Abandon Ship (AKA Seven Waves Away)
Directed by Richard Sale
Written by Richard Sale
1957/USA/UK
Copa Productions
First viewing/YouTube
Edith Middleton: Why are the wicked always so strong?
This “lifeboat” type movie goes a little overboard.
A ship is sunk by a derelict mine. Ship’s officer Alec Holmes finds himself and a few others clinging to some debris. He swims off to rescue nurse Julie White (Mai Zetterling). They are attacked by sharks and end up on the captain’s skiff with an assortment of passengers and crew. Many of these people, including the captain, are grievously injured. The skiff is designed and equipped to hold nine people. Twenty-seven people are on board or clinging to the side.
With his dying breath, the captain puts Holmes in command. He is immediately confronted by a barrage of demands and complaints and must immediately establish himself as the unquestioned authority. Fortunately, he has a couple of pistols at his disposal. Eventually, the radio man reveals that he did not get a chance to send an SOS. Some of the passengers and a wounded fellow crew member (Lloyd Nolan) advise Holmes to sacrifice some of the occupants so that at least some can survive. Holmes initially resists this but a storm makes him question that decision. Steven Boyd, Kenneth Moore, Finlay Currie and Gordon Jackson share the boat.
The movie has a motley cast of characters and setting very reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Lifeboat. The film presents the interesting moral question of whether some should be sacrified for the good of the group and, if so, who is the most dispensable. The script is good at drawing a large number of well-defined characters. Unfortunately, the acting and dialogue seemed too melodramatic for my taste. This is a very highly rated film, though, and others probably will enjoy it.
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