Titanic (1953)

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Writers:

Charles Brackett (written by) &
Walter Reisch (written by) ...

Release Date:

21 August 1953 (West Germany)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

TITANIC in Emotion...in Spectacle...in Climax...in Cast!

Plot:

Unhappily married and uncomfortable with life among the British upper crust, Julia Sturges takes her two children and boards the Titanic for America...

Plot Keywords:

Iceberg | Ship | Titanic | Unsinkable Molly Brown | Disaster

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Clifton Webb	...	Richard Ward Sturges
Barbara Stanwyck	...	Julia Sturges
Robert Wagner	...	Gifford Rogers
Audrey Dalton	...	Annette Sturges
Thelma Ritter	...	Maude Young
Brian Aherne	...	Captain E. J. Smith
Richard Basehart	...	George Headley
Allyn Joslyn	...	Earl Meeker
James Todd	...	Sandy Comstock
Frances Bergen	...	Madeleine Astor
William Johnstone	...	John Jacob Astor

Also Known As:

Nearer My God to Thee (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Basque | French | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Canada:PG (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1995) | USA:Approved (PCA #16223) | Germany:6

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

To ensure authenticity, the producers recruited a former captain of the Queen Elizabeth as a technical consultant, and no background music was played during the feature film-the only music heard was that of the musicians aboard the ship.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Titanic was 90 degrees (vertical) when it made its final plunge. In the film, it is 30 degrees (perpendicular or horizontal) when it made its final plunge.

Quotes:

Richard Sturges: [to Annette and Norman in their lifejackets] You two look fat and funny in those, sort of like Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hidden Hollywood: Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Film Vaults (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

The British Grenadiers

A more poignant love story

I enjoyed this version more than James Cameron's magnum opus. The focus of the movie was more on human drama than special effects, though the latter was pretty decent for a 1953 movie. Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck are wonderful as an estranged couple who finally reconcile just before they have to part. I reckon their story is more poignant because it's a greater tragedy to be parted when a couple has history together, as opposed to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's characters, who met aboard the ship. They only seem like they've known each other forever because the movie's so darn long.

I guess it's a matter of which you prefer, plot or effects. It's interesting to note that this Titanic won a screenplay Oscar - its only one - whereas James Cameron's Titanic won 11 Oscars but didn't even get a screenplay nomination. 10/10