We continue our reviews that focus on Batman actors as part of our Amazing World of Radio Summer Series, focusing on their old-time radio work. This week, we take a look at Tallulah Bankhead’s starring role in the 1944 film Lifeboat.
Eight American and British citizens are survivors of a passenger ship sunk by a Nazi U-boat. The first to arrive is famed photographer Connie Porter (Tallulah Bankhead), and she is joined by others, including an engine room crewman (John Hodiak), a wealthy industrialist (Henry Hull), the ship’s steward (Canada Lee), a nurse (Mary Anderson), and a mother (Heather Angel) who lost her baby. The cast is rounded out by actors Gus Smith and Hume Cronyn. They then pull up a U-boat crew survivor (Walter Sleazak), who has plans of his own.
While set in the middle of the ocean, the action is confined to the titular lifeboat, which both gives the film a claustrophobic feel, and a resemblance to a well-done stage play. This effect is furthered by director Alfred Hitchcock’s decision to forgo the orchestral score during the body of the film, with the only music coming from characters singing accompanied by another character on a flute.
That the film feels like a stage play makes it a natural vehicle for Tallulah Bankhead, one of the greatest stage actresses of her era, making a relatively rare film appearance. She gives a performance that shows a nice range. While by default, Connie is a very cynical character, there are softer and lighter moments, as well as a few more extreme moments. At each point, Bankhead is flawless.
Another stand-out performance was William Bendix, best known for his comedy roles, particularly his radio/television work in The Life of Riley. Bendix shows some real dramatic chops in his performance as Gus. Walter Sleazak also portrays a surprisingly complex Nazi character, who is eerily likable for most of his time on screen.
The film is smartly written, and while it’s got a pro-Allies propaganda message, it’s subtler than many of its contemporaries, which caused major controversy at the time. While different from many other Hitchcock vehicles, it still has many hallmarks of the great director’s other work. The limits on budget imposed by wartime hardship are apparent but it makes the most of what it has.
With strong performances all around, this remains an entertaining and engrossing war-time drama even 80 years later.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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