A Night to Remember
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Roy Ward Baker
Anthony Bushell
Kenneth More
Honor Blackman
Ronald Allen
David Mccallum
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Based on Walter Lord's popular book, A Night to Remember recounts the sailing of the Titanic, billed as the "unsinkable ship" and its inevitable voyage toward the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and doom.
Cast
Anthony Bushell
Kenneth More
Honor Blackman
Ronald Allen
David Mccallum
Danuta Karell
Gerald Harper
Geoffrey Bayldon
Tucker Mcguire
James Dyrenforth
John Cairney
Thomas Heathcote
Richard Leech
Richard Clarke
Phil Ray
Patrick Waddington
John Merivale
Howard Pays
Julian Somers
Eddie Malin
Helen Misener
Harold Siddons
Cyril Chamberlain
Jack Watling
Michael Bryant
Robert Ayres
Redmond Phillips
Alec Mccowen
Andrew Keir
Harold Goldblatt
Meier Tzelniker
Barry Macgregor
George Rose
Laurence Naismith
Michael Goodliffe
Kenneth Griffith
Richard Hayward
Christina Lubicz
Bee Duffell
Jill Dixon
Sinfonia Of London
Tim Turner
Ralph Michael
Russell Napier
Harriette Johns
Frank Lawton
Joseph Tomelty
Jane Downs
Mary Monahan
Patrick Mcalinney
Crew
William Alwyn
Eric Ambler
Robert Asher
Yvonne Caffin
Geoffrey Daniels
Penny Daniels
Captain Grattidge
Jack Hanbury
Sidney Haynes
Arthur Lcott
Walter Lord
William Macquitty
Muir Mathieson
Gordon K. Mccallum
Harry Miller
W. T. Partleton
Earl St. John
Len Townsend
Pauline Trent
Geoffrey Unsworth
Geoffrey Unsworth
Vetchinsky
Bill Warrington
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Film Details
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Articles
A Night to Remember
The story unfolds, for the most part, through the eyes of Second Officer Lightoller (Kenneth More). The pop culture monolith that is Cameron's film has seen to it that every man, woman, and child on earth knows the general layout of the ship and the social standing of its various passengers; the rich folks housed above, the poor folks down below. Baker makes it clear, though, that the number of messages being sent to and from America by the wealthier passengers was partially responsible for the tragedy, since the wireless operator was too overwhelmed to keep relaying weather reports to the bridge!
Several performers have memorable moments as the films unfolds, although the sheer number of characters means that you never get particularly caught up in any one person's ordeal. Take note, however, of the sailor in the crow's nest who shouts out that an iceberg is approaching. It's character actor Bernard Fox (probably best-known as Dr. Bombay on the TV series, Bewitched), who would later have a larger role in Cameron's film.
Producer William MacQuitty had always been interested in the Titanic, and with good reason; he saw the ship being launched on its one and only voyage, when he was six years old. He was, as you might expect, greatly impressed by the sight of the massive vessel, and was horrified to learn of its fate. By 1956, William had become a successful film producer. When Walter Lord's meticulously-researched book about the disaster, A Night to Remember, hit the bestseller charts, MacQuitty decided to option it. Then the process of putting such a gargantuan story on the screen began.
MacQuitty, Baker, and screenwriter Eric Ambler certainly had their work cut out for them, and they passed with flying colors. The final script contained over 200 speaking parts, a number that would make even Robert Altman flinch. The budget was also remarkably small for such an epic narrative - a mere $1,680,000, which probably wouldn't have covered the bagel tab on Cameron's film. Nevertheless, A Night to Remember's production design is outstanding. One could quibble with some shots of the obviously miniature ship, but that's a minor concern given the cohesiveness of the rest of the picture.
People tend to forget that a lot of passengers survived the sinking of the Titanic, and many of them were still alive when A Night to Remember was written. Lord located 64 survivors while researching his book, and several others were found during filming. He even developed friendships with some of them. One woman, Edith Russell, is depicted in the movie as clutching her lucky stuffed pig while she abandons ship. The real Russell loaned Lord that same stuffed pig for use in the film and later bequeathed it to Lord in her will.
Although A Night to Remember didn't receive any Oscar® nominations, it was unanimously praised by the critics. Pauline Kael wrote that it had "an undeniable power" and noted that it was "far more exciting than the usual screenwriter's contrivances...There are no big-star roles, but the movie is full of small dramas." The film also won the 1959 Golden Globes award for Best English-Language Foreign Film" and was nominated for a Golden Laurel award for Best Cinematography (by Geoffrey Unsworth).
Besides this version and Cameron's 1997 account, the Titanic was also the focus of 20th-Century-Fox's popular 1953 film Titanic starring Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb as well as a German version in 1951. The tragedy also figured prominently in the Debbie Reynolds musical, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964). A real character, Brown was one of the famous survivors. In A Night to Remember she's played by Tucker McGuire. The cast also includes such famous faces as David McCallum prior to his fame as a secret agent on the TV series, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., as the wireless operator Harold Bride, Laurence Naismith as Captain Smith and Honor Blackman (she played Pussy Galore in the 1964 James Bond film, Goldfinger) as Mrs. Liz Lucas.
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Producer: William MacQuitty
Screenplay: Eric Ambler (based on the book by Walter Lord)
Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth
Editing: Sidney Hayers
Music: William Alwyn
Musical Director: Muir Mathieson
Art Director: Alexander Vetchinsky
Costume Design: Yvonne Caffin
Makeup: W.T. Partleton
Special Effects: Bill Warrington
Cast: Kenneth More (Herbert Lightoller), Honor Blackman (Mrs. Lucas), Anthony Bushell (Capt. Rostron), Ronald Allen (Clarke), Robert Ayres (Peuchen), Jane Downs (Mrs. Lightoller), Jill Dixon (Mrs. Clarke), James Dyrenforth (Col. Gracie), Kenneth Griffith (Phillips), Michael Goodliffe (Thomas Andrews), Harriette Johns (Lady Richard), Frank Lawton (Chairman), Richard Leech (William Murdoch), David McCallum (Bride). B&W-119m.
by Paul Tatara
A Night to Remember
A Night to Remember - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER - The 1958 British Dramatization of the Titanic Disaster
Producer William MacQuitty was present as a child at the launching of the real Titanic. He poured a fortune into an accurate adaptation of Lord's book, which became 1958's nail-biter A Night to Remember. The true events of the ill-fated maiden voyage of the luxury liner are more compelling than any fiction could be. Ships' officer Charles Lightoller (Kenneth More) reports for duty on the Titanic, undertaking its first Atlantic crossing. Normal shipping has the sense to pause at nightfall, but White Star Liner Chairman J. Bruce Ismay (Frank Lawton) urges Captain Edward Smith (Laurence Naismith) to break the speed record by steaming at night through icy waters. Meanwhile, the ship's proud architect Thomas Andrews (Michael Goodliffe) works on last-minute details.
The passengers are sharply divided into classes and segregated on different parts of the ship. The First Class lists includes famous millionaires while the lower decks are packed with emigrants from Ireland and Eastern Europe. Young Irishman Murphy (John Cairney) is acutely aware that his 3rd-class status means more than just his ticket of passage. The ship's staff keeps the steerage passengers segregated below. Above their heads, the rich dance and dine in lavish surroundings.
Then the Titanic strikes an enormous iceberg, sustaining just enough damage to ensure that its bulkheads will fail one after another. The ship's officers do what little can be done. The liner carries lifeboats for only a fraction of its passengers; the crew has not even drilled on how to launch them. The boats are lowered in such a haphazard way that many are only partly filled. Men -- including owner Ismay -- steal seats in lifeboats meant for women and children. Worst of all, the entire steerage class is kept below decks until the lowering of the boats is all but complete. A full 1500 people are still on board when the ship begins to slip below the icy North Atlantic. The closest rescue ships are hours away.
Never has the term "tempting fate" seemed so appropriate: the formidable ship proved to be more vulnerable than anyone dreamed. Mistakes in planning and design and a cavalier attitude toward safety stemmed directly from the 'unsinkable' assumption.
A Night to Remember proves yet again that audiences will accept a story with a predetermined ending, if getting there is exciting enough. No characters are invented: the script provides a multitude of true on-board stories. A well-to-do couple (Honor Blackman & John Merivale) tucks their children in bed, not realizing that the ship has only three hours to live. Newlyweds (Jill Dixon & Ronald Allen) decide not to separate when the call comes for women to enter the boats; architect Andrews advises them on the best way to survive the sinking. A baker (George Rose) deals with certain doom by getting thoroughly drunk. Officer Lightoller must threaten to shoot panicked passengers that try to rush the last remaining lifeboats. Realizing that they have been excluded from the evacuation, young Murphy and a new acquaintance from Poland (Christina Lubicz) crash the security barrier and fight their way to the upper decks. The rigid social rules make them feel like criminals. In one lifeboat, the wife of a millionaire expresses her displeasure at the annoying screams of people in the freezing water. In another lifeboat, Denver millionaire Molly Brown (Tucker McGuire) overrides a nervous crewmember and leads her fellow passengers in rowing back to pick up more survivors.
Director Roy Ward Baker makes expressive use of the production's marvelous sets. A full-sized section of the Titanic's hull was constructed to show the lifeboats being lowered. The ship seems to be visibly dying as the tilting decks spill dishes and send children's toys sliding across elegant staterooms. Little imagination is required to become caught up in the film's feeling of entrapment. Even with the predetermined outcome, our anxiety rises as petty mistakes help insure the calamity. Ice warning messages cannot get through because the ship's wireless officers (David McCallum & Kenneth Griffith) are busy tapping out passenger messages telling friends and relatives on shore about their marvelous cruise. Other ironies are terrible in their cruelty. We're told, for instance, that if the lookouts had seen nothing and the iceberg was struck head on, the bow would have been severely damaged -- but the ship would have stayed afloat.
The film captures the totality of the disaster, communicating not only the tragedy but also other aspects of the world of 1912. Social inequities and brazen cowardice appear, but also the code of Golden Age chivalry and noblesse oblige to which many of the wealthy subscribed. Honor Blackman and John Merivale feign a cheerful farewell so as not to upset the children. Billionaire Guggenheim faces the end calmly with his valet, concerned only that his peers know that he died like a proper gentleman. Watching this tragedy can be an unnerving experience. It's far too easy to second-guess decisions made in a calamity that, from iceberg impact to sinking, wasn't much longer than the time it takes for A Night to Remember to unspool.
I must add that the first time I saw this picture the problem of survival disturbed my sleep. But by breakfast the next morning I had solved the problem. It is established in the film that another ship was "parked" for the night about ten miles away, and could see the Titanic's lights. The Titanic's captain knew the ship was there, but was unable to communicate with it. He sent up distress signal rockets, but the crew of the other vessel assumed that the rich folk were celebrating. Over breakfast I explained to my son that the captain could have started a controlled fire on one of his ship's decks -- burn some of the famous deck chairs, perhaps. Lookouts on the other ship would have no choice but to interpret such a blaze as trouble, and would come to their aid. My son agreed, but reminded me that it took me twelve hours to think of that solution. It's probable that fifty good ideas to save lives were developed -- in hindsight. A Night to Remember is a testament to mottos like "assume nothing is foolproof", and "expect the unexpected".
Criterion's DVD of a new digital restoration of A Night to Remember is The Collection's third pressing of this best film version of the infamous disaster. It is also available on Blu-ray. We're still impressed by the clean lines of Geoffrey Unsworth's camerawork. The first-unit cinematography is quite handsome (Honor Blackman is stunning, five years before Goldfinger) and the film's special effects hold up quite well.
One immediate difference in the new transfer is its restoration of a missing section of footage. Criterion's previous DVD had a Jump cut that I noted in a 1999 DVD Savant article. The film's continuity is now completely uninterrupted.
Most of the disc's excellent extras are repeated from earlier editions. Authors Don Lynch and Ken Marschall provide a full-length commentary track. Two full documentaries are included, Criterion's production that accesses producer MacQuitty's film footage from the set, and a new BBC docu from 2006 called "The Iceberg That Sank the Titanic." A shorter Swedish piece from 1962 spends time with survivors of the voyage, and a featurette interviews the noted survivor Eva Hart. An original trailer is present as well.
Criterion's thick illustrated insert pamphlet carries an informative essay by Michael Sragow.
For more information about A Night to Remember, visit The Criterion Collection. To order A Night to Remember, go to TCM Shopping.
by Glenn Erickson
A Night to Remember - A NIGHT TO REMEMBER - The 1958 British Dramatization of the Titanic Disaster
Quotes
People first, things second.- Dr. O'Laughlin
This ship is going to founder.- Captain Edward J. Smith
But she can't! In any case, we can't get everyone in the boats.- Ismay
I know that, sir. Please God it won't come to that!- Captain Edward J. Smith
"Still here Miss Evans? We'll get you off in the next boat."- Man
"Thank you."- Edith Evans
"Sorry, only one more lady!"- Officer
"You go first,you have children waiting at home."- Edith Evans
"NO! I..."- Caroline Brown
"Quickly ladies we haven't got much time!"- Officer
"Still here Miss Evans? We'll get you off in the next boat."- Col. Archibald Gracie
"Thank you."- Edith Evans
"They're clearing away two of the collapsible boats, if they succeed, I'm sure they'll be a place for you in one of them."- Andrews
"See, you can still go. Please darling."- Man
"No! We've started out together and we'll finish together! Are you married Mr. Andrews?"- Wife
"Yes, and if my wife were here I'd think she would go."- Andrews
"Do you have a family?"- Wife
Trivia
Producer William MacQuitty had been one of the spectators at the launching of the Titanic on May 31, 1911. He was 6 at the time and found the experience most impressive.
The Titanic's Fourth Officer, Joseph Boxhall, (portrayed by Jack Watling in the film) served as technical advisor to the film.
Walter Lord found 64 survivors in researching the book "A Night to Remember." The Rank Organisation found many more in making the film, and several visited the set, including Edith Russell, the dress designer with the lucky stuffed pig shown in the film. The stuffed pig used in the film was the actual one that Russell had on the Titanic. It was bequeathed to Lord in her will.
Second Officer Lightoller, the hero of the film, went on to serve with distinction in World Wars I and II, rescuing many men at Dunkirk. He died in 1952, but his wife visited the set of the film.
Lawrence Beesley, a survivor from second class, was on the set during filming. At one point when the sinking was being filmed, he attempted to enter the scene and - perhaps symbolically - "go down" with the ship. Director Roy Ward Baker didn't allow this, as it would have been a union violation, which could have closed down production.
Miscellaneous Notes
Voted One of the Year's Five Best Foreign Films by the 1958 National Board of Review.
Voted One of the Year's Ten Best Films by the 1958 New York Times Film Critics.
Released in United States 1958
Released in United States on Video April 20, 1988
Released in United States Summer June 1, 1958
Released in United States 1958
Released in United States on Video April 20, 1988
Released in United States Summer June 1, 1958