A Night to Remember (1958)

[mrs_emma_peel]

A Night to Remember (1958) ... BBC2
BBC2 ... Sunday 15th April 2012 ... 3.00-5.00pm

100 years to the very day ... this is, I think, the perfect and easily the best and most accurate feature film to show ... and by which, to compassionately commemorate the 100th aniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic.



Kenneth More gives arguably the finest performance of his career as Second Officer Charles Lightoller ... with a quite superb, compelling and under-stated performance. A Night To Remember is, I think, the definitive film on the Titanic disaster, it has a sharply scripted screenplay by one of Ian Fleming's favourite authors, Eric Ambler, and the film is splendidly well paced, throughout the two hour running time, and directed with meticulous care and poignantly compassionate sensitivity by Roy Ward Baker.

A Night To Remember has a further connection with Ian Fleming ... Honor Blackman; Sean Connery and Desmond Llewelyn (both uncredited) - Goldfinger; and Geoffrey Bayldon: Casino Royale (1967) and Alec McGowan: Never Say Never Again (1983).

Titanic Lookout: Frederick Fleet played by Bernard Fox - uncredited in A Night To Remember ... delivers the famous line ... 'Iceberg, dead ahead, sir' ... Fox played Colonel Archibald Gracie IV in James Cameron's 1997 Titanic film.

Kenneth More ... Second Officer: Charles Lightoller
Lawrence Naismith ... Captain Edward J Smith
Michael Goodliffe ... Thomas Andrews: Architect/Designer
Frank Lawton ... J Bruce Ismay: Chairman/Managing Director - White Star Line

Kenneth Griffith ... Wireless Operator: Jack Philips
David McCallum ... Assistant Wireless Operator: Harold Sydney Bride

Alec McCowan ... Wireless Operator: Harold Thomas Cottam - Carpathia
Geoffrey Bayldon ... Wireless Operator: Cyril Evans - Californian

Richard Leech ... First Officer: William Murdoch
Andrew Kerr ... Second Engineer Officer: James Hesketh
Jack Watling ... Fourth Officer: Joseph Boxall
Howard Pays ... Fifth Officer: Harold Lowe
Michael Bryant ... Sixth Officer: James Moody

Ronald Allen ... Mr Clarke (Honeymooners)
Jill Dixon ... Mrs Clarke (Honeymooners)

John Cairney ... Mr Murphy
Jane Downs ... Mrs Sylvia Lightoller
Tucker McGuire ... Mrs Margaret (Molly) Brown

Anthony Bushell ... Captain Arthur Rostron - Carpathia
Russell Napier ... Captain Stanley Lord - Californian

Harold Goldblatt ... Benjamin Guggenheim
James Dyrenforth ... Colonel Archibold Gracie
Meier Tzelniker ... Mr Isador Strauss
Helen Misener ... Mrs Ida Strauss

John Merivale ... Robbie Lucas
Honor Blackman ... Mrs Liz Lucas
Sean Connery ... Titanic Deck-Crewman - uncredited
Desmond Llewelyn ... Seaman at Steerage Gate - uncredited

Stratford Johns ... Crewman on Upturned Lifeboat - uncredited
Bernard Fox ... Lookout: Frederick Fleet - uncredited

Kenneth More recalled the production of the film in his autobiography, published 20 years later in 1978. There was no tank big enough at Pinewood Studios to film the survivors struggling to climb into lifeboats, so it was done in the open-air swimming bath at Ruislip Lido at 2am on an icy, freezing cold November morning.

When the extras refused to jump in, More realised he would have to set an example ...
He called out: Come on!'

I leaped. Never have I experienced such cold in all my life. It was like jumping into a deep freeze. The shock forced the breath out of my body. My heart seemed to stop beating. I felt crushed, unable to think. I had rigor mortis, without the mortis. And then I surfaced, spat out the dirty water and, gasping for breath, found my voice.

'Stop!' I shouted. 'Don't listen to me! It's bloody awful! Stay where you are!'
But it was too late ...

Generally regarded as being the most luxurious liner in the world - White Star Line’s RMS Titanic had two serious contemporary rivals ... Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania (torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat U20 on 7th May 1915) and RMS Mauritania ... at various times both ships held the Blue Ribbon speed record for the fastest transatlantic crossings. RMS Titanic, RMS Olympic and HMHS (Her Majesty’s Hospital Ship) Britannic were commissioned by the White Star Line as their massively luxurious and 'unsinkable' answer to Cunard's super luxurious ocean-liners.

Emma

Sources: DigiGuide/Wikipedia/IMDb/Kenneth More/YouTube

The digitally restored version of A Night To Remember was released on 19th March 2012 and is available from Amazon for £12-97.

[cassidy]

In the absence of the "like" choice I'll put a to your post. cassidy.

A Night to Remember (1958) ... BBC2
BBC2 ... Sunday 15th April 2012 ... 3.00-5.00pm

100 years to the very day ... this is, I think, the perfect and easily the best and most accurate feature film to show ... and by which, to compassionately commemorate the 100th aniversary of the sinking of RMS Titanic.



Kenneth More gives arguably the finest performance of his career as Second Officer Charles Lightoller ... with a quite superb, compelling and under-stated performance. A Night To Remember is, I think, the definitive film on the Titanic disaster, it has a sharply scripted screenplay by one of Ian Fleming's favourite authors, Eric Ambler, and the film is superbly well paced, throughout the two hour running time, and directed with meticulous care and poignantly compassionate sensitivity by Roy Ward Baker.

A Night To Remember has a further connection with Ian Fleming ... Honor Blackman; Sean Connery and Desmond Llewelyn (both uncredited) - Goldfinger; and Geoffrey Bayldon: Casino Royale (1967) and Alec McGowan: Never Say Never Again (1983).

Titanic Lookout: Frederick Fleet played by Bernard Fox - uncredited in A Night To Remember ... delivers the famous line ... 'Iceberg, dead ahead, sir' ... Fox played Colonel Archibald Gracie IV in James Cameron's 1997 Titanic film.

Kenneth More ... Second Officer: Charles Lightoller
Lawrence Naismith ... Captain Edward J Smith
Michael Goodliffe ... Thomas Andrews: Architect/Designer
Frank Lawton ... J Bruce Ismay: Chairman/Managing Director - White Star Line

Kenneth Griffith ... Wireless Operator: Jack Philips
David McCallum ... Assistant Wireless Operator: Harold Sydney Bride

Alec McCowan ... Wireless Operator: Harold Thomas Cottam - Carpathia
Geoffrey Bayldon ... Wireless Operator: Cyril Evans - Californian

Richard Leech ... First Officer: William Murdoch
Andrew Kerr ... Second Engineer Officer: James Hesketh
Jack Watling ... Fourth Officer: Joseph Boxall
Howard Pays ... Fifth Officer: Harold Lowe
Michael Bryant ... Sixth Officer: James Moody

Ronald Allen ... Mr Clarke (Honeymooners)
Jill Dixon ... Mrs Clarke (Honeymooners)

John Cairney ... Mr Murphy
Jane Downs ... Mrs Sylvia Lightoller
Tucker McGuire ... Mrs Margaret (Molly) Brown

Anthony Bushell ... Captain Arthur Rostron - Carpathia
Russell Napier ... Captain Stanley Lord - Californian

Harold Goldblatt ... Benjamin Guggenheim
James Dyrenforth ... Colonel Archibold Gracie
Meier Tzelniker ... Mr Isador Strauss
Helen Misener ... Mrs Ida Strauss

John Merivale ... Robbie Lucas
Honor Blackman ... Mrs Liz Lucas
Sean Connery ... Titanic Deck-Crewman - uncredited
Desmond Llewelyn ... Seaman at Steerage Gate - uncredited

Stratford Johns ... Crewman on Upturned Lifeboat - uncredited
Bernard Fox ... Lookout: Frederick Fleet - uncredited

When the extras refused to jump in, More realised he would have to set an example ...
He called out: ! Come on!'

I leaped. Never have I experienced such cold in all my life. It was like jumping into a deep freeze. The shock forced the breath out of my body. My heart seemed to stop beating. I felt crushed, unable to think. I had rigor mortis, without the mortis. And then I surfaced, spat out the dirty water and, gasping for breath, found my voice.

'Stop!' I shouted. 'Don't listen to me! It's bloody awful! Stay where you are!'
But it was too late ...

Generally regarded as being the most luxurious liner in the world - White Star Line’s RMS Titanic had two serious contemporary rivals ... Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania (torpedoed and sunk by a German U-Boat U20 on 7th May 1915) and RMS Mauritania ... at various times both ships held the Blue Ribbon speed record for the fastest transatlantic crossings. RMS Titanic, RMS Olympic and HMHS (Her Majesty’s Hospital Ship) Britannic were commissioned by the White Star Line as their massively luxurious and unsinkable answer to Cunard's super luxurious ocean-liners.

Emma

Sources: DigiGuide/Wikipedia/IMDb/Kenneth More/YouTube

The digitally restored version of A Night To Remember was released on 19th March 2012 and is available from Amazon for approx. £12

[mrs_emma_peel]

Many thanks Cassidy
Emma

[Rick C]

As a companion to a much larger feature in their April edition, History Today magazine are displaying a 'Titanic-in-the Movies' aricle on their website:-

http://www.historytoday.com/blog/2012/03/titanic-movies

[didi-5]

A superb film. The 1950s 'Titanic' is also showing this week - a lesser piece, but still affecting.

[Mo B Dick]

In the absence of the "like" choice I'll put a to your post. cassidy.

And I'd like to add another please

[cassidy]

Have we started something ?

And I'd like to add another please

[Stephen Laws]

Roy Ward Baker and SL.jpg

Thought you all might like to see a photograph of director Roy Ward Baker, being presented with an award by myself at the Manchester Festival of Fantastic Films. I agree that A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is a superb film, very moving. An interesting aside - Andrew Keir told me in an interview that he had been unhappy during the filming of Hammer's QUATERMASS AND THE PIT (1967) because he felt that Roy had wanted another actor for the part - namely, Kenneth More. When I interviewed Roy, he refuted that view with some puzzlement.

Stephen Laws
www.stephenlaws.com

[Freddy]

Charles Lightoller is a fascinating chap, he took his boat to Dunkirk and rescued 130 men from the beaches.

http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org...ightoller.html