A Night to Remember (1958)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writers:

Eric Ambler (screenplay)
Walter Lord (book)

Release Date:

16 December 1958 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History

Tagline:

TITANIC... The greatest sea drama in living memory told as it really happened!

Plot:

The Titanic disaster is depicted in straightforward fashion without the addition of fictional subplots.

Plot Keywords:

Titanic | Lifeboat | Iceberg | Disaster | Steerage

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Kenneth More	...	Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller
Ronald Allen	...	Mr. Clarke
Robert Ayres	...	Maj. Arthur Peuchen
Honor Blackman	...	Mrs. Liz Lucas
Anthony Bushell	...	Capt. Arthur Rostron (Carpathia)
John Cairney	...	Mr. Murphy
Jill Dixon	...	Mrs. Clarke
Jane Downs	...	Mrs. Sylvia Lightoller
James Dyrenforth	...	Col. Archibald Gracie
Michael Goodliffe	...	Thomas Andrews
Kenneth Griffith	...	Wireless Operator John 'Jack' Phillips
Harriette Johns	...	Lady Richard
Frank Lawton	...	Chairman J. Bruce Ismay
Richard Leech	...	First Officer William Murdoch
David McCallum	...	Assistant Wireless Operator Harold Bride

Also Known As:

Titanic (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

123 min | Spain:114 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:U (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (video rating)

Filming Locations:

Great Fosters Hotel, Egham, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Rank Organisation, The

Trivia:

After the ship leaves Southampton, and we see the caption April 14, the shots of the Titanic and the passengers on deck were taken from Titanic (1943), a Nazi propaganda film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the film, many shots show promenades in places which were occupied by cabins, such as C-Deck. In the model shots, this is corrected.

Quotes:

Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller: [comes onto Carpathia's bridge] Sir?
Capt. Arthur Rostron: We're at the place now. I thought you'd like to see for yourself.
Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller: Oh yes. Thank you, sir.
Capt. Arthur Rostron: We've only found one body, I'm afraid. The rest must have been carried further on by the current. Of course, we'll go on searching for survivors until we turn back to New York.
Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller: Yes sir. How many...?
Capt. Arthur Rostron: The purser's checked the figures now. We have on board 705 survivors. Several of those in the boats were dead, I'm afraid.
Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller: 1500 lost.
Capt. Arthur Rostron: That's right, yes.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'A Night to Remember' (1993) (TV)

still the best!

I've seen several film versions of the Titanic tragedy (I'm something of a buff--I'm distantly related to Mr. & Mrs. Edwin Kimball, who were 1st class passengers!) "A Night to Remember" is still the best, no contest. The effects are 1958 state-of-the-art, the script was meticulously researched, and the people are actually written and played as 1912 people (James Cameron's cast were a bit too much 1990's to be convincing). Even those characters who are slightly fictionalized (the "lady" who represents--without mentioning--Lady Cosmo Duff-Gordon, and "my dear son" and his family, for examples) behave as their real life counterparts would have in 1912, giving the film a documentary feel without failing to give the viewer people to identify with and care about. This is classic film-making at its finest!