Lifeboat
original film poster
Directed by	Alfred Hitchcock
Produced by	Kenneth Macgowan
Written by	Novella: John Steinbeck Screenplay: Jo Swerling Uncredited (screenplay): Ben Hecht
Starring	Tallulah Bankhead William Bendix Walter Slezak Mary Anderson John Hodiak Henry Hull Heather Angel Hume Cronyn
Music by	Hugo W. Friedhofer
Cinematography	Glen MacWilliams
Editing by	Dorothy Spencer
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	January 11, 1944
Running time	96 min.
Language	English
Budget	$1,590,000
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Lifeboat is a 1944 World War II war film, directed by Alfred Hitchcock from a story written by John Steinbeck. It stars Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn and Canada Lee. The whole film takes place in a lifeboat. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was a highly influential film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... John Ernst Steinbeck III (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. ... Jo Swerling (April 8, 1897 - October 23, 1964) was an American theatre writer and lyricist and a screenwriter. ... Ben Hecht (February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was a prolific Hollywood screenwriter, even though he professed disdain for the motion picture industry. ... Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 - December 12, 1968) was an American actress, talk-show host and bon vivant. ... William Bendix (January 14, 1906 - December 14, 1964) was an American film actor. ... Actor Walter Slezak in Born to Kill (1947) Walter Slezak (May 3, 1902 - April 21, 1983) was an Austrian actor and son of famed opera star (Leo Slezak). ... Mary Anderson (July 28, 1859 - May 29, 1940) was an American stage actress. ... Actor John Hodiak was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1914. ... Henry Hull (1890-1977) was an intense American character actor with a unique voice, most noted for playing the first screen werewolf in Universal Picturess classic Werewolf of London (1935). ... Heather Grace Angel (February 9, 1909 - December 13, 1986) was a British film actress. ... Hume Blake Cronyn, OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a stage and film actor. ... Hugo Wilhelm Friedhofer (May 3, 1901 - May 17, 1981) was a film music composer born in San Francisco. ... Dorothy Spencer (born 2 February 1909) in Covington, Kentucky, United States, was the multiple Academy Award-nominated American film editor most recognized for editing several of director John Fords films such as what film critic Roger Ebert calls, Fords greatest Western,[1]My Darling Clementine, as well as... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation (known from 1935 to 1985 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation) is one of the major American film studios. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The war film is a film genre that has to do with warfare, usually focusing on naval, air, or land battles, but sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training, or other related subjects. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 – April 29, 1980) was a highly influential film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... John Ernst Steinbeck III (February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. ... Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 - December 12, 1968) was an American actress, talk-show host and bon vivant. ... William Bendix (January 14, 1906 - December 14, 1964) was an American film actor. ... Actor Walter Slezak in Born to Kill (1947) Walter Slezak (May 3, 1902 - April 21, 1983) was an Austrian actor and son of famed opera star (Leo Slezak). ... Film actress Mary Anderson in Lifeboat (1944) Mary Anderson (born April 3, 1920 Birmingham, Alabama) was a film and television actress. ... Actor John Hodiak was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1914. ... Henry Hull (1890-1977) was an intense American character actor with a unique voice, most noted for playing the first screen werewolf in Universal Picturess classic Werewolf of London (1935). ... Heather Angel See also Heather Angel (disambiguation) Heather Grace Angel (February 9, 1909 - December 13, 1986) was a British film actress. ... Hume Blake Cronyn, OC (July 18, 1911 – June 15, 2003) was a stage and film actor. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Severn class lifeboat in Poole Harbour, Dorset, England. ...

Plot summary

A group of American and British citizens are stuck in a lifeboat after their ship is sunk by a U-boat. A German survivor (Walter Slezak) who is allowed aboard, after some debate, is later revealed to be the wily Nazi captain of the U-boat. U-boat is also a nickname for some diesel locomotives built by GE; see List of GE locomotives October 1939. ... National Socialism redirects here. ...

Critical reaction

According to Hitchcock's daughter, Patricia, in a 2005 DVD-released documentary, some critics, after initial rave reviews, gave the film poor reviews because of the so-called "positive" portrayal of the German character in the film. (Today, film reviewers think just the opposite. Critics call the film almost an American propaganda film.) Other film critics caught on to the critical damnation and many writers began giving the film poor reviews. 20th Century Fox executives, under pressure, decided to give the film a limited release instead of the wide release most of Hitchcock's films received. Advertising for the film was also reduced, causing the film to have a poor box office when released in 1944. Today, the film is considered a classic. Image File history File linksMetadata Lifeboat2. ... Patricia Hitchcock at age 12 with her famous father. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... DVD (commonly known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... An Australian anti-conscription propaganda poster from World War One U.S. propaganda poster, which warns against civilians sharing information on troop movements (National Archives) The much-imitated 1914 Lord Kitchener Wants You! poster Soviet Propaganda Poster during the Great Patriotic War. ... Twentieth (20th) Century Fox Film Corporation (known from 1935 to 1985 as Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation) is one of the major American film studios. ... 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

Remake

In 1993, the movie was remade as a science fiction TV movie titled Lifepod. Moving the action from a lifeboat to a spaceship's escape capsule, the remake starred Ron Silver, Robert Loggia and CCH Pounder. Silver also directed. 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... In film, a remake is a newer version of a previously released film or a newer version of the source (play, novel, story, etc. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... A television movie (also TV movie, TV-movie, made-for-TV movie, etc. ... Lifepod is a 1993 reworking of the Alfred Hitchcock classic Lifeboat. ... Ron Silver (born July 2, 1946 in New York City) is an American movie and television actor, director, and producer. ... Robert Loggia (b. ... CCH Pounder portrays fictional HUD secretary Deborah OLeary on the serial drama, The West Wing Carol Christine Hilaria Pounder (born December 25, 1952 in Guyana) is a film and television actor. ...

Trivia

• Alfred Hitchcock cameo: Of all Hitchcock's films, this is perhaps the one in which we would least expect to see a Hitchcock cameo since the action takes place entirely on a lifeboat. However, in one scene, one of the characters can be seen reading a newspaper. In the newspaper, an advertisement for Reduco Obesity Slayer is visible which features before and after pictures of Hitchcock's world-famous profile. "Reduco" was also used in Hitchcock's cameo in Rope. Hitchcock later said that he received letters shortly after the film was released asking where they could obtain this miraculous, though fictitious, dieting aid.

• The film holds the world record for smallest set ever used on a film. It has never been beaten.
• When Ms. Anderson asked Hitchcock which was her best side, he replied 'my dear, you're sitting on it.'

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of Alfred Hitchcock cameo appearances. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of Alfred Hitchcock cameo appearances. ... Rope (1948) is an Alfred Hitchcock classic film notable for its single location covered in long takes, many of which appear to be continuous shots. ...

External links

• Lifeboat at the Internet Movie Database