Titanic

When I was young I was probably the only kid in years who had checked out our library's copy of Walter Lord's "A Night to Remember." It began a lifelong fascination with the ill-fated liner. I was home sick on the couch a short time later when I saw this film for the first time on TV. Forty years later, I still remember how this movie touched me then. Even then I was hooked -- not just because the film dealt with the Titanic, but for some visceral reason I couldn't put my finger on. Still can't -- decades later. I'm not ashamed to say I continue to get choked up by the scene where Webb is on the slanting deck with his "son", telling the boy he's never been prouder of him. Fast forward several years and I'm sitting on the couch watching this film with my own son for the first time. Sure enough, I'm having a tough time not losing it all during the Webb and son scene (especially poignant now) when I sneak a peek over at my boy. I've seen him cry maybe two or three times in his whole life yet there he sat with unmistakably moist eyes. What a moment to share. I'm very happy to see so many other people here feel positively toward this movie. One of the defining movie experiences of my life.

A doomed ocean liner is perfect fare for a big-budget studio like Fox, whose production unit gives the real life tragedy the conventional Hollywood treatment. Wagner and Dalton charm as the attractive young lovers, while Stanwyck lends a formidable presence as the matron with a past. However, Webb is an unusual choice for the lead, given his rather brittle personality. The script makes good use of his aristocratic demeanor by squaring him off against his estranged commoner wife Stanwyck. He's all stuffy rules and European airs, while she's taking their two kids and returning to her practical American roots. There's a subtext here about Webb coming to realize a human side buried under layers of snobbish pretensions. It's an interesting idea, but I wonder how many viewers were able to warm up to Webb's basically cold personality. Fox took a chance here and I doubt that it helped at the box-office.

Nonetheless, Ray Kellogg's special effects are outstanding, especially the liner as it lists headfirst into the water that became a spectacular logo for the movie's ad campaign. Note, however, the general absence of noisy panic surrounding the evacuation, the opposite of what you would expect given the life and death circumstance. Generally, both passengers and crew react efficiently as if executing a fire drill. I suspect anything more realistic would have risked unsettling 1950's audiences and dampening box-office appeal, but whatever, the general absence is noticeable. Also, I'm not clear on what happened to the women and children in steerage. These are the poor folk presumably responding to America's "give us your huddled masses yearning to be free". Maybe I missed something, but the class segregation aboard the liner is made unmistakably clear and we do know the ladies and children of wealth made the cut. But what about those "huddled masses" since the movie is based on fact? Still and all, not to worry since they're all going to heaven anyway as the final choral overlay assures us.

Speaking of class struggle, too bad the screenplay doesn't exploit the lively potential of a Clifton Webb-Thelma Ritter face-off. They're two extreme ends of the refinement spectrum — the earthy commoner and the waspish aristocrat. Yet no one was better at delivering sarcastic barbs than these two. Squaring them off against one another would have produced great verbal fireworks and social contrast. All in all, the movie is entertaining with some good moments, but fails to hit the dramatic high points inherent in the real life tragedy. Ultimately, the screenplay reflects the extreme cautiousness of its time period.

While I saw and enjoyed the current "Titanic," I've always held a special place for the excellent 1953 version. Charles Brackett and Walter Reisch's Oscar-winning screenplay, deftly blending fact with fancy, tells the story compellingly in about half the time of the Cameron film. And what a cast! Barbara Stanwyck, Clifton Webb, Richard Basehart, the young Robert Wagner (looking positively "DiCaprioesque," as it were!), the (unfortunately) near-forgotten Brian Aherne, and the underrated Audrey Dalton all give sterling performances. The special effects are equal to anything in the Cameron film. And it all comes together under Jean Negulesco's sure-footed direction. As I say, you've seen the Cameron film, now see the film where they got it right!

To update these comments almost seven years after they were originally written, the DVD of this film is definitely one for any Titanic buff to have in their collection. It features TWO separate commentary tracks, one by critic Richard Schickel and stars Robert Wagner and Audrey Dalton, the other by Titanic historians. There is also the original theatrical trailer and newsreel footage of the film's premiere and Oscar wins. Most impressive of all, though, is a fascinating feature-length documentary, narrated by Victor Garber (ship-builder Thomas Andrews in the Cameron/DiCaprio film), about the sinking of the Titanic and how's it's been presented in films and on TV from the silent era to the present. All this on one DVD.

This film has been overshadowed by the 1997 blockbuster, but this 1953 story of the tragic ocean liner certainly stands tall on its own merits, not the least of which are the star performances by Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck.

Built around the domestic drama of a fictional family, the well-known story of the sinking of the Titanic unfolds in an unrelenting and straightforward fashion. Brian Aherne (as the captain) is the victim of delayed and incorrect information and sails the ship right into the iceberg. We get glimpses of the rich and famous who populated the doomed ship as well as the luscious interiors of the ship.

The special effects are tremendous without taking over the film. The final scenes of the sinking ship are awesome. But the story of innocent passengers takes center stage here. Stanwyck and Webb are a squabbling couple with two children. The girl (Audrey Dalton) is a snob who is charmed by a college boy (Robert Wagner). Thelma Ritter plays a Molly Brown- like character addicted to loud jewelry and cards. Richard Basehart plays a defrocked priest. Allyn Joslyn plays the infamous coward who dresses like a woman to gain a seat on a lifeboat. Oh, and that's Mae Marsh the kid gives his seat to.

The final scenes of Webb and son are superb. An excellent film.

Although not as honored as the 1997 Leonardo DiCaprio-Kate Winslet story about the Titanic disaster, this version of Titanic starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck can definitely hold its own. In fact it got an Oscar itself in 1953 for Best Story and Screenplay.

Although there was a lot more sociology in the 1997 blockbuster, people do remember most from it the story of ill fated young love between DiCaprio and Winslet. In this version we're dealing with an older married couple whose marriage is on the rocks. The old story of staying together for their children's sake is what's holding them together. But Stanwyck isn't having any more.

It's her children, Harper Carter and Audrey Dalton, that she's most concerned about. Though American from the Middle West, due to their father's influence they're taking on old world and very haughty airs. And you can't get more haughty than Clifton Webb on screen.

Brian Aherne is the foolish, but brave Captain Smith whose eagerness to do the bidding of his employers and set a record crossing led to the disaster. Robert Wagner has a nice role as the young college kid who Stanwyck tries to match up with Dalton to wean her away from her father's fascination with titled nobility.

Also look for good performances by Thelma Ritter as the Molly Brown in all but name role, Richard Basehart as the defrocked priest and Allyn Joslyn as the eager social climber.

It's Webb and Stanwyck who carry the story. Webb who originally is an snob, shows in fact some real character during the disaster. And Barbara Stanwyck's last moments as the film ends are some of then best in her long distinguished career.

It's your father's Titanic and a good one too.