A Night to Remember (1958)
Directed by Roy Ward Baker
A Night to Remember doesn't reinvent the wheel when it comes to the Titanic story, but it does tell the tale in a somewhat unique way. While we follow some characters around for brief scenes -- the captain of the ship, the second officer, "unsinkable" Molly Brown -- we never focus on any one of them for long periods of time. Not placing the dramatic emphasis on any one person allows the audience to connect with everyone on the ship -- first, second, and third class guests in addition to the crew -- rather than just a "main character," so we end up feeling compassion for all. The acting is all top notch and it never succumbed to that "overacting" we nowadays sometimes feel like we're seeing when we watch a film from decades ago.
Also impressive are the special effects which are really fantastic for the time period. Still, director Roy Ward Baker knows that sometimes it's the most simplistic moments like an ashtray sliding off a table that are the most riveting. Baker also doesn't waste anytime getting to the tragic moment when the large ship strikes the iceberg. I was rather surprised (in a very good way) when thirty minutes we were already witnessing water rushing into the ship. However, Baker does create the film's biggest problem as well -- focusing way too much time on the moments in which the crew gathers women and children into the lifeboats to escape the sinking ocean liner. If I had to hear, "Women and children only!", one more time I may have flipped my lid.
Still, for one of the first "disaster" movies to hit the silver screen, A Night to Remember is worth checking out. And it's certainly obvious that James Cameron lifted many a scene for his blockbuster flick as an homage to this 1958 oldie.
The RyMickey Rating: B
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