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      Lifeboat

      1944, Drama, 1h 36m

      30 Reviews 5,000+ Ratings

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      Critics Consensus

      Hitchcock proves he can wring suspense from the most confined of settings aboard a raft teeming with vivid personalities in this maritime thriller. Read critic reviews

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      Movie Info

      In this tense Alfred Hitchcock thriller, based on a John Steinbeck novella, American and British civilians who have survived the sinking of their ship by a German submarine struggle to reach land in a crowded lifeboat. When a German officer (Walter Slezak) is rescued from the water, the group allows him to board, but his presence only increases the tensions on the boat. Soon treachery ensues, and the population of the vessel gradually decreases as conflicts come to a head.

      • Genre: Drama

      • Original Language: English

      • Director: Alfred Hitchcock

      • Producer: Kenneth Macgowan

      • Writer: Ben Hecht, John Steinbeck, Jo Swerling

      • Release Date (Theaters):  original

      • Release Date (Streaming):

      • Runtime:

      • Distributor: 20th Century Fox, CBS/Fox, Fox

      • Production Co: 20th Century Fox

      • Sound Mix: Mono

      • Aspect Ratio: 35mm, Flat (1.37:1)

      Cast & Crew

      Tallulah Bankhead
      Mary Anderson
      John Hodiak
      Henry Hull
      Heather Angel
      Hume Cronyn
      Canada Lee
      William Yetter Jr.
      Ben Hecht
      Jo Swerling
      Hugo Friedhofer
      Glen MacWilliams
      Dorothy Spencer
      James Basevi
      Thomas Little
      René Hubert

      Critic Reviews for Lifeboat

      Audience Reviews for Lifeboat

      • Feb 22, 2021
        Come for Tallulah Bankhead stay for the simmering tension and engaging debates around wartime morality.
        Super Reviewer
      • Jul 02, 2016
        One of my favorite Hitchcock films. The drama, all taking place on a lifeboat, is gripping from beginning to end, Hitchcock's direction is top-form and I can't recall any other Hitch film with the emotional power of this movie. The entire cast shines, especially Tallulah Bankhand as the elitist journalist opposite John Hodiak as the blue-collar worker. This is a must-see film for lovers of cinema.
        Super Reviewer
      • Apr 03, 2016
        An engaging chamber movie in which all action takes place inside a lifeboat, impressing us most with its technical achievement (if there was any doubt about Hitchcock's directing skills before it, this film certainly removed it) and Tallulah Bankhead standing out in a great cast.
        Super Reviewer
      • Nov 25, 2013
        One of the better Hitchcocks, Lifeboat gives us a nice claustrophobic feel on a small craft in the middle of the ocean full of persons with mixed motivations. It is a classic setup for psychological tension and the cast finely delivers.
        Super Reviewer

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