselves torn between what to do after rescuing one of the Germans who sank their ship in this wartime thriller from Alfred Hitchcock. With lots of talk and a single location, 'Lifeboat' moves rather slow at first with some very obvious moral dilemmas; "we're on our own; we can make our own laws," one of them claims. Things become more twisted and intense in the second half though, beginning with a surprise revelation regarding the mysterious German, played perfectly by Walter Slezak. In fact, the entire second half of the film is rather riveting once the intriguing Slezak becomes a point of focus (none of the other characters are particularly remarkable) and the film ends on a strong note. The final scene is a little on the didactic side, but it is relatively brief and for a film with a clear anti-Nazi agenda, 'Lifeboat' offers a near balanced portrayal of the Germans at its best. The basic story (by John Steinback) has a refreshingly timeless quality to it too, with ideas in terms of trusting 'the enemy' and the uncertainty posed by wartime conditions coming across as fairly universal themes (see also George Seaton's 'The Hook' and 'The Long and the Short and the Tall'). Beneath the surface of Allied vs Axis tensions, there lies here a human tale here of trust, mistrust and desperation in adverse conditions.