Based on a story by John Steinbeck, LIFEBOAT tells of the desperate struggle for survival of a group of people whose boat was torpedoed by a German U-boat during the Second World War. In this gripping character study about eight diverse survivors, tensions mount after a Nazi is brought aboard. LIFEBOAT is an unusual yet thrilling film from Alfred Hitchcock.

LIFEBOAT is an intense thriller crafted around the psychological drama produced when eight unlikely companions are thrown together by drastic circumstance. The exceptional performances of its ensemble cast make it a classic, one credited with reviving Tallulah Bankhead's career. After a German U-boat torpedoes their ship, several survivors find themselves together in a lifeboat. Each is of a distinctly different background: Tallulah Bankhead's character, the radiant Constance Porter, is a famed fashion writer; others include tycoon Charles Rittenhouse (Henry Hull), marxist seaman John Kovac (John Hodiak), Stanley Garret (Hume Cronyn), a radio operator, a wounded furnace stoker, a nurse, a grieving mother, and a porter. The group is joined by the commander of the German U-boat (Walter Slezak), which was itself sunk in the exchange. Choosing to take him aboard as a gesture of humanity, and for the sake of his seafaring skills, proves to be a fateful decision. Production was done almost entirely in studio, using a range of specialized water sets and props to allow Hitchcock to achieve the camera angles he wanted while employing rear-projected seascapes shot off the coast of Florida.

Hitchcock cameo: Hitch solved the difficult problem of how to make a cameo appearance in the middle of the ocean by appearing in a "before-and-after" diet advertisement in the newspaper Rittenhouse is reading.

Tallulah Bankhead developed pneumonia after hours of filming in wet clothes.

During filming Hitchcock went on a serious diet, reducing his weight from 300 to 200 pounds.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Keep Case
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Mono - English
Stereo - English
Subtitles - English, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Behind the Scenes: "The Making of LIFEBOAT"
Audio Commentary: Drew Casper - Film Professor
Trailers: Original Theatrical Trailer
Text/Photo Galleries:
Stills/Photos

Tallulah Bankhead: American Actress
William Bendix: American Actor
Walter Slezak: American Character Actor
John Hodiak: American Actor
Hume Cronyn: Actor/Screenwriter, Married Jessica Tandy
Canada Lee: American Actor/D. 1952
Mary Anderson: American Actress
Henry Hill: 
Heather Angel: British Actress

Alfred Hitchcock: Director/screenwriter/producer, VERTIGO, THE BIRDS, PSYCHO

Kenneth MacGowan: 

Jo Swerling: Screenwriter/Playwright

Hugo Friedhofer: American Composer/ D. 1981

Dorothy Spencer: Editor

5 stars out of 5 -- "[P]ure cinema, with every shot finding a different angle."
"...Hitchcock broke the champagne bottle on the [liferaft] subgenre....Carries a vigilante chill..." -- Rating: B+
"Based on a Steinbeck novella, the film is both an allegory about the need for unity to combat Nazism and a technological marvel..." -- Grade: B+
4 stars out of 4 -- "LIFEBOAT convinces us completely of its sincerity and urgency."