 In 1943, his name was above the title on the marquee for "South Pacific", a race-themed drama directed by Lee Strasberg that again was panned by critics but won Lee critical praise.Perhaps Lee's best known film role was in Alfred Hitchcock's "Lifeboat" (1944), in which he played ship’s steward Joe Spencer, one of 8 men and women who survive the sinking of the freighter carrying them from New York to London and are joined in their lifeboat by a survivor of the crew of the U-boat that destroyed their vessel.According to a June 22, 1943, "Hollywood Reporter" news item, Lee was the first actor cast for the film.