more than one director have realize that the perfect plausible way of confine your character to provide suspense be to put them in a boat a mini world of people and unable to get away from each other and isolate in the vast impersonal ocean with peril of it own . the film be set in world war ii an allied ship be sink by a german u boat and a mixed bunch of survivor get away in the lifeboat the enemy submarine be also sink by the explosion and it nazi commander join the survivor in their lifeboat at first they be prepare to throw him overboard but it be his skill which save their little craft and gradually and while the ally be tear by dissension and selfishness and divide aim and view and his single minded strength of purpose and his disciplined ability take command unknown to the others and he be steal their ration to keep up his strength and and direct them towards a rendez vous with a german supply ship tallulah bankhead and incidentally and dominate the acting of the whole fine cast except possibly walter slezak and a the nazi a the woman journalist and keep close to her material possession and and only emotionally more friendly and she give a performance with the power and the pain of a thirty foot salt wave it be ironic that the film propaganda message and which i believe weaken and over simplify it and be widely misunderstand at the time hitchcock intend to show at that stage of the war that the democracy should settle their difference and unite force against the common enemy and who be discipline and strong and and know just where he be go instead and a lot of people attack the film for show the strong character a the nazi . lifeboat be an interesting thriller from the mount tension of the interplay of conflict character and trap and isolate in the plank of their little boat .