A NIGHT TO REMEMBER
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: ***1/2 OUT OF ****
United Kingdom, 1958 Running Length: 2:03 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (shipwreck) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Cast: Kenneth Moore, Laurence Naismith, Michael Goodliffe, Frank Lawton, Tucker McGuire, Kenneth Griffith, David McCallum, George Rose, John Merivale, Honor Blackman Director: Roy Baker Producer: William MacQuitty Screenplay: Eric Ambler based on the novel by Walter Lord Cinematography: Geoffrey Unsworth Music: William Alwyn Distributor: Rank Films
In the wake of the phenomenal success of James Cameron's TITANIC, it is only natural that all things about the world's most infamous shipwreck should suddenly become items of great interest. That includes the best-known pre-1997 Titanic film, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, and the book of the same title upon which it was based. Those who take the time to sit through the earlier movie's account of the story will find that it is at once both like and unlike the epic romantic tragedy brought so successfully to the screen forty years later.
The temptation is, of course, to compare the two films, but that would be as profoundly unfair as trying to analyze the similarities and differences between GONE WITH THE WIND and GETTYSBURG just because both transpired with the same historical event as a backdrop. TITANIC is a grand melodrama, with a pair of fictional characters caught up in a maelstrom of romance, lust, danger, heroism, and pulse-pounding adventure. The special effects are among the best ever brought to the screen, turning the final hour into nothing short of a cinematic tour de force. A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, on the other hand, is a more reserved motion picture. It uses historical characters to tell the real story, relying on the first-hand accounts of survivors for nearly every sequence and line of dialogue. The romance is gone, but there's still plenty of adventure and heroism, and a subplot excised from TITANIC that deepens both the tragedy and the suspense. Finally, although the visuals are not nearly as impressive, they're good enough to allow us to suspend disbelief and become thoroughly immersed in the story.
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is presented with such austerity and unflinching impartiality that it occasionally fools us into thinking that it's a documentary, not a work of fiction. In fact, director Roy Baker and producer William MacQuitty were so committed to telling the genuine story of the disaster that they would probably both consider that statement to be a compliment. For their source material, they chose the most comprehensive and exhaustively researched book of the time, Walter Lord's A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. Few aspects of the historical record were compromised during the novel-to-screenplay conversion. A few individuals were bundled into "composite characters," certain events were modified to heighten their dramatic impact, and the sinking ignored the fact that the ship broke in two during its final moments. Other than that, the story told by A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is pretty much how things happened (at least as far as we know).
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER opens with the launch of Titanic on her maiden voyage in April 1912. On hand for the proud occasion are both the ship's designer, Thomas Andrews (Michael Goodliffe), and the head of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay (Frank Lawton). Since no footage exists of Titanic's actual launch, the film makers spliced together archival material depicting other, similar ships, including the Queen Elizabeth and the Lusitania. To all but the expert eye, this will not be noticeable. After Titanic has pulled away from land, most full shots of the ship are of a large model.
The story is told through the eyes of second officer Herbert Lightroller (Kenneth More), one of the heroes who survived the sinking. Before the unsinkable ship's unfortunate encounter with the iceberg, Lightroller is presented as an affable, competent officer. Afterwards, as the harsh reality of the situation descends, he is shown to be the rarest of men: one who not only copes at the eye of a hurricane of chaos, but thrives in it, urging calm and saving lives to the very last.
During the course of the film's 123-minute running length, we meet a number of interesting figures, many of whom did not live to tell about the fateful ocean crossing. There's the boisterous, unsinkable Molly Brown (Tucker McGuire); the wealthy Benjamin Guggenheim, who drowned in his best dinner clothes; the stalwart Col. Archibald Gracie, who died eight months after the sinking; Sir and Lady Duff Gordon, two of only twelve people in a lifeboat that should have seated 40; the loving Mr. And Mrs. Lucas (John Merivale and Honor "Pussy Galore" Blackman); and Joughin the baker (George Rose), who survived by getting drunk. Among the crew, we are introduced to Captain Chris Smith (Laurence Naismith), the world's highest-paid sea officer only weeks away from retirement; Phillips (Kenneth Griffith) and Bride (THE MAN FROM UNCLE's David McCallum), Titanic's beleaguered wireless operators; first officer Murdoch; quartermasters Rowe and Hinchins; and Captains Stanley Lord of the Californian and Arthur Rostron of the Carpathian. With so many characters, it's no surprise that there's little time to identify with any of them; A NIGHT TO REMEMBER tells of an event without becoming particularly wrapped up in the lives of anyone affected by it.
A NIGHT TO REMEMBER's attention to detail is well-known. The film makers used still shots of the original ship when re-creating the decks, the first dining saloon, the forward stair case, and the smoking room. The technical advisor was none other than fourth officer Joseph Groves Boxhall. The actors hired to play the various historical figures were chosen not only on the basis of their ability to convincingly portray the parts, but because of their physical resemblance to the men and women they were standing in for, whether dead or alive. And all outdoor scenes were filmed in cold weather so that the actors' breath could be seen.
One of the great strengths of A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is how it manages to balance the many stories aboard Titanic with the tales of its should- have-been rescuer, the Californian (a ship a mere 10 miles away that, as the result of fate and negligence, never realized what was happening), and its actual rescuer, the Carpathian (which arrived on the scene only a couple of hours after Titanic went down, and was able to save the survivors and transport them to America). These are aspects of the entire event overlooked by Cameron, and their presence deepens the sense of irony and desperation.
If there's a weakness to A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, it's that the special effects are limited by the technology of the era. They're not bad per se, but, after seeing Cameron's TITANIC, it's only natural to expect something a little more impressive than an overlit model floundering in a large pool of water. There's no doubt that this approach works within the context of the movie, but it's virtually impossible to watch the scenes of the ship sinking without recalling the grandeur of how it went down in 1997.
Perhaps the best way for TITANIC fans to view A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is as a companion piece -- more factual than any other feature produced about the event and more absorbing than any of the lengthy, dry documentaries about the subject. Of course, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is good enough to stand on its own (many critics will argue that it's a better film than Cameron's epic), but it works differently when seen side-by- side with its gargantuanly-budgeted sister. The truth is that the tale of the Titanic is big enough to be seen from many different vantage points, and 1997's TITANIC and 1958's A NIGHT TO REMEMBER offer two of the most compelling perspectives.
Copyright 1998 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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