Label: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 97 Minutes 13 Seconds (Domestic Version), 99 minutes 47 Seconds (International Version)
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: B&W Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.66:1)
Director: Richard Sale
Cast; Tyrone Power, Mai Zetterling, Lloyd Nolan, Stephen Boyd
Abandon Ship! (1957) aka Seven Waves Away, is a gripping sea thriller that deeply examines the human condition and moral and ethical dilemmas when a group of over two dozen survivors finds themselves on a hopelessly overcrowded lifeboat in the middle of the ocean after their luxury liner is sunk by a drifting water mine. Among the over two dozen survivors are include the gravely injured Captain Darrow (Laurence Naismith, Jason and the Argonauts) who dies shortly after bestowing deck officer Alec Holmes (Tyrone Power, Nightmare Alley) with command of the lifeboat, telling him to save as many people as possible. Also aboard the lifeboat officer Bill McKinley (Stephen Boyd, Ben-Hur), the shaken radioman Jimmy 'Sparks' Clary (John Stratton, Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell ), and the ship’s nurse Julie White (Mai Zetterling, The Witches), who is the girlfriend of Holmes. Another officer, engineer Frank Kelly (Lloyd Nolan, Earthquake) is also mortally wounded, and he recognizes the severity of the situation early on, telling Holmes that the lifeboat was only built to hold nine, that there are too many people on it, that he must "evict some of the tenants", meaning that those who are considered deadweight, which Holmes flat out rejects. He means it, too, realizing that he's not gonna survive he tries to throw himself in the ocean. Some of the notable actors portraying the other survivors on the lifeboat are played by Eddie Byrne (Jack the Ripper), Danny Green (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad), Marie Lohr (Pygmalion), Victor Maddern (Blood of the Vampire), Ferdy Mayne (The Fearless Vampire Killers), Ralph Michael (Dead of Night), and Noel Willman (Kiss of the Vampire), among them a woman with broken ribs, a seaman with broken wrists, and a real wild card, Edith Middleton, played by Moira Lister, a resilient adulteress who sarcastically refers to Holmes as "brave captain" throughout the film, plus a pet dog and a young boy. With over two dozen survivors in or clinging to the sides of the lifeboat it doesn't take long for the cold calculus of the situation to reveal itself to Holmes, when it is revealed that no distress signal was sent before the ship went down, meaning no one is coming to rescue them any time soon. They're 1500 miles off the shore of Africa, and they only have food rations for nine people, the weather is turning bad, and the lifeboat simply cannot sustain over two-dozen people, leading to Holmes having to make some rather icy decisions, following the maritime emergency rule of survival-of-the-fittest, sacrificing the weak for the good of those who have an actual chance of survival. He sets about setting the infirmed, the sick, the wounded and elderly adrift in the ocean, one by one the are given a life preserver, and left to their own devices in the open seas, while those remaining aboard struggle with the choices Holmes is meaning out, with some refusing orders and threatening mutiny, only following his orders when they have a gun pointed at them.
As the cruel circumstances of the dire situation they find themselves caught-up are revealed some take it on the chin and with dignity, while others crumble. The cold-blooded decisions being handed down by Holmes don't sit well, but they know it's the only realistic way any of them are going to survive. Holmes starts out optimistic and positive, doing what he can to keep everyone alive and treat the wounded as best he can with the help of Julie, but when the severity of the situations reveals itself, there's no choice but to lighten the loads of human cargo using a cold calculous that is absolutely unthinkable.
The script is taut, the acting is uniformly excellent, and the cinematography and clever production design really does make you feel like these people are in the middle in the ocean in a most dire situation, forced to do the unthinkable in the name of survival. It's might be from '57, but this does not feel very dated at all, it's sort of timeless, and quite a thrilling watch.
Audio/Video: Abandon Ship! (1957) arrives on 4K Ultra HD from Sony in 2160p UHD framed in 1.66:1 widescreen, with Dolby Vision/HDR10 color-grade. The film looks flawless, the black and white flick showcases tightly knit grain that is nicely resolved, details of dingy clothing soaked with salty sea water, blood and sweat have plenty of detail inthe close-ups, as do the dirty and sunburn faces of the cast. Audio comes by way of English DTS-HD MA 2.0 dual-mono with optional English subtitles. The track is clean and well-balanced, the dialogue and sounds of crashing waves and storms sound just fine, with no hiss or distortion to be found.
This version includes both the Domestic U.S. release and International Cut, the latter carrying the alternate title of Seven Waves Away. I did not detect much of any difference between the two, other than the title treatments, and that the US version epilogue features a brief bit of voice-over narration, while the international version did not.
Extras include a new Audio Commentary with Professor and Film Scholar Jason A. Ney who talks about the cast and crew, but also explores the true-life inspiration of the story from 1841, which I found fascinating and horrific. We also get a Slipcover, featuring the same original movie poster artwork as the wrap, plus a redemption code for a 4K Digital Copy of the film.
Special Features:
- Domestic and International Versions
- Audio Commentary with Professor and Film Scholar Jason A. Ney
- Slipcover
- Digital Copy
Buy it!
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