Oct. 02, 2002 - 3:17 am
man, my movie schedule is really taking a beating this week what with the new job doing tech support for dsl customers, taking classes in the morning, and the brand new gamecube in the house. but i finally fit one in tonight. there's lots of great trivia about this early Hitchcock film.
starring very few people any of us would be familiar with, this is a war drama about a group of people whose ship is sunk at the beginning of the film by a German u-boat. one of the people who is able to make it aboard the lifeboat is actually the German captain of the ship. (i find it rather hard to believe that of all people, the captain would survive.) anyway, they have to deal with all of the normal hardships of being in a small boat lost at sea, and then there's the complexity of having a Nazi who you really don't trust in there with you. sometimes they have to trust him, sometimes they want to throw him overboard for his treachery.
if you weren't aware, Hitchcock loved to include things about bathrooms in his films. just another one of his inside jokes he usually used. probably the best and most memorable one i've seen so far appeared in this film. the male lead has tattoos of a lot of his former girlfriends' initials all over his body. in the center of his chest is a big heart with a banner on it that reads "B.M." that's so absurd it's hilarious. and i doubt most people would notice it unless they had a "toilet" sense of humor like me. well, and i guess like Hitchcock.
another interesting trivia note from the IMDb:
"During filming, several of the crew complained that Tallulah Bankhead was not wearing underwear. This was apparent to them when she climbed in and out of the lifeboat. When told of the situation, director Alfred Hitchcock replied 'I don't know if this is a matter for the costume department or the hairdresser.'"
i thought this film was entertaining, but it didn't completely amaze me. two good things, it had really good cinematography at a couple of points. lots of great use of lighting to make characters and emotional states stand out. and then there's the scene where the lady's baby has died and they're going to bury it at sea. one of the men is saying a prayer and is trying to remember the words. then another male character steps into the shot and takes over the prayer in a very deep but soft voice and he recites it so well from memory. beautifully shot. probably one of the top five movie funerals i can think of.