Lifeboat
US (1944): Drama/War
A Hitchcock wartime thriller based on a story by John Steinbeck (who made a first attempt at the script; Ben Hecht did some uncredited polishing to Jo Swerling's script). An escape from a torpedoed ship becomes a desperate struggle for survival after the occupants of a lifeboat (5 men and 3 women) take in the captain of the U-boat that preyed upon their ship. The setting made for a difficult production and required three differently configured boats. Hitchcock's cast: Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Hume Cronyn and Canada Lee.
The situation also presented a dilemma for the famous Hitchcock cameo, which occurred as "before" and "after" photos in a newspaper ad for an imaginary weightloss drug, Reduco. He was later besieged with letters asking how to obtain the drug. (amctv.com)
Miss Bankhead contracted pneumonia during production. And, her choice of undergarments (or lack thereof) for the water tank set was the source of one of the finest Hitchcock anecdotes.
3 nominations
· Directing 1944: Alfred Hitchcock
· Writing (Original Story) 1944: John Steinbeck
· Cinematography (Black and White) 1944: Glen MacWilliams