A Night to Remember (1958)

An account of the ill-fated maiden voyage of RMS Titanic in 1912.

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writers:

Walter Lord (from the book by), Eric Ambler (screenplay)

Stars:

Kenneth More, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres

Won 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

A successful attempt at an even-handed portrayal of the White Star Line's (later part of Cunard) luxury liner R.M.S. Titanic's sinking from the standpoint of 2nd Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller, himself the most senior of the ill-fated ship's Deck Officers to survive the disaster. (Lightoller later went on to distinguish himself as a line British Naval Officer during the First World War and served as a Senior Naval Staff Officer (convoys) during WWII. Between wars he owned and operated a successful family business producing pleasure craft.) His own survival of the sinking, along with several others, is shown atop one of the liner's two "collapsible" lifeboats which was capsized in floating off the liner as it sank. The picture depicts then known facts (c1958) as reported after the sinking; such as the woeful lack of adequate lifeboats, the ship's band playing true to the very end, White Star's co-owner Bruce Ismay's somewhat less than chivalrous departure from the sinking vessel -...

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Plot Keywords:

titanic | lifeboat | iceberg | unsinkable | north atlantic | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Action | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English Russian German Italian Polish

Release Date:

16 December 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Titanic

Filming Locations:

Great Fosters Hotel, Egham, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$1,680,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rank Organisation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

It was only after seeing this film that James Cameron decided to make Titanic. In fact, Cameron was so taken by this film that he lifted ideas, plot lines, conversations and characters, including a minor character similar to the one played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

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Goofs

In the final scene when Lightoller and Captain Rostron are on the deck of the Carpathia, the horizon in the background is moving up and down to indicate the rocking motion of the ship. However the angle of the shadow cast on their faces by the rope in front of them does not move.

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Quotes

Engineer: [the engineers keep working knowing it is unlikely they will survive] If any of you feel like praying you'd better go ahead. The rest of you can join me in a cup of tea.

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Connections

Referenced in United 93 (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Off to Philadelphia"
(uncredited)
Traditional
Played on violin and sung by Titanic passengers

User Reviews

The Definitive Account of the Titanic, Told Through One of the Best Historical Dramas Ever Made

Based on the Walter Lord novel of the same name, A Night to Remember is far and away the most definitive and honest telling of this famous and world-shaking disaster. Flaws it may have, but these largely revolve around a lack of special effects technology available at the time, and a lack of historical evidence due the fact the wreck had not yet been discovered. Despite these minor quibbles, the film is probably the only one to loyally adhere to telling the truth about what happened that night; and it does so in a most compelling way.

Unlike the smartingly awful James Cameron schlock boiler, ANTR doesn't pack a spectacular special effects punch - but nor does it pack a spectacularly corny and improbable love story concocted with teenagers in mind. The producers of ANTR understood that you didn't need a fictitious love story to heighten the tragedy of that night - the bitter irony of the real events sufficed.

And it is this irony and tragedy that the filmmakers brought out absorbingly well. The comprehensive book by Walter Lord was consulted down to the letter; so the story is told as authentically as possible. With a great script involving mainly real historical characters, perfect casting, and performances that show the actors were engrossed in their roles, the film really does shine. The snappy, economical directing is both proof of the lack of pretensiousness of the producers, as well as being extremely effective in bringing out the meaning in each scene. This makes for intelligent and gripping viewing.

Watch out for the poignant scenes in which the crew attempt to contact the nearby Californian to no avail, and Captain Smith walks to the railing and implores God to help them; the scene where the Captain calls "every man for himself", then walks into the wheelhouse just before it dips underwater; and the gripping scene in which Thomas Andrews (the Titanic's designer), a broken man, waits in the smoking room for the end, determined to go down with his creation. All these scenes are powerful, authentic and sincere; scenes in which all the various emotions aroused by such a disaster are brought out very clearly and movingly.

The special effects, although not so brilliant for today, were fantastic for the times; half the ship was actually constructed for life-size shooting, and a large model was also built, complete with miniature little row boats featuring motorised oars, for the long shots. So the maximum effort was made to make as realistic a depiction of the disaster as possible. And, in fact, the interior scenes of the ship are perfectly authentic, and the audience feels that they are actually aboard the Titanic. Only in the long shots, where a model was used, does the film look noticeably dated.

So by sticking as close as possible to the survivor's accounts featured in the Walter Lord novel, and by avoiding modern cinematic clichés, A Night to Remember remains the only Titanic film to provide a genuine account of the sinking of the great ship that is not marred by superficial Hollywood garbage. It tells the story, as it happened, of an event that changed mankind's attitudes toward his own creations; and as such, it brings to the screen the full impact of what this disaster really meant to the world in, as mentioned, a very compelling, poignant and honest way. It is a true testament to British film making.

As a footnote, many actual survivors of the Titanic were on set as the film was being made; and the musical pig in the lifeboat scenes was the actual one from the real disaster. In addition, the Titanic's fourth officer Boxhall was a technical adviser to the production. And the film's producer was there, as a small child, when the actual Titanic was launched in Belfast. This kind of authenticity makes this movie almost a living documentary.

Intelligent, honest and compelling, A Night to Remember is at least one of the best historical films ever made, and is well worth anybody's time. Everyone is bound to get something out of this movie; and indeed it is a powerhouse for anyone with an interest in the Titanic or just history in general. A totally underrated gem.