Besides Hitchcock’s extensive wisdom of the political and social world, he also illustrates a brilliant mind for the human psyche.  Both the social and psychological world in which people coexists subtly materialize in his films through an intricate web of truths and lies, as emotions efficiently cloud the thoughts of the characters.  It is a notion that emerges exceptionally well in Lifeboat, where Hitchcock allows the audience to submerge themselves in a tale thick of psychological undercurrents that feeds on the fear spawned in the social and political world of the 1940s.

It begins with a promise of horror and fear that enters the audience, as the music screams chillingly out of the speakers.  The opening music serves the great purpose of keying the audience into the severity of the catastrophe in the beginning, and to what dreadfulness waits.  Through the opening credits the black smoke races out of a ship’s chimney, as the steam whistle uninterruptedly shrieks its alarm.  Symbolically, it might warn the audience of dangerous times ahead while it more directly implies that the near future in the film will provide danger and suspense.

Hitchcock was also a genius at applying symbolical items within the mise-en-scene that the audience understood.  Lifeboat is no exception even though the whole film takes place in the small lifeboat.  On the contrary, the opening montage offers a clear indication of how clever Hitchcock was in using items to bring out feelings and moods within the audience.  The opening displays the aftermath of a Nazi torpedo that has sunk a delivery vessel, but in the process faced its own doom.  Through a few, but strategically placed items floating in the water Hitchcock says exactly what he wants, and more.  The symbolical value of the mise-en-scene continues to enhance the cinematic experience throughout the film.

Ironically, Hitchcock allows the audience first to meet greedy reporter Constance “Connie” Porter (Tallulah Bankhead) floating along in the lifeboat.  The fog wraps around her like a hidden secret while she notices that her pantyhose have a run in them instead of trying to find survivors.  In a distance, she hears the voice of John Kovak (John Hodiak) calling for help while swimming to the safety of the lifeboat.  Callously, the audience learns about Connie’s persona, as she in feverish joy explains how she documented the passengers’ fierce struggle for survival while the ship was sinking.  It is not until Kovak begins to search for other survivors that the lifeboat begins to fill up with people.  However, Kovak is not without flaws, which slowly begin to emerge through his inferiority complex.

Amidst the other passengers that join the lifeboat the audience will learn about a class struggle, love story, the tragic loss of a child, deceit, and war between nations, as one of the survivors turns out to be a Nazi sailor.  These side plots enhance the complexity of story, as the struggle for survival continues.  Within the complexity of the story, fear brews stronger, as it also allows the monster of each individual to emerge regardless of nationality.  However, a notion that Hitchcock cleverly presents is the notion of reasonable fear depending on situation, as the fear of death shadows the thoughts of the survivors in the lifeboat.  Yet, the human side of each character also presents some interesting notions in regards to understanding and indifference.  Through the many different characters the audience will find at least one person they can identify with, which allows the viewer to take long and hard look into their own character and discover our own shortcomings and strengths.

Hitchcock concocted a masterful thriller while World War II still ran hot in Europe and Asia.  In fear to how the audience might have reacted to the film, the studio only gave the film a limited release, which gave it poor box office earnings.  Regardless of its earnings, it is a great film providing the audience with a meaningful cinematic experience with suspense in which the audience can ponder the notion of reasonable fear.

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