A Night to Remember (1958 film)

This article is about the British film about the Titanic. For the 1956 American TV version, see A Night to Remember (Kraft Television Theatre). For the unrelated film with Loretta Young, see A Night to Remember (1942 film). For other uses, see A Night to Remember (disambiguation).

A Night to Remember
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRoy Ward Baker
Screenplay byEric Ambler
Story byWalter Lord
Based onA Night to Remember
1955 book
by Walter Lord
Produced byWilliam MacQuitty
StarringKenneth More
CinematographyGeoffrey Unsworth
Music byWilliam Alwyn
Distributed byThe Rank Organisation
Release date
  • 3 July 1958 (1958-07-03)
Running time
123 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£500,000[1] or £530,000[2] or £600,000; [3] upper bounds of approximately £13.9 million or £15.8 million adjusted for inflation (2023)
Box officePrecise figure unknown, but it had failed to make its budget back by 2001

A Night to Remember is a 1958 British historical disaster docudrama film based on the eponymous 1955 book by Walter Lord. The film and book recount the final night of RMS Titanic, which sank on her maiden voyage after she struck an iceberg in 1912. Adapted by Eric Ambler and directed by Roy Ward Baker, the film stars Kenneth More as the ship's Second Officer Charles Lightoller and features Michael Goodliffe, Laurence Naismith, Kenneth Griffith, David McCallum and Tucker McGuire. It was filmed in the United Kingdom and tells the story of the sinking, portraying the main incidents and players in a documentary-style fashion with considerable attention to detail.[4] The production team, supervised by producer William MacQuitty (who saw the original ship launched) used blueprints of the ship to create authentic sets, while Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall and ex-Cunard Commodore Harry Grattidge worked as technical advisors on the film. Its estimated budget of up to £600,000 (£15.8 million adjusted for inflation [2023]) was exceptional and made it the most expensive film ever made in Britain up to that time.[3] The film's score was written by William Alwyn.

The film disappointed at the box office.[1] However, it received critical acclaim and won the 1959 "Samuel Goldwyn International Award" at the Golden Globe Awards.[5] Among the many films about the Titanic, A Night to Remember is regarded highly by Titanic historians and survivors for its accuracy, despite its modest production values, compared with the 1997 Hollywood film Titanic.[6][7][8] Retrospective analysis by both critics and regular viewers has been favourable; for example, on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a score of 100% based on twenty-two critical reviews and a 90% score according to audience responses.[9]

  1. ^ a b Harper, Sue; Porter, Vincent (10 July 2018). British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198159346 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Richards 2001, p. 29.
  3. ^ a b Street 2004, p. 143.
  4. ^ Ward 2012, p. 226.
  5. ^ Night To Remember, a Archived 14 April 2013 at archive.today HFPA Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  6. ^ Janice Hooker Rushing and Thomas S. Frentz, "Singing over the bones: James Cameron's Titanic", Critical Studies in Media Communication (ICMC), Volume 17, Issue 1 (1 March 2000), pp. 1–27.
  7. ^ Celeste Cumming Mt. Lebanon, "Early Titanic Film A Movie to Remember", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (11 September 1998), p. 39.
  8. ^ P. Parisi, Titanic and the making of James Cameron (New York: Newmarket Press, 1998), p. 127.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rotten was invoked but never defined (see the help page).