A Night to Remember (film)
Encyclopedia
A Night to Remember is a 1958 docudrama
film adaptation of Walter Lord
's book of the same name, recounting the final night of the RMS Titanic. It was adapted by Eric Ambler
, directed by Roy Ward Baker
, and filmed in the United Kingdom
. The production team, supervised by producer William MacQuitty
, used blueprints of the ship to accurately create the sets, while Titanic fourth officer Joseph Boxhall
and ex-Cunard
Commodore Harry Grattidge both worked as technical advisors on the film.
The film premiered in the United Kingdom
on Tuesday July 1, 1958, and in the United States
on Tuesday December 16, 1958. A Night to Remember won the 1959 "Samuel Goldwyn International Award" for the United Kingdom at the Golden Globe Awards.
Scenes were re-used for the 1989 Phil Collins
music video "Hang in Long Enough
."
(Kenneth More
).
Once in the open sea on her maiden voyage, the Titanic receives a number of ice warnings from nearby steamers. Captain Edward J. Smith (Laurence Naismith
) is unconcerned and the ship continues on at high speed.
Late on April 14, 1912, a lookout spots an iceberg directly in front of the ship. The ship turns hard to port, but the Titanic collides with the iceberg on its starboard side, opening the first five compartments to the sea, below the waterline. Thomas Andrews
(Michael Goodliffe
), the ship's builder, inspects the damage and finds that the ship will soon sink, a bad situation made horrific by the fact the ship does not have sufficient lifeboat
capacity for everyone on board.
A distress signal is immediately sent out, and efforts begin to signal a ship (depicted to be the ) that is seen on the horizon, a mere 10 miles away. But the ship's radio operator is off duty and he does not hear the distress signal. Fortunately, the radio operator on the Carpathia receives the distress call, understands the emergency and immediately alerts Captain Arthur Rostron
(Anthony Bushell
) who promptly orders the ship to head to the Titanic at maximum speed.
Captain Smith orders his officers Lightoller and Murdoch to start lowering the lifeboats. Many women and children are reluctant to get in a small, cramped lifeboat, and Murdoch and Lightoller must use force to put them in. Many men try to sneak into the lifeboats, but Lightoller will not allow them. Murdoch, working the other side of the ship, is shown as more accommodating to men. As the stewards struggle to hold back women and children holding third-class tickets ("steerage"), most of the women and children from second and first class climb into the lifeboats and launch away from the ship.
The bow of the ship is taking in a lot of water and there are only two collapsible lifeboats left. Lightoller and other able seamen struggle to untie them and, unable to take the time to put passengers into the boats, leave them in the hope that the boats will save more lives.
The is four hours away and is racing to the site, in hope of saving more lives. The ship sinks amid much chaos on the decks, with third class passengers allowed up from below after the boats are gone.
Lightoller and many others swim off the ship. The ship sinks deeper into the water suddenly a funnel breaks loose and crashes into the water and the ship goes down. One of the overturned collapsibles is floating, so Lightoller and a few more men balance on the boat and wait. Chief Baker Joughin is found in the water, not minding the cold, and pulled up on the boat. Lightoller spots another lifeboat and the men are saved. The Carpathia comes and rescues the survivors.
As the film ends, Lightoller, the senior surviving officer, reflects that they were all so sure about the safety of the ship, and that he will "never be sure again, about anything."
Desmond Llewelyn
makes an uncredited appearance as a crew member reassuring the panicking steerage passengers. Three cast members – Connery, Llewelyn and Blackman – would all later appear in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger
. Bernard Fox, who appears uncredited as Lookout Frederick Fleet
who utters the famous words "Iceberg, dead ahead, sir" also appears as Colonel Archibald Gracie IV in the 1997 Titanic film
, making him a cast member of two films about the sinking of the Titanic. Norman Rossington
plays a steward who loses his temper with non-English speaking passengers just after the collision. Rossington twenty years later played the Sergeant-at-Arms in 1979's SOS Titanic.
recalled the production of the film in his autobiography, published 20 years later in 1978. There was no tank big enough at Pinewood Studios
to film the survivors struggling to climb into lifeboats, so it was done in the open-air swimming bath at Ruislip
Lido at 2 o'clock on an icy November morning. When the extras refused to jump in, More realised he would have to set an example. He called out: "Come on!"
The character of the baker, seen drinking after giving up his seat in a lifeboat to a female passenger, is based on Chief Baker Charles Joughin
, who on that night drank some whisky
, threw deck chairs overboard, rode the stern all the way down, swam in the freezing water for hours and was eventually picked up by the overturned collapsible boat B, surviving the disaster.
During the sinking, a man pauses as he flees through the first-class smoking room to ask ship's designer Thomas Andrews
, "Aren't you even going to try for it, Mr Andrews?" This sequence was replicated essentially word-for-word in the 1997 Titanic
film, substituting that film's protagonists Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater instead of the man. The scene was also repeated in S.O.S. Titanic
with a stewardess asking him if he'll save himself, pointing out that there would be questions that only he could answer. In reality, it was a steward, the last person to see Andrews alive, who asked him if he was going to save himself.
.
A Night to Remember still receives praise as "the best Titanic movie before Titanic (1997)" and "the most accurate of all Titanic movies" and "the definitive Titanic tale", especially for its social realism, reflecting, in the words of one critic, "the overwhelming historical evidence that the class rigidity of 1912, for all its defects, produced a genuine sense of behavioral obligation on the Titanic among rich and poor alike; that the greatest number of people aboard faced death or hardship with a stoic and selfless grace that the world has wondered at for most of this century."
Although the beginning of A Night to Remember showcases the ship being christened
with a bottle of champagne, the real Titanic was never christened, nor was there a great ceremony when the ship touched water in Belfast
, although the White Star Line did host a lunch. The footage of the launch is actually the launching of the RMS Queen Elizabeth
in September 1938. If you look closely, you can see the larger bow and the "double bridge".
When the ship touches water after the christening, a four-bladed propeller can be seen whereas in reality, the two main propellers were three-bladed.
As with most pictures about the Titanic filmed before the discovery of the wreck in 1985, A Night to Remember portrays the ship sinking in one piece. The discovery of the wreck revealed that the ship had broken in two. Most films since then have reflected this finding.
Docudrama
In film, television programming and staged theatre, docudrama is a documentary-style genre that features dramatized re-enactments of actual historical events. As a neologism, the term is often confused with docufiction....
film adaptation of Walter Lord
Walter Lord
John Walter Lord, Jr. , was an American author, best known for his documentary-style non-fiction account A Night to Remember, about the sinking of the RMS Titanic.-Early life:...
's book of the same name, recounting the final night of the RMS Titanic. It was adapted by Eric Ambler
Eric Ambler
Eric Clifford Ambler OBE was an influential British author of spy novels who introduced a new realism to the genre. Ambler also used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for books co-written with Charles Rodda.-Life:...
, directed by Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker
Roy Ward Baker , born Roy Horace Baker, was an English film director, credited as Roy Baker for much of his career. His best known film is A Night to Remember which won a Golden Globe for Best English-Language Foreign Film in 1959...
, and filmed in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The production team, supervised by producer William MacQuitty
William MacQuitty
William MacQuitty was a British film producer and also a writer and photographer. He is most noted for his production of the 1958 Rank Organisation / Pinewood Studios film, A Night to Remember, which recreates the story of the sinking of RMS Titanic, based on the book of the same name by Walter...
, used blueprints of the ship to accurately create the sets, while Titanic fourth officer Joseph Boxhall
Joseph Boxhall
Commander Joseph Groves Boxhall RD RNR was the Fourth Officer on the , and later served as a naval officer in World War I.-Early life:...
and ex-Cunard
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
Commodore Harry Grattidge both worked as technical advisors on the film.
The film premiered in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on Tuesday July 1, 1958, and in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on Tuesday December 16, 1958. A Night to Remember won the 1959 "Samuel Goldwyn International Award" for the United Kingdom at the Golden Globe Awards.
Scenes were re-used for the 1989 Phil Collins
Phil Collins
Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....
music video "Hang in Long Enough
Hang in Long Enough
"Hang in Long Enough" is a single performed by Phil Collins and released in 1990 from the album ...But Seriously. It was the last single from the album. The song reached the #23 spot on the U.S...
."
Plot
The Titanic was the largest vessel afloat, and was widely believed to be unsinkable. Her passengers included the cream of American and British society. The story of her sinking is told from the point of view of her passengers and crew, principally second officer, Charles LightollerCharles Lightoller
Commander Charles Herbert Lightoller DSC & Bar, RD, RNR was the second mate on board the , and the most senior officer to survive the disaster...
(Kenneth More
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
).
Once in the open sea on her maiden voyage, the Titanic receives a number of ice warnings from nearby steamers. Captain Edward J. Smith (Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
) is unconcerned and the ship continues on at high speed.
Late on April 14, 1912, a lookout spots an iceberg directly in front of the ship. The ship turns hard to port, but the Titanic collides with the iceberg on its starboard side, opening the first five compartments to the sea, below the waterline. Thomas Andrews
Thomas Andrews (shipbuilder)
Thomas Andrews, Jr. was an Irish businessman and shipbuilder; managing director and head of the draughting department for the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. Andrews was the shipbuilder in charge of the plans for the ocean liner...
(Michael Goodliffe
Michael Goodliffe
Lawrence Michael Andrew Goodliffe was an English actor best known for playing suave roles such as doctors, lawyers and army officers. He was also sometimes cast in working class parts....
), the ship's builder, inspects the damage and finds that the ship will soon sink, a bad situation made horrific by the fact the ship does not have sufficient lifeboat
Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
capacity for everyone on board.
A distress signal is immediately sent out, and efforts begin to signal a ship (depicted to be the ) that is seen on the horizon, a mere 10 miles away. But the ship's radio operator is off duty and he does not hear the distress signal. Fortunately, the radio operator on the Carpathia receives the distress call, understands the emergency and immediately alerts Captain Arthur Rostron
Arthur Rostron
Sir Arthur Henry Rostron, KBE, RD, RNR was a Captain for the Cunard Line and was the master of the ocean liner RMS Carpathia when it rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic which sank on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg.Captain Rostron won wide praise for his energetic efforts to reach the...
(Anthony Bushell
Anthony Bushell
Anthony Bushell was an English film actor and director, who appeared in 56 films between 1929 and 1961. He also appeared on and directed various British TV series such as Danger Man.-Early life:...
) who promptly orders the ship to head to the Titanic at maximum speed.
Captain Smith orders his officers Lightoller and Murdoch to start lowering the lifeboats. Many women and children are reluctant to get in a small, cramped lifeboat, and Murdoch and Lightoller must use force to put them in. Many men try to sneak into the lifeboats, but Lightoller will not allow them. Murdoch, working the other side of the ship, is shown as more accommodating to men. As the stewards struggle to hold back women and children holding third-class tickets ("steerage"), most of the women and children from second and first class climb into the lifeboats and launch away from the ship.
The bow of the ship is taking in a lot of water and there are only two collapsible lifeboats left. Lightoller and other able seamen struggle to untie them and, unable to take the time to put passengers into the boats, leave them in the hope that the boats will save more lives.
The is four hours away and is racing to the site, in hope of saving more lives. The ship sinks amid much chaos on the decks, with third class passengers allowed up from below after the boats are gone.
Lightoller and many others swim off the ship. The ship sinks deeper into the water suddenly a funnel breaks loose and crashes into the water and the ship goes down. One of the overturned collapsibles is floating, so Lightoller and a few more men balance on the boat and wait. Chief Baker Joughin is found in the water, not minding the cold, and pulled up on the boat. Lightoller spots another lifeboat and the men are saved. The Carpathia comes and rescues the survivors.
As the film ends, Lightoller, the senior surviving officer, reflects that they were all so sure about the safety of the ship, and that he will "never be sure again, about anything."
Cast
- Kenneth MoreKenneth MoreKenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
as Second Officer Charles LightollerCharles LightollerCommander Charles Herbert Lightoller DSC & Bar, RD, RNR was the second mate on board the , and the most senior officer to survive the disaster... - Ronald AllenRonald AllenRonald John Allen was an English character actor who achieved the status of a soap opera star.Allen was born in Reading, Berkshire...
as Mr. Clarke - Robert AyersRobert Ayres (actor)Robert Ayres was an American film, stage and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The Black Widow * Delayed Action * A Prize of Gold * It's Never Too Late...
as Arthur Godfrey PeuchenArthur Godfrey PeuchenArthur Godfrey Peuchen was a Canadian businessman and RMS Titanic survivor.-Early life:Born in Montreal, Quebec, Peuchen was the son of a railroad contractor; his grandfather managed the London, Brighton and Midlands Railway. He was educated in private schools... - Honor BlackmanHonor BlackmanHonor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
as Mrs. Liz Lucas - Anthony BushellAnthony BushellAnthony Bushell was an English film actor and director, who appeared in 56 films between 1929 and 1961. He also appeared on and directed various British TV series such as Danger Man.-Early life:...
as Captain Arthur RostronArthur RostronSir Arthur Henry Rostron, KBE, RD, RNR was a Captain for the Cunard Line and was the master of the ocean liner RMS Carpathia when it rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic which sank on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg.Captain Rostron won wide praise for his energetic efforts to reach the... - John CairneyJohn CairneyJohn Cairney is a Scottish film and television actor.-Partial filmography:* Ill Met by Moonlight * Miracle in Soho * Windom's Way * A Night to Remember * Operation Bullshine...
as Mr. Murphy - Jack Spoose as Mr. Spoose
- Jill Dixon as Mrs. Clarke
- Jane Downs as Mrs. Sylvia Lightoller
- James Dyrenforth as Colonel Archibald Gracie IV
- Michael GoodliffeMichael GoodliffeLawrence Michael Andrew Goodliffe was an English actor best known for playing suave roles such as doctors, lawyers and army officers. He was also sometimes cast in working class parts....
as Thomas AndrewsThomas Andrews (shipbuilder)Thomas Andrews, Jr. was an Irish businessman and shipbuilder; managing director and head of the draughting department for the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. Andrews was the shipbuilder in charge of the plans for the ocean liner... - Kenneth GriffithKenneth GriffithKenneth Griffith was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He was born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Six months after his birth his parents split up and left Tenby, leaving Kenneth with his paternal grandparents, Emily and Ernest, who immediately adopted...
as Wireless Operator Jack Phillips - Harriette Johns as Lady Richard
- Frank Lawton as J. Bruce IsmayJ. Bruce IsmayJoseph Bruce Ismay was an English businessman who served as chairman and managing director of the White Star Line of steamships. He came to international attention as the highest-ranking White Star official among the 706 survivors Joseph Bruce Ismay (12 December 1862 – 17 October 1937) was...
- Richard LeechRichard LeechRichard Leech , born Richard Leeper McClelland, was an accomplished actor.Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland, son of Isabella Frances and Herbert Saunderson McClelland, a lawyer. He was educated at Haileybury and Trinity College, Dublin...
as First Officer William MurdochWilliam McMaster MurdochLieutenant William "Will" McMaster Murdoch RNR was a Scottish sailor who died on board the , where he was employed by the White Star Line, serving as First Officer... - David McCallumDavid McCallumDavid Keith McCallum, Jr. is a Scottish actor and musician. He is best known for his roles as Illya Kuryakin, a Russian-born secret agent, in the 1960s television series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as interdimensional operative Steel in Sapphire & Steel, and Dr...
as Assistant Wireless Operator Harold Sydney BrideHarold Sydney BrideHarold Sydney Bride became the junior wireless officer on board the maiden voyage of the ocean liner RMS Titanic. The Titanic struck an iceberg at 11:40 pm 14 April 1912 and sank two hours and forty minutes later. Working with Jack Phillips, Bride helped inform Titanics Captain Smith about the... - Alec McCowenAlec McCowenAlexander Duncan "Alec" McCowen CBE is an English actor. He is known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. He was awarded the CBE in the 1985 New Year's Honours List.-Personal:...
as Wireless Operator Harold Thomas Cottam, Carpathia - Geoffrey BayldonGeoffrey BayldonGeoffrey Bayldon is a British actor. After playing roles in many dramas including Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series Catweazle , after turning down the opportunity to play both the First and Second Doctors in the long-running BBC science fiction...
as Wireless Operator Cyril Evans, Californian - Tucker McGuire as Mrs. Margaret "Molly" BrownMargaret BrownMargaret Brown was an American socialite, philanthropist, and activist who became famous due to her involvement with the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, after exhorting the crew of lifeboat 6 to return to look for survivors. It is unclear whether any survivors were found after life boat 6...
- John MerivaleJohn MerivaleJohn Herman Merivale , also known as Jack Merivale, was a British theatre actor, and occasional supporting player in British films.-Biography:...
as Robbie Lucas - Ralph MichaelRalph MichaelRalph Michael was an English actor. He was born in London, United Kingdom.His film appearances include: A Night to Remember, Children of the Damned, Khartoum, Grand Prix, The Assassination Bureau, and Empire of the Sun.Television credits include: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Dixon of Dock Green,...
as Jay Yates - Laurence NaismithLaurence NaismithLaurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
as Captain Edward J. Smith - Russell NapierRussell NapierRussell Gordon Napier was an Australian actor.Russell Napier was born in Perth, Western Australia. Originally a lawyer, Napier was active as an actor from 1947 to 1974, playing both comedic and dramatic roles in both cinema and television. Notably, he starred in a live BBC television production...
as Captain Stanley LordStanley LordStanley Lord was captain of the SS Californian, a ship that was in the vicinity of the RMS Titanic the night it sank on 15 April 1912.- Early life :... - Redmond PhillipsRedmond PhillipsRedmond Bernard Phillips was a New Zealand born actor and writer.Phillips was born in Reefton, New Zealand and began acting in the theatre while a student at Victoria University of Wellington...
as Mr. Hoyle - George RoseGeorge Rose (actor)\...
as Chief Baker Charles JoughinCharles JoughinCharles John Joughin was the chief baker on the RMS Titanic. Joughin was born in Birkenhead, Wirral, England on 3 August 1878. He survived in the freezing water for an exceptionally long time. After hours in the water, he was found by Collapsible B and pulled onto the overturned boat... - Joseph TomeltyJoseph TomeltyJoseph Tomelty was a Northern Irish character actor and playwright. He worked in film, television, radio and on the stage, starring in Sam Thompson's 1960 play Over the Bridge.-Early life:...
as Dr. William O'Loughlin - Jack WatlingJack WatlingJack Watling was a British actor.-Early life:Watling trained at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts as a child and made his stage debut in Where the Rainbow Ends at the Holborn Empire in 1936...
as Fourth Officer Joseph BoxhallJoseph BoxhallCommander Joseph Groves Boxhall RD RNR was the Fourth Officer on the , and later served as a naval officer in World War I.-Early life:... - Patrick WaddingtonPatrick WaddingtonPatrick Waddington was an English actor, educated at Gresham's School, Holt, Norfolk. Born and died in York, England.-Filmography:*Department S: Who Plays the Dummy? - NATO General...
as Sir Richard - Howard Pays as Fifth Officer Harold LoweHarold LoweCommander Harold Godfrey Lowe RD RNR was the Fifth Officer of the .-Early years:Harold Lowe was born in Eglwys Rhos, Caernarfonshire, North Wales on 21 November 1882, the third of eight children, born to George and Harriet Lowe...
- Michael BryantMichael Bryant (actor)Michael Dennis Bryant was a British stage and television actor.-Biography:Bryant attended Battersea Grammar School and after service in the Merchant Navy and Army, he attended drama school and appeared in many productions on the London stage. He made his film debut in 1955...
as Sixth Officer James MoodyJames Paul MoodyJames Paul Moody was the Sixth Officer of the and the only junior officer of the ship to die in the disaster.-Early life:... - Cyril ChamberlainCyril ChamberlainCyril Chamberlain was an English film and television actor. He appeared in a number of the early Carry On, Doctor in the House and St. Trinian's films....
as Quartermaster Rowe - Richard Clarke as Martin Gallagher
- Bee Duffell as Mrs. Farrell
- Harold Goldblatt as Benjamin GuggenheimBenjamin GuggenheimBenjamin Guggenheim was an American businessman. He died aboard when the ship sank near Cape Race, Newfoundland.-Early life:...
- Gerald HarperGerald HarperGerald Harper is an actor, best known for his work on television, having played the title roles in Adam Adamant Lives! and Hadleigh ....
as 3rd Officer (Carpathia) - Thomas HeathcoteThomas HeathcoteThomas Heathcote was a British character actor.He was educated at Bradfield College, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included A Night to Remember , Village of the Damned , Billy Budd , A Man for All Seasons , Night of the Big Heat and Quatermass and the Pit...
as Steward - Andrew KeirAndrew KeirAndrew Keir was a Scottish actor, who rose to prominence featuring in a number of films from Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and particularly in the theatre, in a professional career that lasted from the 1940s to the 1990s...
as 2nd Engineer Officer James Hesketh - Harold SiddonsHarold SiddonsHarold Siddons was a British film and television actor, appearing in Genevieve, The Dam Busters, Appointment in London, They Who Dare, The Purple Plain, Quatermass and the Pit, A Night To Remember and The Wrong Arm of the Law...
as Second Officer Herbert Stone (Californian) - Howard LangHoward LangHoward Lang was a British actor best known for playing Captain William Baines in the BBC nautical drama The Onedin Line. He served for seven years in the Royal Navy during World War II....
as Chief Officer Henry Wilde (uncredited) - Sean ConnerySean ConnerySir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
as deck crewman (uncredited) - John Moulder BrownJohn Moulder BrownJohn Moulder-Brown is a British actor who started his career as a child; he is best remembered for his role in the 1971 classic Deep End....
as boy (uncredited) - Henry CampbellHenry CampbellHenry Colville Montgomery Campbell MC KCVO PC was a Church of England clergyman and Bishop of London from 1956–1961.-Early life and career:...
as William T. Stead (uncredited)
Desmond Llewelyn
Desmond Llewelyn
Desmond Wilkinson Llewelyn was a Welsh actor, famous for playing Q in 17 of the James Bond films between 1963 and 1999.-Early life:...
makes an uncredited appearance as a crew member reassuring the panicking steerage passengers. Three cast members – Connery, Llewelyn and Blackman – would all later appear in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger
Goldfinger (film)
Goldfinger is the third spy film in the James Bond series and the third to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Released in 1964, it is based on the novel of the same name by Ian Fleming. The film also stars Honor Blackman as Bond girl Pussy Galore and Gert Fröbe as the title...
. Bernard Fox, who appears uncredited as Lookout Frederick Fleet
Frederick Fleet
Frederick Fleet was a crewman and survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic after it struck an iceberg on 14 April 1912...
who utters the famous words "Iceberg, dead ahead, sir" also appears as Colonel Archibald Gracie IV in the 1997 Titanic film
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, making him a cast member of two films about the sinking of the Titanic. Norman Rossington
Norman Rossington
Norman Rossington was an English actor best remembered for his roles in The Army Game, the Carry On films and the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night.-Early life:...
plays a steward who loses his temper with non-English speaking passengers just after the collision. Rossington twenty years later played the Sergeant-at-Arms in 1979's SOS Titanic.
Production
Kenneth MoreKenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More CBE was a highly successful English film actor during the post-World War II era and starred in many feature films, often in the role of an archetypal carefree and happy-go-lucky middle-class gentleman.-Early life:Kenneth More was born in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, the...
recalled the production of the film in his autobiography, published 20 years later in 1978. There was no tank big enough at Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios
Pinewood Studios is a major British film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately west of central London. The studios have played host to many productions over the years from huge blockbuster films to television shows to commercials to pop promos.The purchase of Shepperton...
to film the survivors struggling to climb into lifeboats, so it was done in the open-air swimming bath at Ruislip
Ruislip
Ruislip is a suburban area, centred on an old village in Greater London, and is part of the London Borough of Hillingdon.It was formerly also a parish covering the neighbouring areas of Eastcote, Northwood, Ruislip Manor and South Ruislip in the area. The parish appears in the Domesday Book, and...
Lido at 2 o'clock on an icy November morning. When the extras refused to jump in, More realised he would have to set an example. He called out: "Come on!"
I leaped. Never have I experienced such cold in all my life. It was like jumping into a deep freeze. The shock forced the breath out of my body. My heart seemed to stop beating. I felt crushed, unable to think. I had rigor mortis, without the mortis. And then I surfaced, spat out the dirty water and, gasping for breath, found my voice.'Stop!' I shouted. 'Don't listen to me! It's bloody awful! Stay where you are!'
But it was too late ....
The character of the baker, seen drinking after giving up his seat in a lifeboat to a female passenger, is based on Chief Baker Charles Joughin
Charles Joughin
Charles John Joughin was the chief baker on the RMS Titanic. Joughin was born in Birkenhead, Wirral, England on 3 August 1878. He survived in the freezing water for an exceptionally long time. After hours in the water, he was found by Collapsible B and pulled onto the overturned boat...
, who on that night drank some whisky
Whisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
, threw deck chairs overboard, rode the stern all the way down, swam in the freezing water for hours and was eventually picked up by the overturned collapsible boat B, surviving the disaster.
During the sinking, a man pauses as he flees through the first-class smoking room to ask ship's designer Thomas Andrews
Thomas Andrews (shipbuilder)
Thomas Andrews, Jr. was an Irish businessman and shipbuilder; managing director and head of the draughting department for the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. Andrews was the shipbuilder in charge of the plans for the ocean liner...
, "Aren't you even going to try for it, Mr Andrews?" This sequence was replicated essentially word-for-word in the 1997 Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
film, substituting that film's protagonists Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater instead of the man. The scene was also repeated in S.O.S. Titanic
S.O.S. Titanic
S.O.S. Titanic is a 1979 television movie that depicts the doomed 1912 voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers in First, Second, and Third Class, and respectively in a historically accurate fashion...
with a stewardess asking him if he'll save himself, pointing out that there would be questions that only he could answer. In reality, it was a steward, the last person to see Andrews alive, who asked him if he was going to save himself.
Awards and honours
A Night to Remember won the 1959 "Samuel Goldwyn International Award", at the Golden Globe Awards.Historical accuracy
Roy Baker's A Night to Remember has long been regarded as a high point by Titanic historians for its accuracy, despite its relatively modest production values compared to the 1997 Oscar-winning film TitanicTitanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
.
A Night to Remember still receives praise as "the best Titanic movie before Titanic (1997)" and "the most accurate of all Titanic movies" and "the definitive Titanic tale", especially for its social realism, reflecting, in the words of one critic, "the overwhelming historical evidence that the class rigidity of 1912, for all its defects, produced a genuine sense of behavioral obligation on the Titanic among rich and poor alike; that the greatest number of people aboard faced death or hardship with a stoic and selfless grace that the world has wondered at for most of this century."
Although the beginning of A Night to Remember showcases the ship being christened
Ship naming and launching
The ceremonies involved in naming and launching naval ships are based in traditions thousands of years old.-Methods of launch:There are three principal methods of conveying a new ship from building site to water, only two of which are called "launching." The oldest, most familiar, and most widely...
with a bottle of champagne, the real Titanic was never christened, nor was there a great ceremony when the ship touched water in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, although the White Star Line did host a lunch. The footage of the launch is actually the launching of the RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth
RMS Queen Elizabeth was an ocean liner operated by the Cunard Line. Plying with her running mate Queen Mary as a luxury liner between Southampton, UK and New York City, USA via Cherbourg, France, she was also contracted for over twenty years to carry the Royal Mail as the second half of the two...
in September 1938. If you look closely, you can see the larger bow and the "double bridge".
When the ship touches water after the christening, a four-bladed propeller can be seen whereas in reality, the two main propellers were three-bladed.
As with most pictures about the Titanic filmed before the discovery of the wreck in 1985, A Night to Remember portrays the ship sinking in one piece. The discovery of the wreck revealed that the ship had broken in two. Most films since then have reflected this finding.
External links
- Criterion Collection essay by Michael SragowMichael SragowMichael Sragow is a film critic and columnist who has written for The Baltimore Sun, The New Times, The New Yorker , The Atlantic and salon.com...