SummarySeveral survivors of a torpedoed ship find themselves in the same boat with one of the men who sunk it.
Directed By:Alfred Hitchcock
Written By:John Steinbeck, Jo Swerling, Alfred Hitchcock, Ben Hecht
Lifeboat
Metascore
Generally Favorable
78
User score
Generally Favorable
7.7
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
78
77% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
23% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
The suspense is pulse tearing, but Hitchcock, in a movie made explicitly for the war effort, gives it an extra edge. Also, in his favorite and most ingenious cameo role, Hitch solves the problem of appearing in a film with no extras -- the cast consists only of the other shipwreck survivors -- by having himself photographed before and after losing 100 pounds on a special crash diet. [15 Nov 2005, p.C3]
100
Lifeboat is actually much more complicated than it first appears. Its emphasis on moral debates in dialogue can seem a little dry, but Hitchcock’s shifting sympathies guarantee our guilty involvement with the characters until he builds to a climax of intellectual and spiritual excitation.
90
That old master of screen melodrama, Alfred Hitchcock, and Writer John Steinbeck have combined their distinctive talents in a tremendously provocative film—indeed, a surprisingly unique one—titled Lifeboat.
80
Where its successors might interpret or imitate its achievement of making a movie set in a confined space, Hitchcock evokes more important questions - many of them without answers - from his cross-section of characters, and creates an impressive and remarkably prescient perspective on our relationship with the world around us.
75
This is one of [Hitchcock's] significant works, accented by wickedly effective insert shots and a handful of strong performances.
60
The drama is developed without recourse to flashbacks or cutaways, and it is done cleverly and stylishly, though it lacks Hitchcock's usual depth. At times, the film seems on the verge of rising above its frankly propagandistic intentions, but it never really confronts the Darwinian themes built into the material.
50
Ham-handed, wartime Hitchcock.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.7
74% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
26% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Jul 21, 2019
10
Lifeboat is a wonderful movie, one of the best movie about war. Divine direction by Hitch!
May 14, 2025
8
Una película genial, con un tópico bastante inexplorado, pero que el director en anteriores películas ya había coqueteado. Es una de las mejores películas en cuanto se refiere a crear empatía por las personas a bordo. Además, muestra cómo en un primer momento existe una especie de intento por mantener la civilización, pero cuando te encuentras en un momento tan crítico, eso empieza a desaparecer día con día. Ya no eres tan razonable como creías serlo, ni tan serio, ni tan correcto, ni tan charlatán, te muestras vulnerable, tal como eres muy en el fondo. Y es gracioso que cuando se ven salvados, de forma inmediata vuelven otra vez a esa normalidad, a esa máscara que todos llevan consigo. Pero lamentablemente hay cosas que no me cuadran, en especial los romances, en general con la protagonista, el cual es bastante forzado. Y de esa forma hay detalles que se sienten raros. Aun así, es una muy buena película.
Production Company:
- 20th Century Fox
Release Date:Jan 28, 1944
Duration:1 h 37 m
Tagline:Who goes Primitive first...A man...Or a woman...adrift in an open boat ?
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 3 Nominations
Photoplay Awards
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
