In May, 1911 newspaperman James MacQuitty took his 6 year old son, William down to the local shipyard to show him the launching of the Titanic. The site of the awesome ship & going down the ways led to a lifelong interest in the Titanic for young William. Cut to 1956 when William, now a succesful movie producer, read a review of the bestseller 'A Night To Remember' by Walter Lord. The novel told the story of the ships last night in a "you-are-there" minute-by-minute fashion.
MacQuitty, realizing its screen potential, optioned the rights to the novel for about $7,000. To direct MacQuitty chose a director with a history of directing nautical tales, Roy Baker. Lensing the film would be Geoffrey Unsworth, who would go onto later fame with "2001:A Space Odyssey" and "Superman: The Movie"(1978). Lending technical assistance to script writer Eric Ambler was Walter Lord.
Instead of using ficticious characters, like the Fox film, MacQuitty chose to focus on the real people and events of April 14th. The lead star would be Kenneth More, playing Second Officer Lightoller.
While the special effects aren't up to par with the 1953 Fox film (the ship, blazing with lights more resembles my Grandmothers 100th birthday cake in a tank, then the Titanic at sea), the docu-drama approach does show us around the ship, providing glimpses into all aspects of the story.
Filming was done at Pinewood Studios in England on a real ship bound for the scrap yards, the Asturius. and also on a lake near Pinewood that, filming in mid-December, added a chilly element of realism.
The movie premeired on July 3rd, 1958 in England, and was a smash hit. When it premeired in America, the reception was less than enthusiastic. Most Americans seemed to stay away, since the movie didn't have any major stars or a romance(which was almost mandatory in movies of the 50s like The War Of The Worlds, or Foxs' Titanic!)
The film is considered by most Titanic enthusiasts as the one and only accurate portrayal of the loss of the Titanic. |
