Rub a Dub Dub, a Bunch of Dopes In a Tub

Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat has everything you'd want in a movie - Nazis, public drunkenness, a rich woman losing all her possessions, amputation and 'splosions so why isn't it more enjoyable?

I don't know what your problem is. I give it an 8 - Joyous Delight.

Joyous? It was a boat full of miserable people trying to survive after their boat was blown up. I saw no joy in it. Plus, some of the acting was extremely hammy. And what was the deal with Hume Cronyn's voice? Was that an accent or was that his regular voice? Is that how they speak in Connecticut?

It was like the gentle call of a songbird outside my window in the morning.

I just thought the whole plot was a bit too contrived. It was probably pretty shocking and thought provoking in 1944 but I was less than impressed.

So did you completely hate it?

No, it was fine. A perfectly enjoyable movie but probably better suited to a Sunday afternoon viewing on tv while drifting in and out of napland. It's certainly not in my top 10 Hitchcock films.

But what about that Talulah Bankhead? What a fox!

She looked old and haggard to me. Everyone on the boat seemed to have a crush on her, even the baby, and that mystefied me. She also looked much older than her 42 years but I guess that makes sense given her insane personal life. I was reading about her on Wikipedia and the woman was reportedly a voracious lover regardless of gender and seemed to cause a stir wherever she went, sometimes by doing an underwearless cartwheel in public while wearing a skirt. Here's my favorite anecdote from the site:

"In 1933, Bankhead nearly died following a five-hour emergency hysterectomy for an advanced case of gonorrhea, which she claimed she contracted from Gary Cooper. Only 70 pounds when she left the hospital, she stoically said to her doctor, 'Don't think this has taught me a lesson!'"

She's my new hero. Can I change my rating to a 9?