Seven Waves Away (1957) Online

From the opening scenes, director Richard Sale makes you aware that this is not going to be a "pretty" film. With the small shot of a simple sea mine floating in the water transforming into a classic 1950s explosion with horrific screams of passengers, Sale again reminds you that this is not going to be a typical Hollywood disaster film. As a reviewer, I must remind those reading that this is not a pretty picture – do not expect your typical film where the heroine always makes good decisions and those that are made do not impact the lives of others. "Seven Waves Away" was a flawless film. It is one of those rare, extremely rare gems that has gone out of print, probably forgotten by most, but when found will provide the most gut-wrenching 97 minutes of cinematic viewing. The plot is simple – a luxury liner is destroyed by a random mine, those surviving are cramped into a lifeboat only equipped to handle 12, 14 at the most, but the dilemma, there are 27 surviving passengers. Weight, rations, sanity, and control are all factors that our leader, Tyrone Powers, must struggle with to save as many lives as possible. With no land for the next 1200 miles, Powers must remain in control, even with death knocking at every door.

"Seven Waves Away" now ranks among one of my favorite films of all times. Why? Director Richard Sale does a phenomenal job directing a strong cast in such a small space. He creates a sense of claustrophobia that is unprecedented in the film industry. This film is the chapter missing from the over-budgeted disaster film "Titanic", which happily everyone shows up safe near the end. This is the human element of disaster, the choices that are made, and the difficulty of survival. This couldn't have happened without those playing their respective roles. Tyrone Powers was more than impressive as the designated master-in-command of this little boat full of scared people. When we first met him, as he assisted in others floating away from the wreckage, we can see that he is going to be a force in this film, and it isn't until he is pushed that we see the full potential of his character. He pushed himself away from any swashbuckling stereotypes that he was better known for, allowed water to be pushed into his face, and gave us a rugged performance that hasn't been seen for a very long time. It was due to Powers' portrayal that the others fell into their own characters as well. Others have argued that each character seemed cliché and at times racist, but to me, they all worked and fell into their roles respectively. The only one I had trouble believing was Mai Zetterling's portrayal of Powers' love interest and nurse. She was cardboard with lines, but worked with the others around her. She was tolerable because the actual story was powerfully near to perfection.

With the characters in place, a strong lead that obviously could control the darkening waters, all we needed to ensure was that there was a strong enough story to accompany these deserved moments. Thankfully, there was. "Seven Waves Away" was one of the tightest scripts that I have witnessed in a very long time. The camera shots were tight, the special effects were 50s style, but perfection in every direction, and the bleak tones were what kept me on the edge of my seat each minute of this film. There is something about a film, especially one made in the 50s that shows unfortunate people just floating out to their death. There is also something about the power of a film that isn't afraid to be honest to itself. "Seven Waves Away" was honest; the horrid nature of Powers saying "women and children don't mean anything anymore" had my heart racing. He was powerful, yet torn all at the same time. He carried a burden none of us would probably be willing to do, and oddly, he was hurt for it. The ending of this film is really what pulled it together for me. The excitement of the crew turned to a wicked shade of turnip at the first signs of possible safety. The honesty of this film is what struck the chord with me. It was powerful and real all at the same time. There wasn't time for cheap CGI or pathetic special effects, this was a human driven film, and it worked because they were all characters we either believed in or have once known. Which would you have been if you were in this boat – one of the strong or one of the weak? This is a conversation that I could have with anyone after viewing this film, and it is conversation that launches this film into my immediate favorites.

Overall, I don't think my words gave this film credit at all. It was, again, one of those rare films that should never go out of print, but remain a staple in our cinematic community. Tyrone Powers is superb, and Richard Sale gives us a story nearly worthy enough of Hitchcock. I still get goose bumps as I think about Powers making the final decision on those that are considered "dead weight". This film carried a heavy theme and wasn't afraid to show it to the world. It is a real film about honest events and the truth behind humanity, it speaks further truth now, and would make for a great re-interpretation if not Hollywood-ized too much. I cannot suggest this film enough. If ever you find yourself with a bit more money in the wallet, this film is the perfect investment for your collection. A beauty from beginning to end.

Grade: ***** out of *****

This was my first viewing of the film and in my humble opinion Ty Power was terrific as a dramatic actor. It really opened my eyes to his capabilities. He had what it takes to project the reality across to us, the viewers. Although I wouldn't want to be in his situation, of deciding on the fate of survivors in a lifeboat, still I felt his decisions were the best that could be done in such an extreme and dire situation. I'm sure no one would want to be in his shoes at that time.

Each actor contributed in their minor roles, - nice to see Stephen Boyd in an earlier role - Lloyd Nolan seen rather briefly, and Mai Zetterling as the nurse who was supportive throughout.

Who can say what each and everyone would be willing to decide on if confronted with the inevitable decision of life and death, or basic survival as in this case. It's certainly something to think about in quiet moments.

I found this film riveting throughout as the dialogue progressed and decisions were made, rightly or wrongly, on people's lives.

It's a remarkably realistic revelation of human nature at its best and worse. A "must see" for those interested in drama, and particularly in Ty Power's development as a serious performer. Well recommended.

Abandon Ship/Seven Waves Away is a very powerful and difficult film to watch, made a little more palatable by the presence of one of film's great matinée idols, Tyrone Power. I'm sorry one of the posters didn't find him sexy. That man oozed sex from every pore of his body - just ask anyone who came within two feet of him, including his costar in this film, Mai Zetterling. Their torrid affair is discussed in vivid, oh so vivid detail in her autobiography - a whole 18-page chapter.

Sex aside, this film comes off as a great deal grittier than Lifeboat. For me, Tallulah Bankhead was so dazzling in Lifeboat, much of the focus was on her, which somehow dissipated a lot of the tragedy. The two films are similar, though, on some plot points. However, due to Bankhead, there was some humor in Lifeboat. Abandon Ship/Seven Waves Away has none.

The film will keep you glued to your seat, but it is not easy to take, as it is unrelenting in its message and harrowing scenes. You will suffer along with each person who is sacrificed so that others may live.

It's great to see Tyrone Power in a meatier role, and I do believe his career would have taken some exciting turns, both on stage and screen, had he lived past the age of 44. His face was a total curse (to him only) and got in the way of serious acting pursuits for years. His performance in Abandon Ship is excellent and stands as one of his best. There are other films where he had a tendency to tighten up, but this wasn't one of them. It's a shame about him - like so many men of that era, he always had a cigarette in his hand; in Power's case, it was suspected he had heart trouble, but he was in denial about it and didn't want it verified. So we're stuck with what work of his we have, and a lot of it is pretty darn good.

** According to Mai Zetterling's book, All Those Tomorrows, the cast sat in a boat floating in a large indoor tank at Shepperton Studios. There were wind and wave machines and a watershoot pouring cold water on the cast. A starting pistol had to be used to start action as there was no way to hear the director. In the end, the whole film was dubbed because no one could hear. Zetterling had a nearly three-year affair with Power, which gets a chapter in her book.

Once seen, never forgotten. Very few films have ever moved into Hitchcock's territory and beaten him, but Seven Waves Away / Abandon Ship is one: ultimately it's a much superior film to Hitchcock's similar Lifeboat. Seven Waves Away was made with impressive conviction and passion by writer-director Richard Sale, who was very active in the 1950s but didn't get another opportunity to direct a feature after this one, despite living 36 more years (what's up with that?). Working with production designer Wilfred Shingleton and art director Raymond Simm and filming almost entirely in a large tank (except perhaps for a few long shots), Sale created an unforgettably immediate atmosphere for a completely harrowing and uncompromising tale of survival at sea under the worst imaginable physical and ethical circumstances.

The cast performed admirably under very trying circumstances (imagine being wet all day, every day); in fact, the miseries of the filming process influenced the acting in a quasi-documentary manner that benefits the picture enormously. Even seen on television, Seven Waves Away is an intensely experiential movie; I can only imagine what it felt like on the large screen.

This was practically Tyrone Power's last hurrah; in his early forties when the movie was filmed, he died of a heart attack on a project shortly thereafter (as his actor-father Tyrone Power Sr. had before him). Power acts with tremendous force and tension as the "captain" here; the dramatic arc of the story is contained entirely within his decision-making process, and for a first-time viewer his key decision (which I will not reveal) will always register as startling because it runs so counter-intuitively to our received sense of ethics. But that is part of what gives Seven Waves Away its wallop.

As gripping and powerful as it is, ABANDON SHIP! is a survival story that's hard to view from the comfort of an armchair or theater seat. The viewer can identify so completely with the daunting task facing the ship's officer (TYRONE POWER) when making life and death decisions with regard to how many people can use the lifeboat when a sunken ship leaves them adrift at sea.

True, there are a few stereotypes among the raft's passengers, but the drama becomes real and forceful due to the strong performances from an excellent cast. MAI ZETTERLING is fine as a nurse with a romantic relationship to Executive Officer Power and STEPHEN BOYD and LLOYD NOLAN are fine as other ship officers caught up in unusual circumstances surrounding their survival at sea.

Not for the squeamish, it has echoes of Hitchcock's LIFEBOAT (but without the humor).

Tyrone Power was at a stage in his career when he wanted more serious roles rather than stay forever fixed in the minds of movie-goers as a swashbuckling star. Here he certainly had his chance to prove his acting skills and he does a splendid job in a grim role, one of his last parts before his premature death from a heart attack at age 45.

In 1946 Tyrone Power managed to start convincing his friend and producer, Darryl Zanuck, to occasionally let him flex his muscles as a straight, serious actor. Zanuck reluctantly agreed, so that Power did THE RAZOR'S EDGE and (more important) NIGHTMARE ALLEY. In the former he struggled to show a man who sought and found spiritual piece in the years following World War I, while his friends went mad in the materialistic hopelessness of Europe and America. In the latter he showed he could play a really nasty, opportunistic heel. But neither film was a blockbuster for Power (THE RAZOR'S EDGE did help push the career of his co-star Clifton Webb). NIGHTMARE ALLEY was a critical success, but a flop at the box office. Zanuck returned Power to his old heroic films, aged a little because he was growing older. As a partial sop his characters had less pleasant sides - his character in PRINCE OF FOXES is a willing tool of Cesare Borgia (Orson Welles) for the first half of the movie. But Power remained the good guy hero.

In the 1950s (after his contract with Fox was completed) Power made more varied films, that showcased the good actor he had become. In particular his tragic biography THE EDDIE DUCHIN STORY, his interesting western RAWHIDE, his shifty defendant in WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION, his physically damaged (and emotionally wounded) hero in THE SUN ALSO RISES, and this film, ABANDON SHIP/SEVEN WAVES AWAY. The story is reset in modern times. It is the story of the sinking, in 1841, of the William Brown - the same shipwreck that is the subject of Henry Hathaway's movie SOULS AT SEA (1937) that starred Gary Cooper, George Raft, and Henry Wilcoxen. Basically the situation is this: you are in the sole floating lifeboat from a ship that has sunk. There are fifty people clinging to it or inside it. But the frail boat can only be assured of floating with twenty or so passengers in it. So, as the surviving officer in the boat you have to decide who shall live and who shall die. Cooper had to make that choice in SOULS AT SEA, and faces trial for murder as a result. Power does the same thing here too - with similar results.

But the handling of the William Brown tragedy in SOULS AT SEA was the conclusion of that film: The situation and it's resolution took all of ten minutes of the total movie. In ABANDON SHIP, Power is in this dreadful moral dilemma for the entire film. The Captain (Lloyd Nolan) dies early on. Power has to pick and choose among all these few survivors as to who should be kept and who is expendable (based on age, physical condition, value to society). He is unable to rely on anyone else - a fact that is brought to his attention not only by the actions of a critical Stephen Boyd at one point, but by the way Mai Zetterling and James Hayter distance themselves from him when the lifeboat is finally picked up. All powerful in his unwanted element while everyone's lives depended on him, he is all alone when the dangers for the survivors pass away.

ABANDON SHIP is a hard film to sit through as it is so bleak - it is the bleakest movie that Powell ever made (even THE EDDIE DUCHIN STORY had an element of hope in it because Eddie's son Peter was there to carry on the family's name and reputation). But it is an example of good acting all around with a thoughtful script. And it demonstrates that Tyrone Power was a mighty dramatic performer when he was given the right material.

Seven Waves Away is the story of ship's officer played by Tyrone Power who to save the people in his charge after a shipwreck has to cast several of them adrift so the bulk can be saved. The only thing that 100% of those who view this harrowing tale is they pray that such a responsibility never falls on them.

I'm not sure it was peace or war time that this story is supposed to have taken place. The ship is an ocean liner on a round the world cruise. But what happens is that it strikes a loose mine floating out in the south Atlantic, 1500 miles from the coast of Africa. I can't believe that people would be taking cruises in the middle of a war nor would any pleasure ships be sailing.

As Tyrone Power describes it, the mine didn't just strike the ship in one spot. It went under the ship and bounced along the bottom and when it exploded, it cut the ship right in half. It was down faster than the Lusitania when it was torpedoed. Less than 10 minutes, no lifeboats launched, no distress signal sent.

The boat they're on is the captain's ship to shore craft. It accommodates nine and twenty seven are in Power's charge as the senior ship's officer. Who's to live and who's to die?

Mai Zetterling is on the boat, she's Power's girl friend, a fact noted with some resentment by others, but she's a nurse. Lloyd Nolan is another officer who sacrifices himself after telling Power what his duty is.

Best performance in the film is that of Moira Lister who's a society woman and a swimmer. She's just full of cutting remarks about the 'brave captain'.

The film lists Ted Richmond as producer, but a silent partner in the venture was Tyrone Power. His performance as the ship's officer with a double Job like burden is excellent. He was well past his youthful days as a romantic idol and it's sad to think he would be dead next year because any number of parts would have opened up for him. This one in fact should have netted him an Oscar nomination.

Seven Waves Away is a film not for the faint hearted.

Some movies ask questions you'd rather not hear, and come up with answers you'd rather not believe are true. This is one of them. People put in an impossible situation, where rising to the best people can be isn't exactly what you think it should be. And of course, people being plain old selfish and short sighted. Perhaps the most interesting point in the movie, spoiler here, is contemplating what they've done--throwing the weak and the sick overboard to assure that most will survive. After the fact, they look for someone to blame, happy that they're alive, yet not wanting to take responsibility for the deeds that were required for them to live.

This is one of those movies that really requires attention--there are some silly stereotypes, like the hard bitten party girl, old before her time with a foppish husband; the stuffy bloated egotistical general, etc. grist from the mill of fifties writers. But Tyrone Power puts in one of his best performances, known more for swashbuckling, he really shows he has some strong acting. He was always a bit underappreciated in his time.

This is a dark movie, best viewed at night, so it will haunt you--not because it's a horror, but because it's true. What people do to survive is always a concept worth exploring, but despite the lack of any gruesome modern effects, or blood or really anything of the sort, this movie is deeply unsettling. When faced with killing the weak, the helpless, the old, the sick, the hurt, in order to live, what would any of us do?

I haven't seen this film in many years, but I have never forgotten it. It proves you can make a harrowing high-seas adventure with life-and-death philosophical overtones on a tiny budget in a tiny set without going overboard (pun intended) like the bloated "Titanic." In some ways, I prefer this gritty, direct film more than Alfred Hitchcock's very similar "Lifeboat." This film has fewer glamorous eccentricities and gets down to the painful, shocking task of sacrificing lives. Tyrone Power might seem miscast as the captain, but this is not a glamor-boy role and as I recall he handles it quite well. If you're in the mood for hard-hitting, serious drama, this is the picture for you.

I liked this much in the way of Hitchcock's better known Lifeboat. Great character study of Tyrone Power in one of his last roles. Movie was shot in a large tank it seems as echos are heard. The only problem I have and I don't know if it's a goof or continuity problem is the fate of the first three characters and the dog on the floating wooden raft at the beginning of the movie. After Alec Holmes(Power)leaves them what happens to them? Otherwise a good flick. I like to point out that three Upstairs Downstairs alumni appear in this movie: Gordon Jackson, David Langton & Clive Morton. Power is great in a character twisting role as the first understanding acting captain and then as the more manaical Ahab like character who sacrifices peoples lives.

CONTAINS SPOILERS

No long vistas of sloping decks under starlit skies or of a sinking ship with rows of frightened people lining the rails. The film opens with a close up of a derelict WWII mine sloshing about in the sea while the sound of a large liner's engines gets louder and louder. A very brief swirl of explosion, fire and smoke set to a score of people screaming as a voice intones "Abandon Ship!" This is followed by a short sequence of some effective images - particularly a baby doll floating face up - with a narrator telling us the rest of the background we need to know for this unusual, unsettling drama about survival to begin.

The story is simply this: a lifeboat is too overcrowded to survive a coming storm and the senior officer must decide unilaterally who to jettison overboard so the rest can have a chance to live. A simple problem with a simple solution - sort of.

Based on events following the loss of the William Brown which departed Liverpool, England on March 13, 1841 for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with 65 passengers and 17 crew, and sank about 250 miles off Newfoundland after colliding with an iceberg on the night of April 19. (The Titanic sank about 300 miles off Newfoundland after colliding with an iceberg on the night of April 15 - 71 years later.)

The film upgrades the ship to a large luxury liner in the mid-20th century and places it in the Pacific or South Atlantic Ocean as opposed to an emigrant vessel in the North Atlantic in the mid-19th century. It also takes many dramatic liberties with details and invents some over-dramatized subplots yet retains the larger events and moral dilemma essentially intact. The time line of the real events is naturally compressed in the film for clarity, but very well paced.

In the actual sinking, two crew members made the decisions about who to sacrifice: the First Mate, Francis Rhodes and a crewman named Alexander William Holmes. Again for clarity, the film sensibly distills these into one character called Alexander Holmes (Tyrone Power) and makes him the senior officer. It also creates a plausible, (but not perfect), scenario for how one person in a crowded lifeboat could alone compel others to throw some overboard. Not that easy a plot device to construct without arming him with a machine gun - the script only allows its 'Alexander Holmes' a pistol which is initially unloaded and a flare gun.

The real Holmes, Rhodes and other survivors eventually reached Philadelphia; Rhodes fled and was never found. Holmes was tried between April 13-23, 1842 in Philadelphia for manslaughter, found guilty and sentenced to a fine of $20.00 and six months in prison. The defense offered an argument of self-preservation, which had some merit hence the relatively light sentence and the jury's recommendation for leniency.

The film ends with the survivors being rescued by a passing ship. At the finale the narrator returns, (nicely book-ending the story), explains that the real Holmes was tried, found guilty, sentenced to only six months due to the unusual circumstances and then asks the viewer to decide for themselves. This isn't Bergman or Campion or Kubrick but even so some serious thought went into this production.

Another IMDb reviewer is very hard on this film, finding the plot absurd and unrealistic. Indeed it does appear fantastic, yet the historical accuracy is unusual for a movie in general and exceptional for 1957 US/UK co-production from Columbia Pictures. Before the invention of radio, ('wireless telegraphy'), in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, survivors of a disabled or sunken ship were pretty much on their own and had no way to call for help - the times when ships could literally "disappear without a trace." (Of course, at the time the movie takes place radio was well established - the script eliminates this inconsistency quite nicely.) The type of case the film is based on wasn't exactly unique: an excellent examination of the issues surrounding survival after shipwreck is "Cannibalism and the Common Law," A.W. Brian Simpson, University of Chicago Press, 1984. The book focuses on Regina v. Dudley & Stephens, the 1884 trial of two seamen for killing and eating the cabin-boy following the loss of the yacht Mignonette.

Technically the film is very well done. The black and white photography is excellent and must have been difficult with so much water everywhere. The script has enough grit and rough edges to give it some real substance. Very good, solid performances by Tyrone Power, Mai Zetterling, Moira Lister, Lloyd Nolan and the rest of the cast. (Perhaps 'heroic' performances is more accurate given how often everyone on screen is soaked either from being immersed shoulders deep or from having spray blown onto them.) Often compared to Hitchcock's Lifeboat, which, I think, is a bit of apples & oranges as the claustrophobic locations are similar but the core plots distinct. Lifeboat is the earlier film and, not surprisingly, even though he had to make it up as he went along Hitchcock captured the claustrophobic feeling somewhat better. But director Richard Sale does a very good job as well and I would guess he probably had Lifeboat memorized before production started on Abandon Ship.

David Langton, Gordon Jackson and Laurence Naismith have small parts: Langton and Jackson would work together again as the characters Richard Belamy and Angus Hudson, respectively, in the outstanding BBC series Upstairs, Downstairs of the early 1970s. Naismith plays the briefly surviving captain and the following year would play the Titanic's captain EJ Smith in A Night to Remember - not a lucky actor when given the command of a celluloid ship.

Not flawless and perhaps a bit dated, but still a rather powerful, disturbing film. If this sort of story appeals, I recommend it very highly.

XYZ

Tyrone Power forsakes his "handsome man" image to star in this film, skillfully made (on a limited budget, I'm sure). The b&w photography is among the best I've ever seen. Supporting characters are slightly over-the-top, but solidly entertaining. The one drawback is when the drama shifts abruptly into documentary-style at the very end. So two points off for the sudden and unwarranted mood change. Could easily have had a sequel -- glad it didn't. An 8!

***SPOILER ALERT*** True story of a shipwreck, due in the film to a WWII German naval mine, that had the ship's-The Crescent Star- second mate Executive Officer Alec Holmes, Tyrone Power, take command after the fatality injured ship's Captain Paul Darrow Laurence Nismith, put him in charge of it's survivors.

Under the most extreme and dangerous circumstances Holmes gathers the some 35 Crescent Star survivors in a lifeboat that can hold no more the 15 people! Stuck in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean some 1,500 miles from the nearest land, the African Continent, Holmes has to now choose those who can help make it to shore and those who are just dead weight and have to be thrown overboard in order for the rest to survive. The movie has a very determined yet tortured and guilt ridden Holmes make the ultimate decision of life or death for those he's been put in charge of on the overcrowded lifeboat. A decision that in the end he'll have to stand trial for and possibly face the death penalty for premeditated murder!

Knowing what he has to do to save the few people on the lifeboat who could survive the long and dangerous, in the teeth of a powerful South Atlantc Ocean storm, trip to Africa Holmes does in fact accomplish his almost impossible mission. That's even after he ends up almost getting killed by one of the lifeboat's passengers who threw a knife in his chest. Not reaching the African coastline Holmes and the surviving passengers were rescued by a British freighter-The British Soldier-just when Holmes himself was about, in him feeling that he's become a burden to those on board, to throw himself overboard!

***SPOILERS***What's so sad and depressing about the ending is that none of the survivors with the exception of the ship's nurse Julie White, Mai Zettering, and one of it's passengers Edith Middleton, Moira Lister, who's husband was one of those who ended up under the waves, were willing to vouch or stand up for the man who was most responsible in saving their lives: Alec Holmes!

Based on the true story of the wreck of the William Brown back in the spring 1841 "Abandon Ship" shows us how people can in many cases desert and leave hanging the very persons who not only saved their lives but risked their own lives in doing it! Even for the self-serving gutless and selfish reasons that they can conjure up in their not too sharp as well non analytical minds.

P.S In the sinking of the William Brown the boat was sunk by an iceberg not naval mine like in the movie based on it. Also the William Brown was not a luxury cruse ship like the Crescent Star was with its passengers not of the upper crust of society. But mostly poor and downtrodden Irish emigrants trying to find a new start in life in America. The only thing that matched both the fictitious Crescent Star and real William Brown was the name of both ships tragic hero Alac Holmes! Who in real life was made a scapegoat for the maritime deserter and made to spend six months behind bars after being convicted for involuntary manslaughter! That for Holmes heroic part in saving some 15 persons who, if it wasn't for his brave and at the same time difficult actions, would have ended up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean!

Most excellent entertaining movie bringing us a cross section of life and real life situations with human nature at work. Some very difficult decisions have to be made in this movie by everyone involved. We are reminded that when not challenged, your opinion or belief just sits there. You may or may not ever know if it bears fruit. But when summoned into action, the we find out what works and what doesn't sometimes much to our own disbelief too. In this movie, the players and even the viewer is forced to confront themselves. Is what we are seeing acted out real and is it plausible? Yes, frighteningly so. Should we all die unnecessary deaths or should some live for the right reasons. What makes you more attractive to "live" and contribute than let's say the other guy? Strangely enough, it is not being judgmental when you see the other persons abilities or lack thereof. Observing what will or wont work is raw reality and then acting on it is raw courage. That is what you will find here. Sometimes the majority is wrong and the minority unsure, but going along to get along is not an option. This movie presents and proves that point. The stage is set well in the beginning and then leads to a point where it roller coasters...then hold on..Popcorm recommended, I roast fresh sunflower seeds and chomp away....Enjoy and do spread the word and may all your decisions be your own

Abandon Ship is my #1 choice of any movie to divide any group of people into argument; a story of true history and unprecedented command decision by a captain, in this case the captain of a lifeboat loaded up with far too many people and isolated 2000 miles from land.

The decisions made by the captain were harsh but not cruel, always with the intended purpose of effectively saving lives, but going against commonly accepted morality.

It's almost impossible to write a longer review of this picture. Many films claim to be mesmerizing; few are. This one fits the description. No matter what your viewpoint, it'll engross you to the core. Seek this one out ASAP.

Even though I thought this film lacked qualities about the true event, I do acknowledge that Tyrone Powers was an actor with an abundant of talent. His ability to capture the viewer and hold the suspense is the reason that this movie is so well enjoyed by many.

The movie's, one and only, set is a small boat on the ocean. This happens as we are told a ship hits an old sea-mine and breaks the keel. Thus, making the ship sinks in minutes with few people surviving. We are not privy to see how the ship sank nor how the characters get into the water as the film begins after the sinking. The first bit of dialog starts as characters are already clinging to floating wreckage.

The rest of the movie all happens in the ocean. Here, Alec Holmes (Powers), will be in charge of a small boat that has way too many people aboard. Holmes makes the decision that some have to go-- and this brings us to the plot of the story.

The entire movie hinges on Power's ability to hold the audience's attention for nearly 90 minutes. Tyrone Powers accomplishes this task by giving a powerful performance. The only drawback of the movie are some of the small scenes that were overplayed for dramatic effect. It happens right at the beginning as two survivors cope with the sinking and lost of love ones. Another is when the radio operator tells that he never sent out a SOS message - and then near the end when one person wants to drown but is saved by others. Otherwise an enjoyable film to watch.

A case study in raw utilitarianism -- "the greatest good for the greatest number." A cruise ship explodes at sea and there are twenty-six survivors who find themselves in, or clinging to, a small boat with minimal provisions, designed to carry only nine passengers.

No distress call was sent out and the boat is adrift in the south Atlantic, fifteen hundred miles from the nearest coast. The captain is aboard the boat but promptly dies, leaving another officer, Tyrone Power, in command.

Well, Power has inherited a mess. The ship had hit a derelict mine that exploded under the keel, killing almost all the other passengers. Some of the survivors are injured or otherwise weakened by age or illness. The engineer, Lloyd Nolan, is mortally wounded. With his last breath he urges Power to get rid of the detritus and keep only the strong aboard, who might have a chance if they row for Africa. Noland dives overboard and drowns himself. Power broods and decides in the end that Nolan was right. There are too many passengers and he decides to abandon the weak.

Nobody is particularly happy about this sort of Darwinism at sea, especially the weak and injured. As is usually the case, everyone wants the greatest good for the greatest number, but everyone wants to be among the greatest number, not the smaller one. At gunpoint, Power orders a half dozen injured passengers overboard to be left behind -- also one effete playwright and his French poodle. There goes the opera singer, then the nuclear physicist. For some strange reason, a beautiful and sarcastic blond who is in her underwear is kept aboard. She can probably row or at least tell funny stories.

Thus lightened, the little boat manages to survive a terrific storm that night. The next day, everyone is grateful to Tyrone Power for having had the courage to dispose of some of the jetsam. A spokesman for the survivors begins to make a formal speech of gratitude to the now-wounded Power. But he's interrupted by the arrival of a freighter that rescues them. The survivors then move away from Power and sit with their backs to him. According to the epilogue, Power was charged with murder and given the minimal sentence.

One of the first things a viewer might notice about the film is that it's so disjointed that it must be "based on a true story." Else why does Power first climb aboard a raft with four others, then leave them and swim to the distant boat. What became of the raft and the people on it? Why is the raft and its passengers IN the movie if it hadn't happened to be there in historic reality? Second, wow, what a lot of familiar faces are in this boat. Not just Power and Nolan, but a lot of British actors and actresses whose faces will be familiar, if not their names.

Third, in certain very general ways the film resembles Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" but is far cruder in its execution. No time here for a semi-comic romance between a communist stoker and a rich socialite. This is all grim, tense, and moves inexorably towards its ambiguous and arguable end. Anyone who finds this story as involving as I do might want to watch Michael Sandel's lecture on The Queen vs. Dudley and Stevens (1884), a case of cannibalism at sea. Can I include a link here?

http://www.justiceharvard.org/2011/03/episode-01/#watch

And it IS a gripping story. Tossing a dignified old opera diva overboard or a fairy playwright is one thing -- but a dog? "They'll be in the hands of God," says Power, but of course it's his hands that are putting them there. There isn't much room for character or development and, as I say, the movie rushes like an express train along its moral path. There is a black crew member aboard and, though he does get to sing a "Negro spiritual," at least he's a complaining pain in the neck most of the time. Power undergoes one transformation -- from not knowing what to do, to a solemn and unbreakable determination to save most of the passengers at the expense of a few of them.

If there's a problem with that transformation it's that after it takes place Power seems to ENJOY his authority over the lives of others. The guy is pitiless. But it's hard to condemn him out of hand. I don't know what I'd have done -- probably melted away under the stress. What would anyone do? I honestly recommend catching Sandel's free lecture, which is anything but intimidating.

"Seven waves away" or "abandon ship!" ,the latter being a more appropriate title ,is a British disaster movie based on real facts ;but a disaster movie which has almost nothing to do with the epics of the seventies.There is no Manicheism ,nothing like the good guys (and the smart young child) who are saved -except for a few exceptions ,for instance when they sacrifice their life-and the villains who get punished .The characters as far as clichés as they can be (one of the ship-wrecked suggest each of them tell his story ,to no avail) .No Hollywood touch except may be in the last final sequences .This is one of Tyrone Power's most important roles (with "the razor's edge" and "nightmare alley")and he reveals himself a great actor here :I dare you to like his skipper (and I dare you to hate him too).After you've seen the movie ,you will not be able to decide if he acted like a hero or a like a monster.A six months sentence may be not enough or might be too much,depending on whom you ask ,or on how YOU perceived the story.After watching it ,you will feel uneasy .

Apart from Tyrone Power ,the cast is uniformly good ;pre-Messala Stephen Boyd particularly gives good support .If you are looking for something like "Poseidon adventure" ,you have to move on.

Like this? try this...

"Le Radeau De La Méduse" Iradj Azimi,1998

Abandon Ship (1957)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Extremely difficult to watch but masterfully made is the best way to sum up this drama that will have your on the edge of your seat from start to finish. A luxury liner strikes a derailed land mine, explodes and sinks in seven seconds. Twenty-seven people survive with Officer Holmes (Tyrone Power) given orders to take control of the lifeboat and see to it that as many people survive as possible. The boat is 1500 miles from land with a major storm coming and the lifeboat is holding at least twelve people too many so Holmes must pick and choose which ones can stay on the top and which must go overboard. This film, based on a true story, is rather hard to watch and I'm sure many people will find it too unpleasant and will eventually turn it off. The film takes place in the water from start to finish and the shaky camera-work and constant throbbing in the water will get some sea sick but those who stick to the movie will find a lot of other things to be disgusted by. I'd say I'm an expert at watching some ugly stuff but even my stomach was turning due to the subject matter here, which is handled in a very raw and realistic way. Having one man play God and pick who gets to live and die is a soul searching cause and will really have you thinking. The movie starts off as your typical disaster pic but instead of action we get thoughts of what we would do in that situation. You'll ask yourself if you could throw a woman overboard to die and if everyone should die or if a select group should have the right to live. A movie fan really has to ask themselves if a masterfully directed movie with great performances is worth watching when the subject matter itself is too ugly. I'm sure many will stay away from the film and I'm really not sure if I'd want to sit through it again but there's no doubt at how well made the thing is. I've always been hit and miss on Power but after seeing his performance here I've turned into an instant fan. He's completely believable in the role and extremely strong in putting his character's thoughts right up there for us to see without having to say a single word. Mai Zetterling, Stephen Boyd, Lloyd Nolan and the rest of the cast are great as well but there's no question as to whose film it is. It's rather amazing that this film isn't better known as many disaster movies remain quite popular today. I'm going to guess the reason this one here has been forgotten is simply because many watching it won't want to recommend it to anyone. I can only imagine how a film like this hit people when it was first released because as movie viewers today we've become quite jaded to violence. There's no real violence here but there's no question that the film and its subject matter are a lot more brutal to watch than any slasher or violence packed action film.

No need to recap the much-repeated plot. I'm not sure which came first— this movie or the "Lifeboat Paradox" used as illustration in many college courses in ethics. What the lifeboat situation sets up so starkly is the clash between two prevalent theories of right and wrong. These two are worth taking a brief look at since their conflict makes up the crux of this intense melodrama.

Ty Power ends up opting for a Utilitarian standard where the aim of correct conduct is to bring about the greatest good for the greatest number of people. This standard okays sacrificing some in order to save others in circumstances where all other alternatives would result in less 'good' for a fewer number of people. Under the desperate circumstances, Power is approximating that standard by sacrificing those least likely to survive in order to save those most likely to survive, while the 'good' to be maximized is individual survival. The classic objection to this theory is that it can justify sacrificing the innocent in order to bring about a 'greater good', whatever good or value that might be. Here the weak and the injured are cast adrift through no fault of their own, and it's this aspect that's so repugnant to ordinary sensibilities, such as the professor's.

But, it's well to keep in mind that a Utilitarian standard is used all the time when making life-and-death decisions in wartime. So-called "collateral damage", for example, amounts to a rough utilitarian calculus applied during bombing campaigns where civilian casualties are inevitable. What's so unnerving in the movie is that unlike bombing campaigns we can put names and faces on those sacrificed, which is why Power is advised not to get too familiar with the others.

This utilitarian theory conflicts with a second theory, the more conventional Egalitarian standard, which holds that all human life is of equal value. On a strict application of equality, no person should be sacrificed for the benefit of another, and when human life is held as the supreme value, some version of pacifism would appear the logical conclusion. Without viewing the film a second time, Stephen Boyd's character, I believe, comes closest to acting out a consistent Egalitarian standard since he refuses to sacrifice another without sacrificing himself.

(In passing—Moira Lister's sardonic young woman appears to admire Power's strength of character simply for his strength and not for whether he's made the morally right decision. Suggesting that strength of character is in some sense more basic than right and wrong points toward the amoralism of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.)

Anyway, the survivors, including Power, begin the ordeal by holding to presumably some conventional form of egalitarianism. But under the pressure of circumstance, they give in to Power's conversion to a utilitarian view of the situation. However, when rescue comes and the pressure is off, they revert back to convention, leaving Power to take the heat and deal with the law. This suggests that Power may end up being something of a martyr to their survival. After all, the law, at least as we proclaim it, reflects an egalitarian standard (everyone is equal before the law), and on that basis Power is guilty in some sense of a crime since he has valued some lives over that of others. Nonetheless, has Power done anything more blameworthy than, say, a bomber pilot who kills x-number of civilians in utilitarian pursuit of the greater good of winning the war. We pin medals on the latter, but the former, we're informed, was jailed for six months.

I suspect the movie is correct in suggesting that under normal circumstances people identify with the more idealistic equality standard. But in severe conditions, we're likely drawn in a more pragmatic utilitarian direction. Nonetheless, the two really do clash at a fairly basic level. Whatever one's opinion on these matters, the film dramatizes the academic issues pretty effectively.

The movie itself offers little relief from the dire predicament the survivors are in. It's pretty much 90 minutes of harrowing grimness. I can't imagine the contents made money, at the same time I think it's a tribute to the producers that the film got made at all. As sheer entertainment, the film's value may be questionable, but as a prompt for getting audiences to think about questions of right and wrong, I believe it succeeds admirably.

A luxury cruiser hits a drifting mine in a most unlucky manner - the mine doesn't explode at once but goes off right under the keel and instantly sinks ther cruiser in seven minutes with more than 1100 passengers - only 37 survive, and alone in the South Atlantic without any S.O.S. having been sent, there will be casualties among them as well, especially when the wind starts blowing and the seas start roaring with thunder and lightning and torrential rains.

The problem is there is only one boat, and those 27 that found it and cling to it are too many, since it was made for nine.

Fortunately there is Tyrone Power to take the lead, assisted by Mai Zetterling as a nurse and the stalwart Moira Lister, who both support him, even when all the others turn their back on him. There are quarrels and fights, there are hysterics and terrible pains from wounds and damages, but the real crisis set in when Tyrone Power as responsible for all their lives has to decide which to sort out when it becomes evident that they will all go down if there is not some culling.

The dilemma is terrible and turns the ordeal into a nightmare, especially when the storm sets in. This is not a pleasant film but rather extremely unpleasant, but it is a terrific drama which really puts your conscience to the test. Who could possibly make right decisions in such a situation? As it is, Tyrone Power lives up the responsibility while all the others wash their hands. Which is better?

As a story and drama realized on the screen it's a strong experience which will last in your mind. It is made very real and is a real conscience test for anyone who is willing to go through with it. All acting parts are superb.

I don't feel that I MUST praise this film just because it's fifty years old and stars Tyrone Power. I just didn't think it was very good. Yes, Power is the leader who "has greatness thrust upon him" and rises to the occasion of making terribly difficult moral decisions for himself and others. But as that struggle is in fact the very essence of the story, which otherwise takes place entirely in a small boat in the middle of the ocean, I think we're entitled to some real drama in its unfolding, however the writers and director might choose to communicate it. Watching Tyrone Power just grit his teeth and forge ahead may have been very sexy to a certain audience, but it was highly unsatisfactory at least to this viewer. The highlight of the film was the supporting cast's performance: several ancillary characters were developed far more than that of the protagonist.

I saw this movie when it came out in 1957. I was nine years old. I have never forgotten it, even 58 years later, and never will. It presses upon the viewer a moral dilemma that cannot be avoided in the circumstances. It was, perhaps, one of those defining events that led me to study philosophy and law.

The acting is superb. The sense of urgency is immediate and present throughout the story. The fear of those selected is palpable, and makes one reflect on the invidious selections going on under the Nazis just twelve years before the film was made. And yet this selection is not made out of animosity but necessity, if necessity can ever be a justification for killing someone.

After a ship hits a mine and sinks, officer Tyrone Power is forced to take command of a lifeboat and decide who gets to live and who gets left behind. His decision to lighten the lifeboat and save those he can is, of course, met with full on rejection by the other survivors. Though featuring a large cast, this is not an all-star disaster movie. It's much more of a nail-biter than anything else. Director Richard Sale's tightly wound film proposes a real moral dilemma (what would YOU do?). Power is perfect for this role...he's very stoic and very commanding and the supporting cast, including Bergman star Mai Zetterling is terrific. Lloyd Nolan is excellent as a fellow officer and Stephen Boyd, in an early role, is very good as one of Power's subordinates who realizes that obedience to authority is not that easy. Moira Lister plays a catty party girl (perhaps a tip of the hat to Bankhead in Hitchock's LIFEBOAT?). An odd, exciting film.

I can imagine that in 1957, people going to see this movie in the theater probably sat there staring at the screen barely blinking and nobody saying a word. It is that intense, even 62 years later. Like the same year's "Twelve Angry Men", this is a film of ethical decision-making, one that while watching may have you rocking with great sobs. It is a story of survival of the fittest, out of necessity, not out of any sort of cruelty. Tyrone Power, nearing the end of his career, gives in my opinion his greatest performance.

Based upon an alleged true story, this is the story of the accidental explosion of a cruise ship heading to Europe from New York due to a floating mine. Tyrone Power is the surviving highest officer of the ship who manages to make it aboard the captain's boat before the captain passes away. The boat only fits nine, with an absolute maximum of twelve, so with twenty on it or hanging on to the side, the debate begins from the very beginning of how power will guide the boat to land. Needless to say, the decision of who will be forced to leave the boat is not an easy one, and when I see storm strikes, it becomes a necessary decision to only a the strongest and leave the ailing to God.

There is a 15-minute segment in this movie that is so intense that if I was in the theater when this first came out I know I would be gripping on to the arms of my chair, possibly drawing blood. The mixture of young and old, weak and strong, living and dying, makes Powers decisions of who will remain on and who will except about a very profound one. in fact, this film raises so many ethical questions that you may be thinking about this for hours after watching it.

The Ensemble is filled with excellent actors, but the standouts are Mai Zetterling as the exploding ship's nurse, Moira Lister as a party girl determined to prove that she's as able as any man aboard, Marie Lohr as an aging opera star who has the wisdom of all of them combined, Lloyd Nolan as an ailing officer whose breakdown stirs Power to make his decision during the storm, and Clive Morton as an imperious Major General who challenges every decision Power makes. while the comparisons to "Lifeboat" and "Titanic" are obvious, this stands out on its own and under the director of it screenwriter, Richard Sale, this ends up being one of the most intense movies about survival ever made and certainly one of the top 10 films of 1957.