A Night to Remember (movie)

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

Plot
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

 Kenneth More as Second Officer Charles Lightoller
 Ronald Allen as Mr. Clarke (Mr. John Chapman) 
 Robert Ayers as Arthur Godfrey Peuchen
 Honor Blackman as Mrs. Liz Lucas
 Anthony Bushell as Captain Arthur Rostron
 John Cairney as Mr. Murphy
 Jill Dixon as Mrs. Clarke (Mrs. Sarah Chapman) 
 Jane Downs as Mrs. Sylvia Lightoller
 James Dyrenforth as Colonel Archibald Gracie IV
 Michael Goodliffe as shipbuilder Thomas Andrews
 Kenneth Griffith as Wireless Operator Jack Phillips
 Harriette Johns as Lady Richard (Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon)
 Frank Lawton as J. Bruce Ismay
 Richard Leech as First Officer William Murdoch
 David McCallum as Assistant Wireless Operator Harold Sydney Bride
 Alec McCowen as Wireless Operator Harold Thomas Cottam, SS Carpathia
 Geoffrey Bayldon as Wireless Operator Cyril Evans, SS Californian
 Tucker McGuire as Mrs. Margaret 'Molly' Brown
 John Merivale as Robbie Lucas
 Ralph Michael as Jay Yates
 Laurence Naismith as Captain Edward J. Smith
 Russell Napier as Captain Stanley Lord
 Redmond Phillips as Mr. Hoyle
 George Rose as Chief Baker Charles Joughin
 Joseph Tomelty as Dr. William O'Loughlin
 Patrick Waddington as Sir Richard (Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon)
 Jack Watling as Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall
 Michael Bryant as Sixth Officer James Moody
 Cyril Chamberlain as Quartermaster Rowe
 Richard Clarke as Martin Gallagher
 Bee Duffell as Mrs. Farrell
 Harold Goldblatt as Benjamin Guggenheim
 Gerald Harper as Third Officer, SS Carpathia
 Thomas Heathcote as Steward
 Andrew Keir as Second Engineer Officer John Henry 'Harry' Hesketh
 Patrick McAlinney as Mr. James Farrell
 Howard Pays as Fifth Officer Harold Lowe
 Harold Siddons as Second Officer Herbert Stone, SS Californian
 Charles Belchier as Bandleader Wallace Hartley (uncredited)
 Teresa Thorne as Miss Edith Russell (uncredited)
 Howard Lang as Chief Officer Henry Wilde (uncredited)
 Sean Connery as Steerage passenger (uncredited)
 John Moulder Brown as boy (uncredited)
 Henry Campbell as William T. Stead (uncredited)
 Larry Taylor as bearded seaman (uncredited)
 Julian Somers as Mr. Bull
 Rosamund Greenwood as Mrs. Bull (uncredited)

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

References

Bibliography

Other websites
 
 
 
 
 A Night to Remember an essay by Michael Sragow at the Criterion Collection

RMS Titanic
1958 drama movies
British drama movies
Movies based on books
Movies directed by Roy Ward Baker