CIFF Student Classic Film: “Lifeboat” (1944)

The Coronado Island Film Festival’s 2025 Student Classic Film Series presents Alfred Hitchcock’s “LIFEBOAT” on Sunday, March 30. The event begins at 1 pm and concludes at 3:45 pm and will be held in the Winn Room of the Coronado Public Library.

The 2025 “War That Shaped Our World” CIFF Student Classic Film Series will honor the 80th Anniversary of the end of WWII by screening legendary director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1944 classic, “Lifeboat.”

Featuring an outstanding ensemble cast, including Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak, William Bendix and Hume Cronin, “Lifeboat” is particularly noteworthy in Hitchcock’s filmography as the first example of the director challenging himself to tell a compelling story cinematically in a purposefully limited setting. The story is told entirely on and around a 36-foot lifeboat adrift at sea. In it, seven American and British survivors of a ship torpedoed and sunk, and a lone German survivor from the U-boat that was sunk while shelling their ship, struggle against the sea, the elements and one another, to stay alive in hope of rescue.

Hitchcock, Hollywood’s “Master of Suspense,” known for his gripping “edge of your seat” thrillers, was the creative force behind more than 50 feature films. “Lifeboat” not only limited its setting but is distinctive in being one of a very few Hitchcock and Hollywood films lacking any musical score. Loosely based on a short story by celebrated author John Steinbeck, “Lifeboat’s” dramatic narrative examines themes of authority, leadership, political culture, honesty, morality, and justice. Playing to audience emotion by cleverly manipulating cinematic limits, Hitchcock creates a tense, complex saga that is today recognized as both a magnificent dramatic and technical achievement. Lifeboat’s story demands both the characters and the audience confront difficult questions for which there are no easy answers. What may be required to fight and win a war? Must we become that which we condemn to do so?”

While most movie lovers are familiar with at least a few of Hitchcock’s more well-known movies, “Lifeboat” is a far too often overlooked classic. Any movie lover interested in the art of cinematic storytelling, the craft of filmmaking, and significant milestones in movie history won’t want to miss this unique opportunity to screen this groundbreaking Alfred Hitchcock classic!

The complete 2025 Student Classic schedule and reservations are available on the CIFF website under the “Year-Round” dropdown tab. All Student Classic Film screenings are free.