Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember"

A Night to Remember (1958) is a British docudrama film based on the 1955 book of the same name by Walter Lord. The film was directed by Roy Ward Baker. The novel was adapted by Eric Ambler. The film stars Kenneth Moore and features a large British supporting cast including Honor Blackman and David McCallum.

The film is seen through the eyes of the ship’s Second Officer Charles Lightoller (Moore). Unlike the earlier American production, Titanic (1953), A Night to Remember relied on interviews with survivors and all available information about the disaster from the time period.

 

Roy Ward Baker (1916 – 2010) was an English film director. His is most famous for directing A Night to Remember but he had a successful career in the U.K. and the United States. He started working in film in 1934 for Gainsborough Pictures, a British film production company. He started out at the bottom doing errands but eventually rose up in the ranks acting as the assistant director on Alfred Hitchcock’s The Land Vanishes (1938). He directed Tyrone Power and Ann Blyth in I’ll Never Forget You (1951), Marilyn Monroe and Richard Widmark in Don’t Bother to Knock (1952), and Bette Davis in The Anniversary (1968).

 

Kenneth Moore (1914 – 1982) was an English film and stage actor. He was a popular leading man in films in the U.K. and the United States. He starred in British comedy Doctor in the House (1954), The Admirable Crichton (1957), and The Deep Blue Sea (1955) co-starring Vivien Leigh. He also starred in the 1959 remake of The 39 Steps (1959), Sink the Bismarck (1960).

 

A Night to Remember trivia

• It was the most expensive British film ever made at the time of its release.
• Four actors from the film (Peter Burton, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Bayldon, and Alec McCowen) all played “Q” in various James Bond movies. Llewelyn and Honor Blackman appeared in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964).
• In 1985, when the Titanic wreckage was discovered, we found out that the ship broke in two. In the movie, the ship sinks in one piece.
• Supposedly, James Cameron was inspired to make Titanic (1997) after seeing this film. Cameron even copied various scenes from A Night to Remember in his film.
• Screenwriter Eric Ambler was married to writer/producer Joan Harrison.

 

To watch the film on YouTube, click on the link below.

 

 

Discussion questions

1. This film is considered the most accurate presentation on the Titanic disaster. What do you think? Did it seem credible to you?
2. What did you think of the film’s narrative?
3. There is some controversy over Lightoller’s conduct during the ship’s sinking. Did the film make Lightoller a hero?
4. Did you learn anything new about the sinking of the Titanic while viewing this film?

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