once see and never forget . very few film have ever move into hitchcock territory and beat him and but seven wave away or abandon ship be one represent ultimately it a much superior film to hitchcock similar lifeboat . seven wave away be make with impressive conviction and passion by writer director richard sale and who be very active in the 1950s but do not get another opportunity to direct a feature after this one and despite live 36 more year ( what up with that . ) . work with production designer wilfred shingleton and art director raymond simm and film almost entirely in a large tank ( except perhaps for a few long shot ) and sale create an unforgettably immediate atmosphere for a completely harrowing and uncompromising tale of survival at sea under the bad imaginable physical and ethical circumstance . the cast perform admirably under very try circumstance ( imagine be wet all day and every day ) while in fact and the misery of the filming process influence the acting in a quasi documentary manner that benefit the picture enormously . even see on television and seven wave away be an intensely experiential movie while i can only imagine what it felt like on the large screen . this be practically tyrone power last hurrah while in his early forty when the movie be film and he die of a heart attack on a project shortly thereafter ( a his actor father tyrone power sr. have before him ) . power act with tremendous force and tension a the captain here while the dramatic arc of the story be contain entirely within his decision making process and and for a first time viewer his key decision ( which i will not reveal ) will always register a startling because it run so counter intuitively to our received sense of ethic . but that be part of what give seven wave away it wallop .