Lifeboat was controversial at the time of its release for its perceived sympathetic portrayal of a German during the height of World War II, but it has been rightly re-appreciated as one of Hitchcock's most engaging and thoughtful films.
Based on a John Steinbeck novella, Lifeboat is the story of a group of British and American civilians who end up on a lifeboat after a German submarine sinks their ship. Tensions rise when a German officer is discovered in the water, as the group allows him onboard but remain skeptical of harboring someone who just attacked them. Lifeboat was controversial at the time of its release for its perceived sympathetic portrayal of a German during the height of World War II, but it has been rightly re-appreciated as one of Hitchcock's most engaging and thoughtful films.