Titanic ( 1953 film ) - wikipedia Titanic ( 1953 film ) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2012 ) Titanic film poster Directed by Jean Negulesco Produced by Charles Brackett Written by Charles Brackett Richard L. Breen Walter Reisch Starring Clifton Webb Barbara Stanwyck Robert Wagner Audrey Dalton Harper Carter Thelma Ritter Brian Aherne Richard Basehart Music by Sol Kaplan Cinematography Joseph MacDonald Edited by Louis R. Loeffler Distributed by 20th Century Fox NBC ( TV ) MGM ( Austria ) Release date April 16, 1953 ( 1953 - 04 - 16 ) Running time 98 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $1,805,000 Box office $2,250,000 ( US ) Titanic is a 1953 American drama film directed by Jean Negulesco. Its plot centers on an estranged couple sailing on the ill - fated maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, which took place in April 1912. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 Awards and nominations 6 References 7 External links Plot At the last minute, a wealthy American expatriate in Europe, Richard Sturges ( Clifton Webb ), buys a steerage - class ticket for the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic from a Basque immigrant. Once aboard he seeks out his runaway wife, Julia ( Barbara Stanwyck ). He discovers she is trying to take their two unsuspecting children, 18 - year - old Annette ( Audrey Dalton ) and ten - year - old Norman ( Harper Carter ), to her hometown of Mackinac, Michigan, to raise as down - to - earth Americans rather than rootless elitists like Richard himself. As the ship prepares for departure, her captain, E.J. Smith ( Brian Aherne ), receives a hint from the shipping company representative that a record - setting speedy passage would be welcomed. Other passengers include a wealthy woman of a working - class origin ( based on a real - life Titanic survivor Molly Brown ), Maude Young ( Thelma Ritter ) ; social - climbing Earl Meeker ( Allyn Joslyn ) ; a 20 - year - old Purdue University tennis player, Gifford `` Giff '' Rogers ( Robert Wagner ) ; and George S. Healey ( Richard Basehart ), a Catholic priest who has been defrocked for alcoholism. When Annette learns her mother 's intentions, she insists on returning to Europe with her father on the next ship as soon as they reach America. Julia concedes that her daughter is old enough to make her own decisions, but she insists on keeping custody of Norman. This angers Richard, forcing Julia to reveal that Norman is not his child, but rather the result of a one - night stand after one of their many bitter arguments. Upon hearing that, he agrees to give up all claim to Norman. Richard joins Maude, Earl, and George Widener in the lounge to play contract bridge with them. The next morning, when Norman reminds Richard about a shuffleboard game they had scheduled, Richard coldly brushes him off. Meanwhile, Giff falls for Annette at first glance. At first she repulses his brash attempts to become better acquainted, but eventually she warms to him. That night, Giff, Annette and a group of young people sing and play the piano in the dining room, while Captain Smith watches from a corner table. Second Officer Lightoller ( Edmund Purdom ) expresses his concern to Captain Smith about the ship 's speed when they receive two messages from other ships warning of iceberg sightings near their route. Smith, however, assures him that there is no danger. That night, however, a lookout spots an iceberg dead ahead. Although the crew tries to steer clear of danger, the ship is gashed below the waterline and begins taking on water. When Richard finds the captain, he insists on being told the truth : the ship is doomed. He tells his family to dress warmly but properly ; then they head outside. Richard and Julia have a tearful reconciliation on the boat deck, as he places Julia and the children into a lifeboat. Unnoticed by Julia, Norman gives up his seat to an older woman and goes looking for his nominal father. When one of the lines becomes tangled, preventing the lifeboat from being lowered, Giff climbs down and fixes the problem, only to lose his grip and fall into the water. His unconscious body is dragged into the boat. Meeker disguises himself as a woman to get aboard a lifeboat but Maude Young notices his shoes and unmasks him in front of the others in the lifeboat. At the other end of the spectrum of courage and unselfishness, George Healey heads down into one of the boiler rooms to comfort trapped crewmen. As the Titanic is in her final moments, Norman and Richard find each other. Richard tells a passing steward that Norman is his `` son '' and then tells the boy that he has been proud of him every day of his life. Then they join the rest of the doomed passengers and the crew in singing the hymn `` Nearer, My God, to Thee ''. As the last boiler explodes, the Titanic 's bow plunges, pivoting her stern high into the air while the ship rapidly slides into the icy water. The remaining survivors are last seen waiting in the lifeboats for help to come as dawn approaches. Cast Clifton Webb as Richard Ward Sturges Barbara Stanwyck as Julia Sturges Robert Wagner as Gifford `` Giff '' Rogers Audrey Dalton as Annette Sturges Thelma Ritter as Maude Young Brian Aherne as Capt. Edward J. Smith Richard Basehart as George S. Healey Allyn Joslyn as Earl Meeker James Todd as Sandy Comstock Frances Bergen as Madeleine Astor William Johnstone as John Jacob Astor IV Harper Carter as Norman Sturges Mae Marsh as Woman to whom Norman gives his seat Edmund Purdom as Second Officer Charles Lightoller Christopher Severn as flag messenger Production Walter Reisch says Daryl Zanuck called in him and Charles Brackett and said `` I have Clifton Webb under contract, and we have CinemaScope, and I now want to do something big... Do n't make Clifton a clown. I want him to start a new career as a character actor. Use all the young people we have on the lot, like Audrey Dalton and Robert Wagner... '' Reisch says he came up with the Titanic idea and pitched Clifton Webb as one of the 25 multimillionaires who died on the Titanic. He said the film would be `` 60 percent truth, completely documentary '' drawing on real life accounts. A part was written for Thelma Ritter. Reisch says it was Richard Breen 's idea to have an alcoholic priest. Charles Brackett, who co-wrote and produced the film, told the press that some of the stories had to be discarded, `` because they are too fantastic for movie audiences to believe. In a September 1952 news article, it was reported that Terry Moore was set to play the role of Annette Sturges, on condition that she would finish production of Man on a Tightrope on time. Reception According to the film aggregator website, Rotten Tomatoes, Titanic holds an 88 % `` Fresh '' rating, based on 8 reviews. Variety reviewed the film positively stating, `` but by the time the initial 45 or 50 minutes are out of the way, the impending disaster begins to take a firm grip on the imagination and builds a compelling expectancy. '' Pauline Kael was not impressed with the picture 's special effects. She wrote : `` the actual sinking looks like a nautical tragedy on the pond in Central Park. '' Awards and nominations Titanic won the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction. The film was also nominated for the Directors Guild of America Award. References Jump up ^ The Definitive Titanic Film : A Night to Remember by Jeffrey Richards, 2003 Jump up ^ Solomon, Aubrey. Twentieth Century Fox : A Corporate and Financial History ( The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series ). Lanham, Maryland : Scarecrow Press, 1989. ISBN 978 - 0 - 8108 - 4244 - 1. p248 Jump up ^ ' The Top Box Office Hits of 1953 ', Variety, January 13, 1954 ^ Jump up to : McGilligan, Patrick ( 1991 ). Backstory 2 : Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1940s and 1950s. Berkeley : University of California Press,. pp. 237 -- 238. Jump up ^ `` Says Movie of Titanic Sinking To Show Heroism of Victims '' by Bob Thomas, Southeast Missourian, October 2, 1952, p. 14 Jump up ^ `` Terry Moore Has Grown Up '' by Hedda Hopper, Pittsburgh Press, September 27, 1952, p. 17 Jump up ^ Titanic ( 1953 ) Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved 2010 - 1 - 4 Jump up ^ Titanic Variety Magazine Retrieved 2010 - 1 - 4 Jump up ^ ( 1 ) `` Pauline Kael reviews on geocities '', retrieved 2013 - 05 - 21 External links Wikiquote has quotations related to : Titanic ( 1953 film ) Titanic on IMDb Titanic at AllMovie Titanic at the TCM Movie Database Titanic at Rotten Tomatoes RMS Titanic First class facilities Second and Third class facilities Grand Staircase Animals aboard Musicians Sinking Alternative theories Changes in safety practices Legends and myths Lifeboats Lifeboat No. 1 British inquiry US inquiry Wreck of Titanic Maritime Memorial Act Deck officers Edward J. Smith ( Captain ) Henry Tingle Wilde ( Chief Officer ) William McMaster Murdoch ( First Officer ) Charles H. Lightoller ( Second Officer ) Herbert Pitman ( Third Officer ) Joseph G. Boxhall ( Fourth Officer ) Harold G. Lowe ( Fifth Officer ) James Paul Moody ( Sixth Officer ) Crew members Harold Bride William Denton Cox Sid Daniels Alfred Frank Evans Frederick Fleet Luigi Gatti Robert Hichens Violet Jessop Charles Joughin Reginald Lee Evelyn Marsden William Mintram Jack Phillips George Symons Passengers Fatalities Thomas Andrews John Jacob Astor IV David John Bowen Archibald Butt Thomas Byles Walter Donald Douglas Edith Corse Evans Annie Funk Jacques Futrelle Sidney Leslie Goodwin Benjamin Guggenheim John Harper Wallace Hartley Charles Melville Hays Edward Austin Kent Joseph Philippe Lemercier Laroche Francis Davis Millet Harry Markland Molson Michel Navratil Eino Viljami Panula W.T. Stead Ida Straus Isidor Straus John Borland Thayer Jr. Frank M. Warren, Sr. George Dennick Wick George Dunton Widener Harry Elkins Widener Duane Williams George Henry Wright Survivors Rhoda Abbott Madeleine Astor Lawrence Beesley Karl Behr Dickinson Bishop Mauritz Håkan Björnström - Steffansson Elsie Bowerman Francis Browne Margaret `` Molly '' Brown Daniel Buckley Helen Churchill Candee Charlotte Drake Cardeza Lucile Carter Gladys Cherry Margaret Devaney Sir Cosmo Duff - Gordon Lucy, Lady Duff - Gordon Ethel Flora Fortune Dorothy Gibson Archibald Gracie IV Frank John William Goldsmith Henry S. Harper Margaret Bechstein Hays Masabumi Hosono J. Bruce Ismay Margaret Mannion Alfred Nourney Arthur Godfrey Peuchen Edith Rosenbaum Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes Emily Ryerson Frederic Kimber Seward Eloise Hughes Smith Jack Thayer Marian Thayer R. Norris Williams Last living survivors Lillian Asplund Ruth Becker Alden Caldwell Millvina Dean Edith Haisman Eva Hart Eleanor Ileen Johnson Louise Laroche Louise Kink Michel Marcel Navratil Winnifred Quick Marjorie Newell Robb Beatrice Sandström Barbara West Other Allison family Monuments and memorials General Memorials and monuments to the RMS Titanic Australia Bandstand ( Ballarat ) United Kingdom Engine Room Heroes ( Liverpool ) Engineers ( Southampton ) Musicians ( Southampton ) Titanic ( Belfast ) Orchestra ( Liverpool ) United States Straus Park ( New York City ) Titanic ( New York City ) Titanic ( Washington, D.C. ) Butt - Millet Memorial Fountain ( Washington, D.C. ) Popular culture Books Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan ( 1898 ) A Night to Remember ( book ) Polar the Titanic Bear Films Saved from the Titanic ( 1912 ) In Nacht und Eis ( 1912 ) Atlantic ( 1929 ) Titanic ( 1943 ) Titanic ( 1953 ) A Night to Remember ( 1958 ) The Unsinkable Molly Brown ( 1964 ) Raise the Titanic ( 1980 ) Secrets of the Titanic ( 1986 ) Titanica ( 1992 ) Titanic ( 1997 ) The Legend of the Titanic ( 1999 ) Titanic : The Legend Goes On ( 2000 ) Ghosts of the Abyss ( 2003 ) Titanic II ( 2010 ) Television S.O.S. Titanic ( 1979 ) Titanic : The Complete Story ( 1994 ) Titanic ( 1996 ) No Greater Love ( 1996 ) `` A Flight to Remember '' ( Futurama ) ( 1999 ) Titanic ( 2012 ) Titanic : Blood and Steel ( 2012 ) Saving the Titanic ( 2012 ) Music `` The Titanic ( It Was Sad When That Great Ship Went Down ) '' ( folk song ) The Sinking of the Titanic ( music composition ) Titanic ( musical ) The Unsinkable Molly Brown ( musical ) `` My Heart Will Go On '' ( song ) `` Nearer, My God, to Thee '' ( song ) Video games Titanic : Adventure Out of Time ( 1996 ) Titanic : Honor and Glory ( 2017 ) Museums and exhibitions SeaCity Museum ( Southampton ) Titanic Museum ( Branson, Missouri ) Titanic Museum ( Pigeon Forge, Tennessee ) Maritime Museum of the Atlantic ( Halifax ) Titanic Belfast Places Titanic ( Canada ) Titanic Canyon Titanic Quarter, Belfast Cape Race, Newfoundland Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia Mount Olivet Cemetery ( Halifax ) Related Titanic Historical Society Encyclopedia Titanica Halomonas titanicae Women and children first SOS RMS Carpathia RMS Olympic HMHS Britannic Robert Ballard Replica Titanic Titanic II Films directed by Jean Negulesco Crash Donovan ( 1936 ) Singapore Woman ( 1941 ) The Gay Parisian ( 1941 ) United States Marine Band ( 1942 ) Cavalcade of Dance ( 1943 ) Women at War ( 1943 ) The Mask of Dimitrios ( 1944 ) The Conspirators ( 1944 ) Three Strangers ( 1946 ) Nobody Lives Forever ( 1946 ) Humoresque ( 1946 ) Deep Valley ( 1947 ) Johnny Belinda ( 1948 ) Road House ( 1948 ) The Forbidden Street ( 1949 ) Three Came Home ( 1950 ) Under My Skin ( 1950 ) The Mudlark ( 1950 ) Take Care of My Little Girl ( 1951 ) Phone Call from a Stranger ( 1952 ) Lydia Bailey ( 1952 ) Lure of the Wilderness ( 1952 ) Titanic ( 1953 ) Scandal at Scourie ( 1953 ) How to Marry a Millionaire ( 1953 ) Three Coins in the Fountain ( 1954 ) Woman 's World ( 1954 ) Daddy Long Legs ( 1955 ) The Rains of Ranchipur ( 1955 ) The Dark Wave ( 1956 ) Boy on a Dolphin ( 1957 ) The Gift of Love ( 1958 ) A Certain Smile ( 1958 ) Count Your Blessings ( 1959 ) The Best of Everything ( 1959 ) Jessica ( 1962 ) The Pleasure Seekers ( 1964 ) The Invincible Six ( 1970 ) Hello - Goodbye ( 1970 ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Titanic_(1953_film)&oldid=799042794 '' Categories : English - language films 1953 films 1950s drama films 1950s historical films American films American disaster films American romantic drama films American black - and - white films Films about RMS Titanic Films based on actual events Films directed by Jean Negulesco Films produced by Charles Brackett Films set in 1912 Films whose writer won the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award Romantic period films Seafaring films based on actual events Screenplays by Charles Brackett 20th Century Fox films Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from April 2012 All articles needing additional references Film articles using image size parameter Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 5 September 2017, at 08 : 34. 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Question: when did the original titanic movie come out
Answer: 1953