Posted on 04/12/2012 6:57:39 PM PDT by re_nortex
The 1958 film, A Night to Remember is scheduled for a showing this Saturday night, April 14, 2012 at 10:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time.
Because the book was so well written and the facts so compelling, it reads like a suspense novel. [Walter] Lord scrupulously researched all information available at the time, reviewing testimony from boards of inquiry, plus newspaper and eyewitness accounts of survivors from both passengers and crew. There are a few scenes where slight artistic license is taken, but no wholesale fabrication of characters or fictionalized sub-plots.
In reality, the film is more docudrama, yet never lacks for tension. Costuming was perfectly detailed and accurate, interiors perfect reproductions of the actual grand staircase, dining rooms, and smoking lounges were used. It is the most accurate of all Titanic films, even though exterior modeling shots were a bit weak.
The British production, which took five months to film, added even more authenticity to the film with a cast mostly unfamiliar to American audiences. This film features an incredibly poignant scene with cellist John W. Woodward playing and singing “Nearer My God to Thee” in the more likely Horbury setting.
It is fun to see a young David McCallum as assistant telegraph operator Harold Bride, plus Honor Blackman, and very brief uncredited appearances as crewmen from both Desmond Llewelyn and Sean Connery (the latter three later appearing together in larger roles in Goldfinger.)
Those remarks are from Tennessee Jed of CommentaramaFilms, a source for Conservative film talk.
One of the myths that was addressed was that Lord Ismay allegedly ordered undue speed for the ship's progress, an order that spelled ultimate disaster.
It's being stated today that there exists not one shred of evidence, written or oral (other than highly-colored newspaper accounts and feverish rumors of the day) that any such order was given to Captain Edward Smith.
I suppose that this "myth" as well as its rebuttal will always be a matter of debate and conflicting opinion. So many compelling mysteries of the Titanic are viewed and solved one way or the other through the eyes of the beholder.
Leni
Quote:
“this story reminds me how fragile we are, how much we are at the whim of nature and the defects of man made creations.”
It sounds like you would have been a better captain than
Capt. Smith that night.
Well.... it could be explored as to whether or not Titanic was steaming faster than her maximum speed as determined during sea trials, on the night of the collision.
Lord Ismay’s biggest mistake was surviving the disaster when 1,500 souls, including Captain Smith, didn’t.
Thanks for the reminders. I’ve always heard of this movie but never had the chance to see it.
I recall reading somewheres that CDQ was French..so can’t be sure what it stands for..
The John Jacob Astor death and The Unsinkable Molly Brown story always fascinated me.
I really don’t care too much about SFX. After all, I’m a bit of a fan of “Titanic” with Stanwyck, and that’s older (albeit American). That’s not what phases me unless it’s so bad as to be funny, like 1 of my Super8 movies. I love old movies. They’re just much classier.
As to Poe: I don’t think he was here much. Actually, he seems to have had a spotty life as far as living arrangements. He spent some time in Baltimore, but he was not “from” here.
http://twitter.com/#!/titanicrealtime
You don't have to have a Twitter account to follow along. Just hit the link and have a look-see.
That link is awesome!
thank you
Thank you! What a great, if somewhat surreal link.
It’s actually mentioned by a few of us.
Simply “Titanic”, 1953. Barbara Stanwyck was his wife.
So, what did you think of A Night to Remember, which just finished about 20 minutes ago as I post this? I know that quite a few of you have never seen it before and your impressions would be of particular interest.
It is an excellent movie. So mush better than any other Titanic movie.
I think being in black and white added to the realism and atmosphere.
After having just viewed the film, I'm now catching up with what berdie so aptly described as surreal.
Maybe they've dropped off the scroll of these "virtual tweets" but I can't help but wonder what Captain Stanley Lord's (of the Californian) messages would have said. That may be the biggest "what if" of all regarding the Titanic. What if Lord's ship had responded to the distress signal?
100% better than the horrible Cameron “Titanic.”
Much more realistic...
I have read many different accounts of why there was no response. One account even speculated that the Californian wasn't the “mystery ship” at all. But I think that theory was shot down during the inquiry. Whatever the truth was, there is no doubt in my mind that Captain Lord had to have carried guilt with him to his grave. I don't know what maritime protocol was, but if I were in sight of another ship shooting off flares in the middle of the night..I'd have to check it out.
She just went down so quickly. Totally amazes me.
(BTW, I sat down tonight to watch a Night To Remember...and realized that I don't get TCM! Shows how much tv I watch. I was disappointed since I hadn't seen it is a long while.)
I kept getting phone calls last night, so could only watch the movie in bits and pieces. Sigh. It looked great what I saw. Guess I’ll have to see if I can find it on DVD.
As for James Cameron’s version, I agree, the Jack/Rose story was ridiculous. We’re supposed to feel sorry for Rose...who ditched her fiancee to party with Leonardo down in third class, (where the people were so much nicer and more fun, of course!) And she not only sleeps with Leo after just meeting him a day or two before, but she rubs her fiancee’s nose in it by posing nude for Leo and leaving the drawing where the fiancee will find it. Yes, the fiancee was a jerk, but still!
One thing I did love about the movie was the costumes, though. After two hours of sitting in the theater and looking at those beautiful costumes, I left the theater, and I felt like I’d gone back in time and just returned. There were all these people walking around wearing sweatpants that clung to every inch of their flab, ripped jeans, T-shirts with crude sayings on them, etc. The same clothing that had looked perfectly normal to me two hours earlier now looked so ugly and unflattering. It was an odd feeling.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.