Titanic
Tags: historical, melodrama

Plot synopsis:
In 1996, treasure hunter Brock Lovett and his team aboard the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh search the wreck of RMS Titanic for a necklace with a rare diamond, the Heart of the Ocean. They recover a safe containing a drawing of a young woman wearing only the necklace dated April 14, 1912, the day the ship struck the iceberg. Rose Dawson Calvert, the woman in the drawing, is brought aboard Keldysh and tells Lovett of her experiences aboard Titanic.
In 1912 Southampton, 17-year-old first-class passenger Rose DeWitt Bukater, her fiancé Cal Hockley, and her mother Ruth board the luxurious Titanic. Ruth emphasizes that Rose's marriage will resolve their family's financial problems and retain their high-class persona. Distraught over the engagement, Rose considers suicide by jumping from the stern; Jack Dawson, a penniless artist, intervenes and discourages her. Discovered with Jack, Rose tells a concerned Cal that she was peering over the edge and Jack saved her from falling. When Cal becomes indifferent, she suggests to him that Jack deserves a reward. He invites Jack to dine with them in first class the following night. Jack and Rose develop a tentative friendship, despite Cal and Ruth being wary of him. Following dinner, Rose secretly joins Jack at a party in third class.
Aware of Cal and Ruth's disapproval, Rose rebuffs Jack's advances, but realizes she prefers him over Cal. After rendezvousing on the bow at sunset, Rose takes Jack to her state room; at her request, Jack sketches Rose posing nude wearing Cal's engagement present, the Heart of the Ocean necklace. They evade Cal's bodyguard and have sex in an automobile inside the cargo hold. On the forward deck, they witness a collision with an iceberg and overhear the officers and designer discussing its seriousness.
Cal discovers Jack's sketch of Rose and an insulting note from her in his safe along with the necklace. When Jack and Rose attempt to inform Cal of the collision, he has his bodyguard slip the necklace into Jack's pocket and accuses him of theft. Jack is arrested, taken to the master-at-arms' office, and handcuffed to a pipe. Cal puts the necklace in his own coat pocket.
With the ship sinking, Rose flees Cal and her mother, who has boarded a lifeboat, and frees Jack. On the boat deck, Cal and Jack encourage her to board a lifeboat; Cal claims he can get himself and Jack off safely. After Rose boards one, Cal tells Jack the arrangement is only for himself. As her boat lowers, Rose decides that she cannot leave Jack and jumps back on board. Cal takes his bodyguard's pistol and chases Rose and Jack into the flooding first-class dining saloon. After using up his ammunition, Cal realizes he gave his coat and consequently the necklace to Rose. He later boards a collapsible lifeboat by carrying a lost child.
After braving several obstacles, Jack and Rose return to the boat deck. The lifeboats have departed and passengers are falling to their deaths as the stern rises out of the water. The ship breaks in half, lifting the stern into the air. Jack and Rose ride it into the ocean and he helps her onto a wooden panel only buoyant enough for one person. He assures her that she will die an old woman, warm in her bed. Jack dies of hypothermia but Rose is saved.
With Rose hiding from Cal en route, the RMS Carpathia takes the survivors to New York City where Rose gives her name as Rose Dawson. She later finds out Cal committed suicide after losing all his money in the 1929 Wall Street crash.
Back in the present, Lovett decides to abandon his search after hearing Rose's story. Alone on the stern of Keldysh, Rose takes out the Heart of the Ocean — in her possession all along — and drops it into the sea over the wreck site. While she is seemingly asleep or has died in her bed, photos on her dresser depict a life of freedom and adventure inspired by the life she wanted to live with Jack. A young Rose reunites with Jack at the Titanic's Grand Staircase, applauded by those who died.

Review: Holds Its Own. Although not as honored as the 1997 Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet story about the Titanic disaster, this version of Titanic starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck can definitely hold its own.
Also look for good performances by Thelma Ritter as the Molly Brown in all but name role, Richard Basehart as the defrocked priest and Allyn Joslyn as the eager social climber.It's Webb and Stanwyck who carry the story.
And Barbara Stanwyck's last moments as the film ends are some of then best in her long distinguished career.It's your father's Titanic and a good one too..
This film has been overshadowed by the 1997 blockbuster, but this 1953 story of the tragic ocean liner certainly stands tall on its own merits, not the least of which are the star performances by Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck.Built around the domestic drama of a fictional family, the well-known story of the sinking of the Titanic unfolds in an unrelenting and straightforward fashion.
This film instead focuses (touchingly) on the human drama involved with the ship, with many of the elements of real passengers' accounts rolled into the story of Clifton Webb and wife Barbara Stanwyck (Both excellent; when Isn't Barbara Stanwyck excellent?) and their children.
Barbara Stanwyck, Clifton Webb, Richard Basehart, the young Robert Wagner (looking positively "DiCaprioesque," as it were!), the (unfortunately) near-forgotten Brian Aherne, and the underrated Audrey Dalton all give sterling performances.
Both wonderful actors, if they seem an unlikely couple at first, you probably won't think so by the end of the movie, they are so superb.In this version, Stanwyck is actually leaving her husband (Webb), unbeknownst to him, but when he realizes what's happening, he bribes the father in a lower class for his ticket.
Webb's last scene with Stanwyck will leave you in tears, and if it doesn't, there's also the poignant scene on deck with his son, Norman, which is beautiful.I don't pretend to be an expert on the Titanic - however, I know a little more than a friend at work who, announcing she was seeing the Cameron version when it first came out, said, "Don't tell me how it ends." I realize that the Fox script drew a good deal of information from the navigation reports of the ship; however, I saw a documentary which showed footage of this film while it demonstrated that in this telling, the underwater scene shows the iceberg hitting on the wrong side.I have also seen "A Night to Remember," which I also remember as being a very emotional experience.
Stanwyck is rarely this on, imhb.The set up is all about the people, not the ship, and it works because when the iceberg strikes, it's as if we never saw it coming, and now these good folk mean the world to us.The pacing is superb, and I can assure you that you will wish the film were longer.
The love story is sweet and unlike the newer version makes sense since both characters are from the same class, the only way in that era that they would mingle, class division was too ingrained at the time for people to move freely about the ship.
It just isn't the amazing spectacle that the 1997 film is--and could be because of improved movie making technology.Exceptional and so good that I want to see the British version, "A Night to Remember".
Rather average Hollywood attempt to tell the story of the 1912 marine disaster, the sinking of the Titanic, this one focuses on Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck as an unhappily married couple reevaluating their union and their children surrounded by the splendour of the most wonderful (and unsinkable) tub ever launched.However, when compared to 'A Night to Remember' and to the occasionally-shown documentary which speaks to the survivors of the disaster who were children at the time, it pales into insignificance.
What I like here is the contrast between the personal pettiness of Julia (Barbara Stanwyck) and Richard (Clifton Webb), against the ominous and overarching doom toward which they are unknowingly moving.Similarly, Captain Smith (Brian Aherne) goes about his ship duties in a most nonchalant manner, just one more voyage among countless others.
Casting and acting range from acceptable to great; Thelma Ritter gives an unusually good performance.Some Titanic films convey a semi-documentary look and feel; characters in these films are mere props, lacking humanity.
This movie remains, on it's own terms, solid big studio Hollywood entertainment.Right at the start we're given a good fictional story, with Barbara Stanwyck taking her two kids on The Titanic, to get them away from her snooty husband, wonderfully played by Clifton Webb in one of his best roles.
This set's up a great scene later on, as the ship is sinking, but it is also about as much of the people on the lower decks that you'll see in this version.The scenes between Clifton Webb and Barbra Stanwyck are outstanding, There is  one scene in particular, when they are arguing about the fate of they're children, that she tells him a long kept secret, that though brief in nature, is played to perfection.
The likes of Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, and Robert Wagner are fine actors, but you're not watching to see the husband and wife bickering or to watch the young guy fall in love.
The effect on Sturgis is something like that of the Titanic hitting the iceberg, which comes later.All the supporting players are quite good, but Stanwyck and Webb are the movie.
Of course the whole point about any "Titanic" film is how to fill the space until the iceberg hits, which naturally means concocting fictional dramas amongst the passengers and on this occasion, slightly melodramatic as they were (an alcoholic priest, a tug-of-love between an American townie and her high-falutin' husband...), with sympathetic writing and strong playing, they certainly engaged my interest and by the bitter end, emotions too.Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck make an unlikely couple at first, but one comes to believe in their story, especially after Stanwyck makes her shock revelation to Webb as she desperately tries to maintain the loyalty of their two young children against the high-life allure of Webb's nomadic lifestyle.
Their last scenes in particular have a rare poignancy as Webb at last shows the sacrifice and devotion that as both a father and husband he's sorely lacked before.In the lesser tales, we get to see Richard Basehart deliver a good performance as a fallen priest, who again rediscovers his vocation at the hour of greatest need and a young lantern-jawed Robert Wagner as the freshman suitor of Webb and Stanwyck's somewhat stuffy daughter.
Occasionally you feel there aren't that many people on the boat itself and it's noticeable that there's very little coverage of the below-deck drama as the ship fills up with water, but the final scenes, especially the largely non-judgemental treatment of the captain and crew, seemed about right to me; there's no doubting the valour and devotion to duty of this particular captain in going down with his ship unlike a certain Italian captain in the modern disaster of the Concordia.This feature succeeds therefore in the quality of its writing (which was Oscar-nominated) and sensitive direction and acting rather than the special effects, which surely is as it should be..
Like "Titanic (1997)", it tells the story of a tragic young love set against the sinking of the famous ship.
(What you see in Cameron's version and "A Night To Remember" is more realistic--the rest of the passengers are panicking as the band plays on.) Furthermore, I think what the real priests did on Titanic is more heroic than Richard Basehart's character.
It's not very likely that they reconcile, however, since they're sailing aboard the ill-fated Titanic, and Barbara's already found herself a boy-toy, Robert Wagner!While this movie doesn't have the lush, epic, grandness of James Cameron's masterpiece, it's sufficiently sad enough to be recruited whenever you're in the need of a good cry.
I Dissolve Every Time I Watch It. Obviously the inspiration behind James Cameron's '97 blockbuster, but more than makes up for its lack of special effects in the sterling performances by Webb, Stanwyck, Ritter, Wagner and others.Moreso than A Night To Remember, this '53 version hews closer in some respects to what is actually known about the 1912 maritime disaster (survivors said they recall the ship's orchestra playing "Nearer My God To Thee", as they do in the movie).
I would normally say actresses like Barbara Stanwyck and Thelma Ritter are reason enough, but their talents are wasted on this ridiculously thin screenplay, which inexplicably won writers Charles Brackett, Walter Reisch, and Richard Breen an Oscar in 1953."Titanic" was also nominated for its black and white art direction, and it's kind of interesting to see how similar the recreation of the ship's interior is to the 1997 version (the answer is....pretty similar).Grade: C.
Indeed the all-important shipwreck takes up less than a third of the film's typically lean 98-minute running-time and, for the previous hour-plus, we are regrettably treated to the class- conscious disintegrating marriage between "common" Barbara Stanwyck and snobbish Clifton Webb and the blooming romance between 'common' Robert Wagner and snobbish Audrey Dalton (the legitimate offspring of the Stanwyck-Webb union – there is also much eye-rolling emoting over the younger son's attachment to a father who has chosen to disown him!).
Apart from the obligatory lush production values, what remains to tickle the viewer's flagging interest is the fine cast assembled to impersonate the fated vessel's crew (stolid captain Brian Aherne and concerned second officer Edmund Purdom – who is surprisingly uncredited despite the amount of screen time and the importance of his role!) and passenger list (defrocked alcoholic priest Richard Basehart, indomitable Molly Brown stand-in Thelma Ritter and cowardly cad Allyn Joslyn); the film's concluding morose statistical narration is provided by a similarly unacknowledged Michael Rennie..
This version is definitely worth a look, if for no other reason than to watch Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb go at it like a dog and a cat.
For this story, the focus is on one particular family - headed by wealthy husband Clifton Webb (as Richard Ward Sturges) and his exceptionally well-dressed wife Barbara Stanwyck (as Julia).
While falling a little short of "A Night to Remember" (1958), "Titanic" (1953) hits all cylinders successfully and remains a fine example of Hollywood-produced product from the 1950s.******** Titanic (4/11/53) Jean Negulesco ~ Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, Richard Basehart.
That's why I also went to see every other movie on the ship that came across including "Ome Night to Remember", "S.O.S Titanic" and James Cameron's huge "Titanic" too."One Night to Remember" (1958, I think) is supposed to be the most accurate regarding actual facts, but it lacks tension because of a weak plot until the sinking and even Kenneth More looks bored and too calm during such a terrible disaster; a documentary film would have been better if historical accuracy was the target.
Finally, Cameron's version (1997), is certainly a big budget film but has undeniable major flaws such as Billy Zane chasing and shooting with a pistol at Leo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet with the water above his knees and at the precise moment everybody else was trying to save their lives with the ship nearly down.On the other hand Jean Negulesco's 1953 version is a simple movie that narrates interesting and credible situations involving some of the doomed passengers.
The supporting cast which includes a young Robert Wagner, Thelma Ritter, Richard Basehart and the always reliable Brian Aherne (as Captain Smith), is also very good.The crash and the sinking sequences are very well done even for special effects of 1953.
The drama and desperation atmosphere all over the sentenced liner is also perfectly managed.If you just consider that Negulesco's film gives Cameron's version more than 40 years of handicap in film technology there can be no doubt that the first is a far better movie.The opening scene where you can see the iceberg cracking out of an ice mountain, fall into the ocean and start its voyage to meet the Titanic is an intelligent idea that puts you into the matter right from the start.In all a very good dramatic movie based on actual facts, not matched yet by the numerous cinema and television versions that came later.
Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck play a quarreling American couple on what is supposed to be their voyage home, after years in Europe, and how the sinking of the great ship changes them; for the better, as things work out, though with tragic consequences.
So, they don't seem as natural or real, but more like people in a play or movie.The beauty of this film is that one can fit in and feel as though you are a passenger on board the Titanic with the Sturges family and others.
This was the Cameron film's namesake - 1953's "Titanic." It's the third movie account of the sinking of the ship that I've seen - along with the Cameron film and 1958's "A Night To Remember" - and it's actually, as far as I know, the earliest film version made.
The drama Titanic is directed by Jean Negulesco and stars Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, and Audrey Dalton.
The same is to be said about Audrey Dalton and all the other actors in this film, most of it centered on Webb and Stanwyck's characters though.Now I would like to compare this film to James Cameron's Titanic which is far superior.
I like this Titanic-film very much, but I can see that they used a model when they made the movie.The directing by Jean Negulesco is very good.
Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck, two pros, are memorable in this fantastic version of "Titanic."Their marriage has gone southward as they embark on this ill-fated journey.Audrey Dalton, and Robert Wagner along with Thelma Ritter, who both starred the year before in "With A Song in My Heart," more than hold their own.
It is also interesting to note how calm everybody seemed to be as it sank too, unlike the other Titanic movies I've seen.This movie has an excellent cast: Clifton Webb (Laura), Barbara Stanwyck (The Two Mrs Carrolls), Robert Wagner (Hart To Hart), Thelma Ritter, Audrey Dalton, Richard Basehart (Voyage To the Bottom of the Sea) and Brian Aherne.
In this version of the Titanic there is a romance with a real young and good looking Robert Wagner playing a college student who is on the ship with a bunch of his classmates trying to act like they are Cornell students because their college has the same initials.
Most of the main characters are completely fictional, even more so than 1997's Titanic, but this is a good thing in that you're not putting words or actions into the mouths of real people.The family at the centre of the story are the result are being torn apart, not least by certain major revelations, but as the ship goes down disaster at least brings redemption and forgiveness.Whereas the 1997 movie has the stunning effects, the 'event' feeling, few would say it was well scripted or acted, and rightly so.
As the young 'love interest' couple Robert Wagner and Audrey Dalton are more believable and wholly less irritating than 1997's Jack and Rose.Many mentions have already been made about the father and son ending, and they're right, it is genuinely moving, the son clearly worships his father like a hero and makes the brave gesture of giving up his seat on a boat to 'make a swim for it' Enough to make any father proud.It's clear to me as a longtime (pre 1997) Titanic fan that if you want the best film re tellings of this story, you are best off with the two films of the 1950s..
Jean Negulesco's 1953 version of Titanic tries to be like a historical drama and fictional drama at the same time, succeeding in some areas, but failing in most areas.Rich, upper-class married Julia Sturges (Barbara Stanwyck) separates from her stuffy and uptight husband Richard (Clifton Webb), wanting to bring up her teenage daughter (Audrey Dalton) and young son as middle class Americans in Michigan.
Aboard the ship, the daughter strikes up a romance with an American college student (Robert Wagner), a defrocked priest (Richard Baseheart) is running away from his own problems, and the eventful April 15 sinking of Titanic will change everyone's lives forever.Let me start off with the positives.
There are also a number of other fine performances in this great ensemble cast: a young Robert Wagner, Allan Joslyn (who originated the part of Mortimer Brewster of "Arsenic and Old Lace" on B'way) as the cowardly Mr. Meeker, Brian Aherne in a very idealized but well-played role as Captain Smith, The young Harper Carter as Norman Sturgis and the very under-rated Richard Baseheart in the most moving portrayal as the defrocked alcoholic priest.To this day the end scenes with Clifton Webb and Harper Carter on the sinking ship with a hysterical Barbara Stanwick on a lifeboat hysterically screaming for her lost son still make me weep.
*SPOILERS*This movie was made by Jean Negulesco in '53, and is basically one of the worst Titanic movies ever made, if not *the* worst.We have a bickering couple (Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb) along with daughter (Audrey Dalton) who predictably finds love (Robert Wagner) and little son, Molly Brown (Thelma Ritter) and a lot of other people I'm supposed to care about but I don't.It's the zenith of boredom!Then, the iceberg hits, and so does stupidity!
To die with his father?PLEASE!And then, everybody still on board sings 'Nearer My God To Thee' and DOESN'T MOVE AN INCH as the ship SINKS?What the HELL were they smoking?Titanic (1953): Starring Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, Audrey Dalton, Richard Basehart, Thelma Ritter, Brian Ahene, Allyn Joslyn, James Todd, James O'Hara, William Johnstone, Frances Bergen, Charles B.
The movie stars Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner and Brian Aherne plays Captain John Smith.
Also the interior sets are good looking.The movie has a decent cast with Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck and an almost unrecognizable young Robert Wagner in an early role.