Abandon Ship (1957)
"Seven Waves Away" (original title)

Ship's officer finds himself in command of a lifeboat full of survivors of a sunken luxury liner.

Director:

Richard Sale

Writer:

Richard Sale

Stars:

Tyrone Power, Mai Zetterling, Lloyd Nolan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tyrone Power	...	Alec Holmes
Mai Zetterling	...	Nurse Julie White
Lloyd Nolan	...	Frank Kelly
Stephen Boyd	...	Will McKinley
Moira Lister	...	Edith Middleton
James Hayter	...	'Cookie' Morrow
Marie Lohr	...	Dorothy Knudson
Finlay Currie	...	Mr. Wheaton
John Stratton	...	Jimmy 'Sparks' Clary
Victor Maddern	...	Willy Hawkins
Eddie Byrne	...	Michael Faroni
Noel Willman	...	Aubrey Clark
Moultrie Kelsall	...	Daniel Cane
Robert Harris	...	Arthur J. Middleton
Gordon Jackson	...	John Merritt

Storyline

After their luxury liner is sunk, a group of over twenty survivors take refuge in a life boat made for only nine. Included in the group are an old opera singer, a nuclear physicist, his wife and child, a General, a play-write and his dog, a college professor, a gambler and his mistress, the ship's nurse, and several members of the crew, including the Captain and executive officer. Soon, the captain dies from his injuries. The executive officer must take charge, and as a hurricane approaches, and their food and water run out, he must decide who to put over the side, and who stays and gets a chance at survival.

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Plot Keywords:

captain | nurse | dog | mistress | gambler | 

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Taglines:

14 of these survivors must be cast adrift! Which will the Captain choose?

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 May 1957 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Abandon Ship!

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Copa Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 97 min (Encore-Action Library Print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hildegard Knef turned down the offer to play the female lead. The role eventually went to Mai Zetterling.

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Goofs

When McKinley is making his way toward Alec, there is a shot of Edith Middleton looking back at him. In the next shot, she is looking out to sea.

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Quotes

Edith Middleton: Why are the wicked always so strong?

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Connections

Remade as The Last Survivors (1975)

User Reviews

Gripping, well acted survival story...

As gripping and powerful as it is, ABANDON SHIP! is a survival story that's hard to view from the comfort of an armchair or theater seat. The viewer can identify so completely with the daunting task facing the ship's officer (TYRONE POWER) when making life and death decisions with regard to how many people can use the lifeboat when a sunken ship leaves them adrift at sea.

True, there are a few stereotypes among the raft's passengers, but the drama becomes real and forceful due to the strong performances from an excellent cast. MAI ZETTERLING is fine as a nurse with a romantic relationship to Executive Officer Power and STEPHEN BOYD and LLOYD NOLAN are fine as other ship officers caught up in unusual circumstances surrounding their survival at sea.

Not for the squeamish, it has echoes of Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT (but without the humor).

Tyrone Power was at a stage in his career when he wanted more serious roles rather than stay forever fixed in the minds of movie-goers as a swashbuckling star. Here he certainly had his chance to prove his acting skills and he does a splendid job in a grim role, one of his last parts before his premature death from a heart attack at age 45.