A Night to Remember (1958)

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:

In the film you see two brief shots of a playroom for the first class children, but the Titanic (and the Olympic) never had such a room. There was however, one on their sister ship, the Britannic.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): A group of passengers ask a steward for directions back to their cabin. He tells them "To the end, turn left". When they get to the end, they turn right.

Quotes:

Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller: [after seeing Joughin step out of a boat to give a lady his place] What's the matter? Aren't you in charge of this boat?
Chief Baker Charles Joughin: Oh, I'm no seaman, sir.
[Indicates another member of the kitchen staff who's now at the helm]
Chief Baker Charles Joughin: Joe can manage just as well. Ladies first, eh sir?
[Lightoller nods approvingly at Joughin's selflessness]

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969)

A film that displays tragedy so well.....

Well what can I say? What can you say? I know what my 16 year old cohorts would say; "it's rubbish, there's no sex and drugs etc". Well to them I say grow up, there's more to film than that. A red-headed friend at school is talking with Channel 4 about doing a documentary on ginger people, and while everyone else says "oh god not another awful waste of disk space", I say good luck. Back to the film, It is brilliant. It puts a lot more emphasis on the crews actions to save that wonderful ship than Camerons and the actor who played Molly "unsinkable" Brown was credible, believable and so what if the designer, Thomas Andrews, had somehow lost his Irish accent. It was awful for me having to watch as he lent so casually by the fireplace, and adjusted the clock to time, only for it to be frozen in that position for all time. And when E J Smith calls for everyman for himself, and the sense of the ship plunging into the abyss beneath everyone, the atmosphere is tense, and you really start siding with characters, I personally sided with Lightoller, who was portrayed as the brave, professional seaman that he was. Cameron's Lightoller; "GET BACK OR I'LL SHOOT YOU ALL LIKE DOGS", was awful and I personally resented that cowardice portray-el of the real hero of the Titanic story. The model is pretty good for its day, and although the smoke stacks are a bit too tall the ship is still identifiable as Titanic, so no need for computer graphics there. The sinking was very well executed and although films don't upset me much, when the old boy with the little kid on the ships fantail are huddled together, with the old man reassuring that he will see his mother in a couple of minutes, that sent a chill through a my body, and I feel really upset as I write this.

In short, its a very good film, and does not resort to stupid love stories, and really is quintessentially British!!!!!!