Lifeboat (1944) Laserdisc

Lifeboat (1944) Laserdisc

Lifeboat (1944) is a tense, character-driven survival drama directed by Alfred Hitchcock, set entirely aboard a lifeboat adrift in the North Atlantic after a freighter and its attacking German U-boat are both sunk. The eclectic group of nine survivors—from different social and national backgrounds—includes a sharp-witted American journalist Connie Porter (Tallulah Bankhead), a pragmatic wounded sailor Gus Smith (William Bendix), a bossy industrialist Charles Rittenhouse (Henry Hull), a sympathetic steward Joe (Canada Lee), and others. Tension multiplies when they rescue Willy (Walter Slezak), the German U-boat captain, whose navigation skills become essential but whose motives remain suspicious. As their tiny world unravels—marked by a heartbreaking child’s death, a harrowing amputation, and moral conflicts—the group must learn to cooperate or succumb. The tight setting amplifies Hitchcock’s mastery of suspense and moral ambiguity, featuring standout performances and a sharp allegory on wartime unity.