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

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 30

3:30 AM

TCM

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:

The big model used in the sinking scenes was 35 feet long. The pool in which they filmed was only 15 feet deep, so the model was constructed in sections. As each section sank out of view, they removed it so that it wouldn't hit bottom.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the movie the Titanic is launched by an eminent lady smashing a bottle against the side of the ship in front of a public crowd and announcing "I hereby name this ship the Titanic". In reality this never happened as the owners, the White Star Line never christened their ships. The ship set out on its maiden voyage without any such ceremony taking place, although many people were there simply cheering it on.

Quotes:

Captain Edward J. Smith: [hurrying to the bridge immediately after the collision] What is it?
First Officer William Murdoch: Iceberg sir. I put her hard-a-starboard and reversed the engines, but she was too close.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Question of Faith (2006) (V)

This movie is staggering

I am nothing short of amazed by what the filmmakers pulled off. Before I saw this movie, I tried to write a script that would encompass the whole story of the Titanic. I had stacks of Titanic books scattered around me, a huge map of the Titanic spread out in front of me, and I was overwhelmed by the sheer mountain of anecdotes and facts and technical details and contradictions in survivors' accounts. Reconstructing the event seemed impossible, and finally I abandoned the project by the time I got to about 1:30. Then I saw A Night to Remember, and wouldn't you know, it was exactly what I was trying to do! Kenneth More's portrayal of Lightoller is perfect. Laurence Naismith is heartbreaking as Captain Smith. The factual, historical, and technical detail is so thorough that this may be the most meticulous historical movie ever made -- certainly that I have ever seen. Somehow the stark black-and-white cinematrography is more realistically convincing than James Cameron's full-color treatment, in which things are inexplicably blue. The thing that disappointed me the most about Cameron's film was the lack of reverence for the historical characters. Lightoller, my personal hero, came off as an cowardly twit, Captain Smith as an incompetent fool, Ismay as the force of all evil in the universe, and Benjamin Guggenheim's change into evening ware as an excuse to get drunk! A Night to Remember had that reverence that was so sorely lacking in Cameron's film. Lightoller is portrayed as the hero that he was. Captain Smith is a fine captain who is understandably ovewhelmed by the magnitude of the tragedy facing him. Ismay is irritating, but tries to help out and be a responsible president -- and when he jumps into the lifeboat, well, would any of us do different? And Guggenheim's final stand brings tears to the eyes. The drama of the Carpathia is as exciting as any fictional Hollywood action film. This is the only Titanic movie that addresses the problem of the Californian, and though Lordites will object to the rather anti-Lord portrayal of the events, the facts speak for themselves. If you want to be picky, you can complain that the movie doesn't go into the politics behind building the Olympic and Titanic, or the near-collision with the New York, or lots of the little personal stories, but let's be fair: the movie has two hours to tell the story of, as Walter Lord put it, "the death of a small town." It's simply not possible for a movie, or even a really thick book, to cover everything. I don't think it's possible for a better movie to be made about the Titanic than A Night to Remember.