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I have a burning need to know stuff and I love asking awkward questions.

Monday, December 07, 2015


My Favourite Movies: A Night to Remember (1958)

After completing an excellent book on the sinking of the Titanic I felt the urge to re-watch this classic British movie. Based largely on the classic book by Walter Lord and advised by some of the survivors this tells a pretty accurate account of what happened on that fateful night in 1912.


Of course being the kind of movie it was I can easily lay the blame of liking it so much at the feet of my father who introduced me to it and to one of his (and later my) favourite actors – Kenneth More who played 2nd Officer Lightoller. The story is, of course, about the ship, its maiden voyage across the Atlantic towards New York, the iceberg (dead ahead!), the inevitable foundering and great loss of life (not equalled for 70 years). The shock that reverberated across the world matched the hubris – so it’s said – of man claiming his conquest of nature by building an ‘unsinkable’ ship. Such a claim is made throughout the film though (I believe) was barely mentioned in real life before the voyage itself.


For those who have seen the updated 1997 James Cameron version this is, in my opinion at least, much better and manages to get a good story across without the DiCaprio/Winslet love story. It’s a tale of rich and poor thrown together (kind of) in a tragedy much bigger than all of them. The First Class passengers are aloof – indeed at times seemingly oblivious to the fact that most of them are going to die – the Second Class try to behave like their betters and the Third Class (incorrectly called ‘Steerage’ in the movie) party and then panic like the cannon fodder they’ll become in just two short years. I did find it interesting that the lifeboats shown in the film are all pretty full (of women and children mainly) whilst in real life many of them where only 2/3 full or even less. There’s also an interesting scene where More/Lightoller stops a 13 year old boy getting into a lifeboat and then relenting. In real life the boy was shamed into staying on board, despite their being room, and told to ‘behave like a man’ subsequently dying like one. Maybe that kind of reality was too much for 1950’s audiences and would have tarnished both the reputation of the British merchant marine and the international star that was Kenneth More.


Even after seeing this movie many times over the years it still managed to bring a lump to my throat when the captain of the Carpathia – the hero of the hour played by Anthony Bushell (pictured above on the left) – first heard Titanic’s distress call (one of the earliest examples of SOS) and rushed to her aid at top speed despite the ever present danger of ice. Then, of course, was the villain of the piece (no, not the iceberg) the captain of the Californian who apparently ignored all signals from the Titanic despite the fact that she was only 10 or so miles away and could’ve probably saved everyone on board if he’d been paying attention. Apparently Lightoller hated him until his dying day and vilified him at every opportunity.


The slow death of the great ship is handled brilliantly from the shock of impact to the chief designers sad shaking of his head when he calmly reports that she will sink in 90 minutes. Captain Smith, again played superbly by Laurence Naismith, looked suitably shocked and then stoic as he considered the fact that without enough lifeboats and with the Carpathia four hours away at top speed that over 1,000 people are going to die on his watch. Overall this is still a powerfully emotional film – despite the lack of emotion on screen for most of the time. I think that’s one of the things that increases the impact. These people are finding their situation hard to credit (one reason why so many stayed on board – they simply couldn’t believe that it would sink) and yet giving up their loved ones knowing in their heart of hearts that they’re going to die. It’s very affective and effective. If you haven’t seen this classic of the British cinema I recommend that you do especially if you have an interest in the actually event – oh, and look out for original footage of both the Titanic and the Carpathia.      

5 comments:

Stephen said...

I started watching this on YouTube once upon a time, but it sounds like I need to get the DVD, especially if it's as well done as you say.


Hadn't the California shut down its wireless?

I wonder if anyone has ever penned an alt-history novel in which the Titanic survives and is blown apart with a similar loss of of life in 1916/1917 or so, replacing the Lusitania... (In real life, the Titanic took a few hundred more than the Lusitania.)

CyberKitten said...

I'd definitely recommend the DVD. I think you'd like it. There's a pretty good documentary on my version too including an interview with Walter Lord.

The Californian did indeed have it's wireless switched off. 24 hour cover wasn't required before Titanic.

I have an alt-history Titanic book in my TBR pile (one of them anyway). I think it's about a Time Traveler who tries to ensure that it sinks thereby saving the world a whole mess of pain later on....

CyberKitten said...

Oh, I forgot to say: I've just finished the first of three Titanic books which was essentially an overview of the disaster. Next up is what happened to the survivors and finishing off with finding the wreck.

Stephen said...

Was that "Company of the Dead"?

CyberKitten said...

The Alt-History is indeed "Company of the Dead". It's not in any of my immediate TBR piles so it'll be a while until I get around to reading it!