Titanic (1953)

An unhappily married couple struggle to deal with their problems while on board the ill-fated ship.

Director:

Jean Negulesco

Writers:

Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch

Stars:

Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner

Won 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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 Healey
Allyn Joslyn	...	Earl Meeker
James Todd	...	Sandy Comstock
Frances Bergen	...	Madeleine Astor
William Johnstone	...	John Jacob Astor

Storyline

Unhappily married and uncomfortable with life among the British upper crust, Julia Sturges takes her two children and boards the Titanic for America. Her husband Richard also arranges passage on the doomed luxury liner in order to let him have custody of their two children. Their problems soon seem minor when the ship hits an iceberg.

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Plot Keywords:

ship captain | maiden voyage | year 1912 | 1910s | iceberg | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Basque French Spanish

Release Date:

18 March 1955 (France)

Also Known As:

Nearer My God to Thee

Filming Locations:

Stage 4, 20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,805,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$4,905,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Working titles for this film were "Nearer My God to Thee" and "Passenger List."

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Goofs

Throughout the sinking, the list increases and decreases between shots instead of methodically increasing. A port-starboard list is also often shown, when, through flooding at the front, the only noticeable tilt would have been bow-stern.

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Quotes

Norman Sturges: Shouldn't I wait and go on the boat with you?
Richard Sturges: The officer put you here, didn't he?
Norman Sturges: Yes, sir.
Richard Sturges: You know the rules: a good soldier obeys orders. Au revoir, my pets.

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Connections

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

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Soundtracks

Viva La Company
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by Robert Wagner and friends

User Reviews

Better Than Cameron

While this movie can't hold a candle to the telling of the real story in "A Night To Remember", it is still much superior to James Cameron's bloated travesty. The original "Titanic" only won one Oscar but it was for a critical category that Cameron couldn't even get nominated for: screenplay. What the original "Titanic" lacks in accuracy it more than makes up for in a better fictional story with a more positive message of how disaster ultimately brings the warring elements of a divided family back together again, and allows them to see life in perspective with death at hand. A far cry from the shallow exercise of self-centeredness that is Rose's story!