Lifeboat (1944)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

John Steinbeck (by)
Jo Swerling (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

28 January 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | War

Tagline:

Who goes Primitive first...A man...Or a woman...adrift in an open boat ?

Plot:

Several survivors of a torpedoed ship find themselves in the same boat with one of the men who sunk it.

Plot Keywords:

German | U Boat | Survivor | Radio Operator | Sea

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 wins

Cast

Tallulah Bankhead	...	Constance 'Connie' Porter
William Bendix	...	Gus Smith
Walter Slezak	...	Willy
Mary Anderson	...	Alice MacKenzie
John Hodiak	...	John Kovac
Henry Hull	...	Charles S. Rittenhouse
Heather Angel	...	Mrs. Higgins
Hume Cronyn	...	Stanley 'Sparks' Garett
Canada Lee	...	George 'Joe' Spencer
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
William Yetter Jr.	...	Young German Sailor (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
John Steinbeck		(by)
Jo Swerling		(screenplay)
Ben Hecht		uncredited
Alfred Hitchcock		story idea (uncredited)

Produced by
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer
Kenneth Macgowan	....	producer
William Goetz	....	executive producer (uncredited)
Darryl F. Zanuck	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Hugo Friedhofer		(as Hugo W. Friedhofer)

Cinematography by
Glen MacWilliams		(director of photography)
Arthur C. Miller		(director of photography) (uncredited)

Film Editing by
Dorothy Spencer

Art Direction by
James Basevi
Maurice Ransford

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little

Costume Design by
René Hubert		(costumes) (as Rene Hubert)

Makeup Department
Guy Pearce	....	makeup artist

Production Management
R.L. Hough	....	production manager (uncredited)
Ben Silvey	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Saul Wurtzel	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Frank E. Hughes	....	associate set decorator

Sound Department
Bernard Freericks	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special photographic effects
Edwin Hammeras	....	special photographic effects (uncredited)
James Curtis Havens	....	background (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Harry Jackson	....	location camera (uncredited)
Paul Lockwood	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sam Benson	....	wardrobe (uncredited)
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Lyman Hallowell	....	apprentice editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Emil Newman	....	musical director

Other crew
Thomas Fitzsimmons	....	technical advisor: National Maritime Unioin
Queenie Leonard	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)
Eugen Sharin	....	dialogue coach (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (presents) (as Twentieth Century-Fox)

Distributors

• Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1944) (USA) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Emerald (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Germany (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Fox Films (1945) (Finland) (theatrical)
• CBS/Fox (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2012) (Germany) (DVD)
• Future Film (2012) (Finland) (DVD)
• TV3 (1990) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1962) (1971) (Finland) (TV)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:16 (original rating) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Peru:18 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) (1989) | Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (certificate #9598) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Florida Keys, Florida, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

After she caught pneumonia, Tallulah Bankhead was given a puppy by Alfred Hitchcock for being such a good sport during the film. He had already named the dog Hitchcock.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Connie helps the first man onto the lifeboat, she is holding the camera with her right hand and helping him with her left hand. In the subsequent shoot, she is no longer holding the camera and her right is wet and dirty.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[indistinct shouting]
John Kovac:Ahoy there!
[climbs into boat]
John Kovac:Lady, you certainly don't look like somebody that's just been shipwrecked.
Connie Porter:Man, I certainly feel like it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hitchcock and Dial M (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Don't Sit Under the Apple Tree

Superb Hitchcock and superb Bankhead

How difficult is it to make a 96 minute film with one set and keep it consistently interesting and fascinating? Answer: Extremely - but Hitchcock and his cinematographer pulled it off brilliantly.

Bankhead is brilliant and deserved an Oscar nom for Best Actress - likewise William Bendix is superb and deserved a Best Supporting Actor nom -neither made the Academy's final list. A shame! (I found Bendix in WAKE ISLAND, for which he was nominated, rather forgettable).

This one did get noms for direction, cinematography and original story- all deserved. The ensemble playing from everyone is exceptional - it's dark and harrowing, but a masterpiece nonetheless. Don't miss it!