A Night to Remember (movie)

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A Night to Remember
Directed byRoy Ward Baker
Screenplay byEric Ambler
Story byWalter Lord
Based onA Night to Remember
by Walter Lord
Produced byWilliam MacQuitty
StarringKenneth More
CinematographyGeoffrey Unsworth
Music byWilliam Alwyn
Distributed byThe Rank Organisation
Release date
  • 3 July 1958 (1958-07-03)
Running time
123 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£500,000[1] or £530,000[2] or £600,000; [3] upper bounds of approximately £NaN or £NaN adjusted for inflation (2019)
Box officePrecise figure unknown, but it had failed to make its budget back by 2001

A Night to Remember is a 1958 British drama movie. The movie was adapted from Walter Lord's book of the same name.[4]

Plot[change | change source]

The RMS Titanic is christened for its maiden voyage. Passengers and crew get on board the ship. The ship departs from port on April 10, 1912 and heads out into sea.

The ship receives a number of ice warnings from other ships. However, only a few of the messages are sent to Captain Edward J. Smith. The captain does not slow down the ship, or consider an alternate route.

Late on Sunday, April 14, one of the lookouts sees an iceberg in front of the ship. Titanic turns hard to port and tries to avoid the iceberg. But the ship eventually hits the iceberg on its starboard side. The first five compartments, below the waterline, are ripped open. Thomas Andrews, the ship's maker, inspects the damage. He then learns the ship will sink within two hours. Making matters worse, the ship does not have enough lifeboats for all the people aboard.

A distress signal is sent out. The radio operator on the RMS Carpathia hears the distress call, understands the emergency and alerts Captain Arthur Rostron. Rostron, right away, orders the Carpathia to head to the Titanic at full speed. But unfortunately, it will take four hours to reach the Titanic.

Captain Smith orders Officers William Murdoch and Charles Lightoller to begin lowering the lifeboats. Women and children are let on the boats first. However, the women and children are not that happy about getting into the lifeboats. They are then forced into the boats by officers.

The Carpathia is racing to the Titanic site. Before Carpathia can get there, though, Titanic sinks.

On the Carpathia, Lightoller is told by Rostron that only 705 people have survived. They have only passed one body.

Cast[change | change source]

Historical inaccuracies[change | change source]

As with many Titanic movies made prior to 1985, this movie shows Titanic sinking in one piece. But in reality, the ship broke in two before sinking.

Reception[change | change source]

The movie won several awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best English-Language Foreign Film.

References[change | change source]

  1. Harper, Sue; Porter, Vincent (10 July 2018). British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198159346 – via Google Books.
  2. Richards 2001, p. 29.
  3. Street 2004, p. 143.
  4. "A Night to Remember". New York Times. Retrieved February 21, 2017.

Bibliography[change | change source]

Other websites[change | change source]