"Lifeboat," coming to the University Theatre this weekend, can easily be recommended as one of the finest war films yet produced by Hollywood. Alfred Hitchcock, a man who has been connected with grade A pictures, seemingly which all begin on a fast-moving European express train, has come forth with another hit, but it is an innovation. All the action, and it is a long film, takes place on a lifeboat adrift in the middle Atlantic. No express train.
Tallulah Bankhead probably takes the leading role, but all of the characters, including Canada Lee, who puts in a masterful performance, and William "Smacksie" Bendix of "Wake Island" fame, seem chosen perfectly for their respective roles. With so limited a backdrop as the gray Atlantic, Hitchcock provides his audience with plenty of fast-talking aboard the boat. The arguments presented by the different characters, ranging from the socialism of the black gang to the utter sophistication of a Bankhead as a lady reporter and of a millionaire friend, are likewise honest in their interpretation. Hitchcock has scored again, in a film that is not easily forgotten.
J.G. MEO.
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