Lifeboat

Lifeboat is from 1944, that is, made during the war. It takes place entirely in a lifeboat after a torpedo attack on a British ship. Both the ship and the attacking German U-boat sank. As in John Ford's "Stagecoach", it is a broad selection of different types who manage to struggle aboard the lifeboat. Without a compass they must now try to find their way to the mainland, which is complicated enough in itself, but the castaways also face a devastating storm, scorching sun and illness. Squabbles break out when a German survivor comes aboard. The majority vote to treat him humanely, but the question is whether the enemy does not remain the enemy, even in such an emergency.

It is bold of Hitchcock to dare to make a feature film set in just one location, but there is nothing wrong with the drama. Lifeboat is a propaganda film, but of the very understated kind that merely emphasises the humanity of the Americans and the British and the selfish scheming of the German.