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:

Titanic | Iceberg | Ship | Ship Wreck | Lifeboat

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:

The poem that Julia recites to Gifford is "When I Aas One-and-Twenty", number XIII by A.E. Housman from his book A Shropshire Lad.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The siren which sounds throughout the sinking is purely fictional.

Quotes:

Maude Young: [running to the lifeboat] Give me one of them paddles!

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Voyagers!: Voyagers of the Titanic (#1.15)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

Far Above Cayuga's Waters

Webb and Stanwyck Excel

This film has been overshadowed by the 1997 blockbuster, but this 1953 story of the tragic ocean liner certainly stands tall on its own merits, not the least of which are the star performances by Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck.

Built around the domestic drama of a fictional family, the well-known story of the sinking of the Titanic unfolds in an unrelenting and straightforward fashion. Brian Aherne (as the captain) is the victim of delayed and incorrect information and sails the ship right into the iceberg. We get glimpses of the rich and famous who populated the doomed ship as well as the luscious interiors of the ship.

The special effects are tremendous without taking over the film. The final scenes of the sinking ship are awesome. But the story of innocent passengers takes center stage here. Stanwyck and Webb are a squabbling couple with two children. The girl (Audrey Dalton) is a snob who is charmed by a college boy (Robert Wagner). Thelma Ritter plays a Molly Brown- like character addicted to loud jewelry and cards. Richard Basehart plays a defrocked priest. Allyn Joslyn plays the infamous coward who dresses like a woman to gain a seat on a lifeboat. Oh, and that's Mae Marsh the kid gives his seat to.

The final scenes of Webb and son are superb. An excellent film.