Atlantic, Latitude 41 ° ( A Night to Remember ) is a British film directed by Roy Ward Baker and released in 1958 . This adaptation of the book The Night of Titanic , written in1955 by the American historian Walter Lord , relates the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 . It is a reference film on this shipwreck, being based on the testimonies of about fifty survivors.
Synopsis
The The new British transatlantic Titanic , luxurious passenger ship of 269 meters long, left Southampton for a maiden voyage to New York , taking on board some two thousand two hundred and eight passengers. On April 14, at about 23:40, the steamer sped on the Atlantic while the party is in full swing at all levels of the social classes, when the lookout signals an iceberg straight ahead.
Despite the immediate change of course, the enormous mass of ice disembowels the hull over a length of 100 meters . After quickly assessing the damage, the engineers make their verdict without appeal: the Titanic is condemned to sink in the shortest time …
The crew then launched the lifeboats , while being aware that not everyone can take place. In the distance, the crew of the Californian attends the sinking without grasp the gravity of the situation.
Technical sheet
- Original title: A Night to Remember
- Director: Roy Ward Baker
- Scenario: Eric Ambler and Walter Lord
- Music: William Alwyn
- Producer: William MacQuitty
- Country of origin: United Kingdom
- Language: English , German , Italian , Russian , Polish
- Format: black and white – 1.66: 1 , mono
- Genre: action, drama
- Duration: 123 minutes
- Release dates:
- United Kingdom :( London )
- United States :
- France :
Distribution
Real characters
- Frank Lawton : Joseph Bruce Ismay (Director of the White Star Line )
- Michael Goodliffe : Thomas Andrews (architect of the Titanic )
- Laurence Naismith : Edward Smith (captain of the Titanic )
- Howard Lang : Henry Wilde (Titanic second in command) (uncredited)
- Richard Leech : William McMaster Murdoch ( 1 st Titanic officer )
- Kenneth More : Charles Lightoller ( 2 an officer Titanic )
- Jack Watling : Joseph Boxhall ( 4 th officer Titanic )
- Howard Country: Harold Lowe ( 5 th officer Titanic )
- Michael Bryant (in) : James Paul Moody ( 6 th officer Titanic )
- Kenneth Griffith : Jack Phillips ( 1 st radio operator Titanic )
- David McCallum : Harold Bride ( 2 nd Titanic radio operator )
- Cyril Chamberlain : George Rowe (Quartermaster of Titanic )
- Bernard Fox : Frederick Fleet ( Titanic lookout ) (uncredited)
- Roger Avon (en) : Reginald Robinson Lee ( Titanic Lookout ) (uncredited)
- Joseph Tomelty (in) : D r William O’Loughlin (doctor Titanic )
- George Rose (en) : Charles Joughin ( Titanic Bakery Chef )
- Andrew Keir : John Hesketh ( 2 d Titanic Engineer )
- Emerton Court: Joseph Bell ( Titanic Chief Engineer ) (uncredited)
- Robert James: The electrician (uncredited)
- Arthur Hosking: Hugh McElroy ( Titanic Flight Attendant ) (uncredited)
- Alan Rolfe: John Hutchinson ( Titanic Carpenter ) (uncredited)
- Norman Rossington : James Kieran (Chief Steward Titanic ) (uncredited)
- Charles Belchier: Wallace Hartley ( Titanic Conductor ) (uncredited)
- Russell Napier : Stanley Lord ( Californian captain )
- Geoffrey Bayldon (en) : Cyril Evans ( Californian radio operator )
- Barry MacGregor: James Gibson ( Californian apprentice officer )
- Harold Siddons: Herbert Stone ( 2 d Californian officer )
- Tim Turner (in) : Lemon Grove ( 3 an officer Californian )
- Anthony Bushell : Arthur Henry Rostron (captain of Carpathia )
- Alec McCowen : Harold Cottam ( Carpathia radio operator )
- Philip Ray: Reverend Anderson (Priest of Carpathia )
- Gerald Harper Eric Rees ( 3 an officer of Carpathia )
- George A. Cooper (en) : Officer of Carpathia
- Robert Raglan : chief engineer of Carpahtia
- Richard Hayward (in) : Officer of the refueling
- Jane Downs (in) : Mrs Sylvia Lightoller
- Robert Ayres: Major Arthur Godfrey Peuchen
- Tucker McGuire: Mrs. Margaret Brown
- James Dyrenforth: Colonel Archibald Gracie
- Meier Tzelniker (en) : Isidor Straus
- Helen Misener: Ida Straus
- Patrick Waddington (in) : Sir Richard
- Harriette Johns: Lady Richard
- Harold Goldblatt: Benjamin Guggenheim
- Paul Hardwick: Mr . Victor Giglio (Guggenheim valet) (uncredited)
- Henry Campbell: William Thomas Stead (uncredited)
Fictional characters from the original novel
- Julian Somers : Mr Bull (the man on the train)
- Rosamund Greenwood : Mrs. Bull (uncredited)
- Ronald Allen : Mr Clarke
- Jill Dixon : Mrs. Clarke
- Patrick McAlinney : Mr James Farrell
- Bee Duffell : Mrs. Farrell
- Honor Blackman : Mrs. Liz Lucas
- John Merivale : Robbie Lucas
- Stephen Lowe : Tom Lucas (uncredited)
- John Cairney : Mr Murphy
- Redmond Phillips : Hoyle
- Andrew Keir : James Hesketh
- Richard Clarke : Martin Gallagher
- Thomas Heathcote : steward
- Eddie Malin : steward of the lounge / dining room
- Sean Connery : a Titanic steerage passenger (uncredited)
- Desmond Llewelyn : A Steel Seaman (uncredited)
Comments
Atlantic, latitude 41 ° was made with survivor testimonies, including the fourth Titanic officer , Joseph Boxhall 1 . In fact, it tends to be one of the closest to reality. However, some errors remain. Thus, the Titanic was not baptized at its launch 2 . The launch is also that of Queen Elizabeth . Lack of knowledge of the time on some aspects of the shipwreck (wreckage has not been found yet) led to some mistakes, the most obvious being the fact that the ship does not break into two 3 . Unlike other films like Titanic of James Cameronand a fortiori Titanic realized by the Nazis , it is not said that the ship was going too fast under the impulse of Joseph Bruce Ismay 4 . On the other hand, the film insists, especially in the end, on the blind trust that everyone has devoted to the Titanic . This idea culminated in Officer Lightoller’s monologue aboard a lifeboat at the end of the film.
The film also repeatedly shows the Californian freighter , located near the site of the wreck, and insists on its helplessness, which can also be thought of as inaction. Indeed, it was only in 1992 that it was proved that its commander, Stanley Lord , absolutely could not help the Titanic 5 .
We can finally see similarities between Atlantic latitude 41 ° and James Cameron’s film. This is the case of some scenes involving the orchestra 6 , as well as the meeting of Thomas Andrews with a young couple in the smoking room.
Notes and references
- ↑ ” The Titanic and the cinema [ archive ] “, the Titanic Site . Accessed June 13, 2009.
- ↑ The company feared that it entails superstitions in case of problems during the baptism.
- ↑ All witnesses disagreed on this point.
- ↑ This only speaks of a speed test scheduled the day after the wreck, but there is no question of breaking records or to move the ship’s arrival as in the other two films.
- ↑ Beautiful Riffenburgh , The Titanic’s Story: The Legend of the Unshakable Liner [“The Titanic Experience”], Bagneux, Reader’s Digest Selection ,, 69 p. ( ISBN 978-2-7098-1982-4 ) , p. 55.
- ↑ When musicians wonder if it is useful to play, then compare the situation with dinner, and when Wallace Hartley sings the hymn More near you, my God .