A Night To Remember (1958)

A Night To Remember (1958) – On its maiden voyage in April 1912, the “unsinkable” RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.

Directed by Roy Baker                       Starring – Kenneth More, Honor Blackman, Ronald Allen

A stunning movie about the sinking of the fabled luxury liner, that holds up well sixty years later.  Working from the best information of the day, the movie plays the story down the middle without pulling any punches.  The classism of English society comes under sharp review here, showing it at its best and worst.  

What is striking about the movie is how well it stands up.  After the other movies that have come since, the discovery of the shattered vessel on the bottom of the ocean, this story remains compelling.  I knew the end of the story quite well, but couldn’t tear myself away from this version.  There is a humanity displayed by this veteran English cast that gets lost in movies that focus on the “big disaster” aspect of the events.  It is the people that make it such a heart-wrenching story.  The work with the models of the ship as the survivors slip away create images that are unforgettable.  That it was done six decades ago is amazing.


Add in the benefit of “unintended genius” in the sound effects.  The groaning, heard as the ships first lists and then begins its final death plunge, is not “special effects” at all.  As the sets were lifted by hydraulic devices to simulate the shifting of the ship itself, the sets began to make terrifying and loud noises.  They were so true to life that the director left them in.


The brilliance of this movie is an accumulation of small details like that.  Based on a book of the same name, skillfully written and directed, deftly handled by the cast, “A Night To Remember” is a movie to remember as well.


Why You Will Like It: Even though it’s a story you know very well, this remains one of the best and fascinating versions. 


Rating – ***** Must See