Scott LeBrun "A Night to Remember" is a meticulously produced (by William MacQuitty) and directed (by Roy Ward Baker) picture detailing the unexpected and disastrous 1912 sinking of the passenger liner Titanic. We do get little character details and stories here and there, but for the most part, the script (by Eric Ambler, based on the non-fiction book by Walter Lord) often switches focus to a new individual.More to the point, this is definitely a more lean and trim picture than the mega-popular James Cameron film of 1997, even at two hours and four minutes. The ship encounters that infernal iceberg just a little over half an hour into the running time, with the balance of the tale showing us all the plans that went into trying to ensure as many survivors as possible. Naturally, some people take offence to certain passengers supposedly carrying more importance, and panic will inevitably overwhelm that those are left as the ship nears its doom.Although not quite as opulent and expensive as Camerons' film, it is definitely more even-keeled, and realistic. We may not have two young lover characters to carry the story, but we are still treated to a rich gallery of commanding, sympathetic, and occasionally colourful characters. Overall, this is not as bloated, melodramatic, or as excessively sentimental as the 1997 rendition. And, as someone pointed out, the historical characters are treated with a great deal more respect.The cast is full of the cream of the crop of distinguished British acting talent, among them Kenneth More, Laurence Naismith, Frank Lawton, Kenneth Griffith, Michael Goodliffe, Anthony Bushell, and Honor Blackman. More is solid as a rock as the efficient, brave, and compassionate Second Officer Lightoller. Tucker McGuire steals her scenes as flamboyant American Margaret 'Molly' Brown.The cinematography (by Geoffrey Unsworth), art direction (by Alex Vetchinsky), and editing (by Sidney Hayers) are all first-rate, and the score (by William Alwyn) is affecting without calling too much attention to itself, unlike a certain Oscar-winning song that this viewer could mention.All in all, a remarkable film that earns its emotional reactions honestly, and a memorable depiction of hubris: the makers of the ship were just too convinced that they'd built the perfect vessel, and too many people paid the price for this.One of the lookouts is played by Bernard Fox, who played Col. Gracie in the 1997 version.10 out of 10.

Mr-Fusion Things being what they are, you can't look at a movie about the Titanic without comparing it to James Cameron's film (nor can you be blamed for doing so; that movie's a cultural behemoth and defined the sinking for a generation). And even though "A Night to Remember" can't compete with Cameron's huge spectacle, that's just fine; it's not supposed to. This movie covers the territory very well without feeling drawn out. More importantly, you find yourself gradually getting sucked in only to be hit in the solar plexus by a simple line or the image of a piece of furniture crashing into a stack of child's building blocks. Instead of a love story, it's the earnest performance from Second Officer Kenneth More, and the movie pays much more attention to the class division among the passengers and the unsinkable reputation of the ocean liner.And I love that, in the final moments of Titanic's lifespan, it's really about mourning the loss of such an illustrious vessel (complete with an uplifting afterword). I didn't expect to shed a tear, and this is a find movie indeed.8/10

Calum Rhys The original adaptation of the "Ship of Dreams", 'A Night to Remember' is a riveting and emotional study of the fateful maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. A British production made on location at Pinewood Studios, Roy Baker's meticulous re-creation of the sinking of the Titanic is an utter masterpiece of cinema. The scale of the sets, the ingenuity of the visual effects and the stellar performances all make this a 1950's Brit-blockbuster at its very best. Whilst the '97 adaptation from James Cameron is a powerful piece of cinema, this stunning and melodramatic 1958 flick spends its 2-hour duration focussing on the lives of everybody aboard the ship instead of wandering off to study a love story between two characters. A film that relies on real-life survivor testimony, 'A Night to Remember' is in my opinion the best adaptation of the tale of the "unsinkable" ship and one of the best British films to have ever graced the screen.

robertalexanderlindsey THE GREATEST TITANIC FILM OF ALL TIME, and that's all I need to say. For those who have been obsessed with the Titanic for more than a decade, like me, or for those who want to know what really happened on the night of April 14-15, 1912, without having to watch pathetic love stories or listen to corny Celine Dion songs, 'A Night to Remember' is a film that absolutely must be seen, by everyone. It pays more attention to realism and the individual, fascinating true stories of those who were there, and looks very closely at the causes of the disaster, such as the reason for the infamous lack of lifeboats, the failure to deliver ice warnings to the bridge by the Marconi wireless operators, the fact that passengers actually REFUSED to enter the lifeboats and escape the ship until the very end, and the truly gruesome end that awaited the over 1500 passengers and crew who failed to leave the Titanic in time. For those who care about history and humanity, here is the TITANIC, the way it really happened, and the way it should always be remembered.