Lifeboat

Rating:
Summary: BANKHEAD -- HITCHCOCK
Review: Tallulah Bankhead was one of the 20th century's best actresses, taking over from Ethel Barrymore as the Toast of Broadway and the London stage. She made few films, and this is her best role. (For a very long time the joke was that Bankhead's stage roles were taken over by and became film hits for Bette Davis. Certainly that's true with Hellman's THE LITTLE FOXES.) Here, one has the opportunity to observe how an actress of supreme talent, handles a role in which everything is shown; in which practically nothing can be hidden. Every would-be actress ought to study not only what she does, but more importantly, what she doesn't do, for as a stage acress par excellence all through her younger years, some movie people thought her too big for the screen. Probably she wasn't, but simply needed a good director. Here, she got the best in the business, and the results show.

Hitchcock was fascinated with women, with actresses, and particularly beautiful ones. And, if Connie's beauty here, is not young, and fresh, it is nevertheless, compelling. She is like a thoroughbred mare among mules and cab nags in an auction pen of chance. She stands out because of her breeding. She has lines. Her costume? A white silk blouse, good nylons, a full-length mink coat, and a diamond bracelet. And, of course, that wonderful mane of hair.

If you study Hitchcock, it would make a wonderful double bill to see LIFEBOAT and STAGE FRIGHT close together. Here, he studies Bankhead; in STAGEFRIGHT he studies Dietrich; two fair-haired actresses of wildly differing personal style, but of exceptional power and interest. And, what they have in common and what both display in these two films, is their unusual, and unusually expressive voices. Bankhead was a famous radio actress for many years, as well as a stage star. Dietrich too was a radio actress, and all her life was a singer and recording artist. The trick in working with an artist with an exceptional voice, is to carefully trim and arrange the dialogue in such a way as best to show off the voice's characteristics.

Admirers of Lesbian Chic might want to imagine what Ann Sheridan, or Barbara Stanwick, Rosalind Russell, Ruth Hussey or Lizabeth Scott or any one of a number of others might have done with this "Contralto" role: You know, the wise-cracking, hard boiled newspaper dame. The role is a Type, very popular during the 30's, and with a lesser actress and a lesser director, we might have gotten a good movie out of the material, but not a black-and-white masterpiece, like this one. After all, what if CASABLANCA had been cast with Ronald Raegan and Heddy Lamarr?

You can watch this movie over and over. A director's tour de force, the trick, I think, is to watch for Hitchcock's cutting sequences; the way he manipulated the editing around the actors' speeches within the episodes. Extremely clever. So good, the seams are nearly invisible.

Its a great propaganda movie, but of an unusual kind; far subtler than most. Its a great Camp, or G/L movie, but again, far subtler than most. Its a great Murder movie too, etc., etc...

Rating:
Summary: BANKHEAD -- HITCHCOCK
Review: Tallulah Bankhead was one of the 20th century's best actresses, taking over from Ethel Barrymore as the Toast of Broadway and the London stage. She made few films, and this is her best role. (For a very long time the joke was that Bankhead's stage roles were taken over by and became film hits for Bette Davis. Certainly that's true with Hellman's THE LITTLE FOXES.) Here, one has the opportunity to observe how an actress of supreme talent, handles a role in which everything is shown; in which practically nothing can be hidden. Every would-be actress ought to study not only what she does, but more importantly, what she doesn't do, for as a stage acress par excellence all through her younger years, some movie people thought her too big for the screen. Probably she wasn't, but simply needed a good director. Here, she got the best in the business, and the results show.

Hitchcock was fascinated with women, with actresses, and particularly beautiful ones. And, if Connie's beauty here, is not young, and fresh, it is nevertheless, compelling. She is like a thoroughbred mare among mules and cab nags in an auction pen of chance. She stands out because of her breeding. She has lines. Her costume? A white silk blouse, good nylons, a full-length mink coat, and a diamond bracelet. And, of course, that wonderful mane of hair.

If you study Hitchcock, it would make a wonderful double bill to see LIFEBOAT and STAGE FRIGHT close together. Here, he studies Bankhead; in STAGEFRIGHT he studies Dietrich; two fair-haired actresses of wildly differing personal style, but of exceptional power and interest. And, what they have in common and what both display in these two films, is their unusual, and unusually expressive voices. Bankhead was a famous radio actress for many years, as well as a stage star. Dietrich too was a radio actress, and all her life was a singer and recording artist. The trick in working with an artist with an exceptional voice, is to carefully trim and arrange the dialogue in such a way as best to show off the voice's characteristics.

Admirers of Lesbian Chic might want to imagine what Ann Sheridan, or Barbara Stanwick, Rosalind Russell, Ruth Hussey or Lizabeth Scott or any one of a number of others might have done with this "Contralto" role: You know, the wise-cracking, hard boiled newspaper dame. The role is a Type, very popular during the 30's, and with a lesser actress and a lesser director, we might have gotten a good movie out of the material, but not a black-and-white masterpiece, like this one. After all, what if CASABLANCA had been cast with Ronald Raegan and Heddy Lamarr?

You can watch this movie over and over. A director's tour de force, the trick, I think, is to watch for Hitchcock's cutting sequences; the way he manipulated the editing around the actors' speeches within the episodes. Extremely clever. So good, the seams are nearly invisible.

Its a great propaganda movie, but of an unusual kind; far subtler than most. Its a great Camp, or G/L movie, but again, far subtler than most. Its a great Murder movie too, etc., etc...

Rating:
Summary: LEGENDARY TALLULAH'S FINEST FILM
Review: Tallulah Bankhead was the toast of London in the twenties where she was loved for her acting and rather risque and unpredictable "bad-girl" personality. Bankhead went to Hollywood in 1931 to make films and they were not popular with the public; she then went back to the stage. "Lifeboat" remains her finest hour before the cameras; in this film you can get some idea of what all the fuss was about. This is a study of nine people surviving together on a lifeboat in the middle of nowhere. There are some amazing scenes in this claustrophobic setting and the actors milk their roles for all they're worth. Bankhead loathed Slezak and called him degrading ethnic names during the filming;Hitchcock's trademark appearance is in a newspaper ad for "Reduco".

Rating:
Summary: Pearls Before Swine!!
Review: Tallulah takes On the Nazis! Not only one of the most intelligent & entertaining films ever, but a camp tour de force for "dahling" Tallu, who gives one of the most incredible performances in movie history. Right up there with Gloria in "Sunset Boulevard", & Bette in "All About Eve". She is DEFINATLEY the male lead in drag, despite occasional tears. She whirls through the movie with such intelligence and brilliance, in this, her only major film role. A shame, but what a record this film leaves. One feels director Alfred Hitchcock did not intend for Tallulah's role to be the "star" role, she was known as a brilliant but sometimes unreliable (LOVED to party) stage actress whose peak was reached in the 1920's and '30's. But, she took it and made it one, she IS the star!! Complimented with an incredible ensamble cast, she leads to the films final line.... her close up, sweeping music!!....I DEFY you not to get goose bumps!! A PERFECT movie, written by John Steinbeck,... with one of the greatest actresses who ever lived.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Hitch, Classic Cast
Review: Talullah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak and Hume Cronyn shine in this Hitchcock classic. Cronyn was on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show years ago and told a story of how they filmed the movie on a soundstage, with the lifeboat suspended several feet in the air. The cast had to climb a ladder each time they had to get in the boat. It soon became apparent to everyone that Ms. Bankhead did NOT wear underwear. Cronyn and Hitchcock were standing at the bottom of the ladder as Bankhead climbed up. Cronyn says, "Maybe you should call wardrobe." Hitch looks up and says "Perhaps I should call the hairstylist". :)

Rating:
Summary: Incredible Story!
Review: This is an incredible story about the ordeal of a group of survivors of a torpedoed ship. The acting by Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, and Hume Cronyn is marvelous. This is one of my all-time favorite movies, right up there with Casablanca.--Diana Dell, author, "A Saigon Party: And Other Vietnam War Short Stories."

Rating:
Summary: A great drama!
Review: This movie is a great drama. It has wonderful actors and a good
setting. It also has a mystery. This movie is a movie that you should see.

Rating:
Summary: HITCHCOCK AT HIS VERY BEST
Review: This movie shows the greatness of Alfred Hitchcock.To take on such a project(a movie taking place entirely on a lifeboat) and succeed is amazing. This is definatly some of Hitchcock's best. Tallulah Bankhead is also at her best. This lesser known Hitchcock movie should definatly be WATCHED

Rating:
Summary: From Another World
Review: To those only acquainted with the later Hitchcock work of the 50's on, this little gem is a new exposure and an education.

A case could almost be made that this film was made for the Germans! Certainly, Slezak's Nazi captain was the most sane and rational of the film's characters. The histrionics of some of the other members, particularly Hodiak's bigotry, only confirm this observation. However, Ms. Bankhead's part is the central one, and she plays this for all it is worth. It is only a short while after the beginning of this film that the concept that it is made on only one movie set recedes. As with a one-act play, with the proper cast one set is all that's necessary. Of course, as with so many classic films, it's impossible to visualize any modern actors capable of duplicating these performances.

I look forward to purchasing this film on DVD when available.

Rating:
Summary: From Another World
Review: To those only acquainted with the later Hitchcock work of the 50's on, this little gem is a new exposure and an education.

A case could almost be made that this film was made for the Germans! Certainly, Slezak's Nazi captain was the most sane and rational of the film's characters. The histrionics of some of the other members, particularly Hodiak's bigotry, only confirm this observation. However, Ms. Bankhead's part is the central one, and she plays this for all it is worth. It is only a short while after the beginning of this film that the concept that it is made on only one movie set recedes. As with a one-act play, with the proper cast one set is all that's necessary. Of course, as with so many classic films, it's impossible to visualize any modern actors capable of duplicating these performances.

I look forward to purchasing this film on DVD when available.