Titanic 1997

     Julie Sturges and her children Annette and Norman are sailing with her on the new ship the Titanic.  She is leaving her husband and taking the children to America.  She is unhappy and uncomfortable with life among the British upper crust.  She feels she may not be able to save her daughter from her snobbish attitude but she hopes to save her son.  At the last minute, her husband Richard buys a ticket from another man and he’s now on board the ship.  He’s determined to keep custody of the children but Julie can leave if this is what she wants.

     I really liked this movie because everything seems so real.  You can feel the cold of the water and you know the fate of the passengers before they come aboard the ship.  There are many times when Richard Sturges acts like so much of a boring snob that you want to throw him overboard before the iceberg!!  I was surprised at the ending between Julie and Richard plus the actions of Norman.  4* (I really liked this movie)   

98 min, Drama directed by Jean Negulesco with Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, Audrey Dalton, Thelma Ritter, Brian Aherne, Richard Basehart, Allyn Joslyn, James Todd, Frances Bergen, William Johnstone.

Note:  Imdb 7.2 out of 10, Roger Ebert 4*, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 3925 reviews, 90% critic 65% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic 75 out of 100 with 35 critics 8.5 out of 10 with 1156 user reviews.

Special Note:  Filmed on Stage 4, 20^th Century Fox Studios, Century City, Los Angeles, California.  It seems difficult to believe all filming was done on a sound stage??  Her work on this film had a powerful effect on Stanwyck.  In the scenes where the ship is sinking, it was bitter cold and she was 47 feet up in the air in a lifeboat swinging on the davits.  Water below was agitated into a heavy rolling mass.  It was also thick with other lifeboats full of women and children.  She felt it was goodbye for her if the ropes were to snap!!  Then she looked at the faces of those left behind to die with the ship.  She thought about the real people who had died.  She burst into tears, shook with great racking sobs and could not stop!!  During the actual tragedy Manuel Urchurtu left his seat and he went back to the boat so a man from second class could have the seat.  Manuel asked him to travel to Mexico and tell his wife what happened here with the Titanic.  The character played by Thelma Ritter was based on Mrs. J.J. “Unsinkable Molly” Brown of Denver, Colorado.  Some of the original Titanic survivors were invited to a special screening of the film in New York.  There was an inquiry held in 1912 by the Congress of the United States and British Board of Trade over the sinking.  This film won as Oscar for Best Story and Screenplay in 1953.