This German film, whose title translates as In Night And Ice, was one of the first attempts to film the sinking of the Titanic. From a historical standpoint, that fact makes it interesting. But the film itself is not that entertaining. It's only about 42 minutes long, but there is one stretch which seems like an eternity as we just see people socializing in the dining room. You don't need the title cards to describe what was going on. A larger problem is that there are no characters to "latch on to." The ship's captain might have evoked some sympathy, but he ridiculously overacts. Although there is the irony of the captain yelling to the passengers "Be British!" in a German film two years before WWI breaks out. Plus I'm sure the Irish passengers were not impressed by this instruction. But I digress.
The film opens with what appears to be actual footage of people boarding a ship, and many of the scenes do take place aboard a ship. However, the miniature models are not convincing, but let's be honest ... the director did not have James Cameron's budget. One German reviewer wrote that the collision between the ship and the iceberg "looks a little as if a toy bouncing on the waves rams a couple of ice cubes."
The film does have an interesting backstory. It was made on a Berlin backlot by director Mime Misu, just two months after the Titanic sank. Presumed lost, it was discovered in 1998 after some publicity surrounding the release of Cameron's Titanic in late 1997. A 74-year-old retired film collector named Horst Lange remembered he had obtained a copy some twenty years earlier, paying around $120 for it. Lange said "it is an impressive film for June 1912. But there are mistakes in it. For instance, the captain and officers are showing wearing German navy uniforms." To provide the sinking effect, the set was tipped by hand using ropes and pulleys.
Newspapers erroneously reported the discovery as the first film ever made about the Titanic. But according to film historian Frank Thompson, the Éclair Moving Picture Co. Of Fort Lee, New Jersey, released a short entitled Saved From The Titanic just one month after the sinking. (This film is presumed lost, despite someone on youtube trying to foist off an old documentary as this film.) That slightly earlier film starred actress/model Dorothy Gibson, who had survived the sinking.
