A Night to Remember (1958 film)

A Night to Remember is a 1958 British docudrama film based on the eponymous 1955 book by Walter Lord. The film and book recount the final night of RMS Titanic, which on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic and then sank in the early morning hours of Monday, 15 April 1912. Adapted by Eric Ambler and directed by Roy Ward Baker, the film stars Kenneth More as the ship's Second Officer Charles Lightoller and features Michael Goodliffe, Laurence Naismith, Kenneth Griffith, David McCallum and Tucker McGuire. It was filmed in the United Kingdom and tells the story of the sinking, portraying the main incidents and players in a documentary-style fashion with considerable attention to detail. The production team, supervised by producer William MacQuitty (who saw the original ship launched) used blueprints of the ship to create authentic sets, while Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall and ex-Cunard Commodore Harry Grattidge worked as technical advisors on the film. Its estimated budget of up to £600,000 (£13.1 million adjusted for inflation [2019]) was exceptional and made it the most expensive film ever made in Britain up to that time.
The World Premiere was on Thursday, 3 July 1958, at the Odeon Leicester Square. Titanic survivor Elizabeth Dowdell attended the American premiere in New York on Tuesday 16 December 1958. The film disappointed at the box office. However, it received critical acclaim and won the 1959 "Samuel Goldwyn International Award" for the UK at the Golden Globe Awards. The film has been described as "the definitive cinematic telling of the story." Among the many films about the Titanic, A Night to Remember is regarded highly by Titanic historians and survivors for its accuracy, despite its modest production values, compared with the Oscar-winning film Titanic (1997).
Category:Films