To me, this movie is perfection.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I don't care if it's true that passengers in the lifeboat from the sunken ship 'William Brown' in this supposed 'true-story' film were thrown overboard so that some of the other passengers may live. If that's how it happened in real life, then the perpetrators got it DEAD WRONG.They missed the whole point of humanity, and so did the lame 'captain' in this movie, being weakly portrayed here by Tyrone Power. Ironically, this may be his best role since he's directed to be a martyr instead of a smiling hero. Then again, ANYBODY can appear to be a 'good actor' if they just frown the whole time.Nope..... sorry folks. It was an abomination of human spirit that made people sacrifice the lives of others so that 'at least a few others' could live. They got it WRONG, and so did you if you think you have the right to decide who's going to live and who's going to die. Check your brains..... if you have any.

stereo-typical characters and plot, such as honorable injured people, shady passengers, "old school" moralist, a lot of dialog, that waste more water and food energy than actual people would and have done in similar real life situations. and the predictable drama of being in a lifeboat in the open ocean. But, the actuality of the choices made, and grandstanding by all the characters make this a yak fest. and Tyron powers over the top bullying to assert authority is pretty foolish, not much he could do if they refused him, as he just didn't have the mojo to personally back up his decisions, and when it comes to survival, there is no one in charge of others fate, as such real life tales have shown. Has all the typical parts of such a movie, an OK movie, but nothing great.

***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!

I saw this movie twenty years ago and thought what absolute nonsense.Overly melodramatic with the three persons Tyrone Power briefly encounters at the beginning."Have you seen her? Have you seen her?" Said to be based on a true story, I made inquiries back then and was told that there was indeed a ship that sank as quickly as this one, the fictitious Cresent Star, was purported to have done, but there was no incident with an officer passing survivors off of a lifeboat into the water. The officer himself was pure fiction.There is a remake with Martin Sheen about 1975. This one proposes a trial of some sorts afterward.In truth, there was several incidents on the Titanic alone that involved lack of room in lifeboats, one such situation was the lifeboat had standing room only and the survivors appeared to be walking on water as they edge of the boat was that close to the water, but no one was passed over the side.This movie possessed no more thought and insight other than to go "what would you do?" if you were in a similar situation.I couldn't help but notice there would even be an incident with a shoe, which occurred in Hitch's Lifeboat.I think Mai Zetterling threw the shoe overboard.Just a lot of intense, overly melodramatic nonsense.Definitely check out Lifeboat for much greater thought and human development.