A Night To Remember: The Movie

The movie called A Night to Remember was made in 1958. It was directed by William McQuitty, and co directed by Walter Lord, the book that it's based off of. It is in my mind, the most accurate Titanic drama movie of all time. It begins with the launch, which has one of the few innacurate parts of the movie. it has a woman christening the Titanic, although the ship never was christened. The footage of the Titanic going down the gantry way into the sea, is actually the Queen Elizabeth. Next, they show the people from all lives leaving their homes along with their homes and friends, to go to America. After that, comes the main character of the movie, Charles Lightoller played by Kenneth More. We next go down to the docks where they introduce the other main characters of the ship, Thomas Andrews played by Micheal Goodliffe, J. Bruce Ismay played by Frank Lawton, and Captain Edward Smith played by Laurence Naismith. They show the Titanic leaving, using footage of the Titanic's sister ship, Olympic. The next scenes are of a ship that was about to be scrapped, that they bought and made into the hull of the ship. The scenes of the full Titanic, are actually an 11 foot model, and could be made to look like the actual thing, with it being in black and white. The sets were built with the greatest detail that the designers could use, that would be closest to the original, and they used the plans and photographs to create the sets. The people were dressed in period clothes, and they even brought survivors in, to see the sets and watch the production. Joseph Boxhall the 4th officer of the Titanic served as technical advisor. The passengers on the sets were Edith Russell, Lawrence Beasely, and several others. Mrs. Lightoller the wife of Charles Lightoller, came too. The survivors would walk around the boat decks, corridors, cabins, bridge, and engine room, lost in memories of their experiences. When they had Thomas Andrews in the Smoking Room, awaiting his fate, the place would creak and groan as the tilt grew. It was very dramatic, and you can hear it in the movie. They actually had the end of the movie where everyone is in the lifeboats of the water, in a lake during the winter. They did use precautions, and no one got hypothermia. The movie became the most popular movie of the decade. When the young survivors saw it, they were reminded a lot of their fathers, lost in the disaster. It's because of this that when Ms. Millvina Dean was invited to have a private viewing of the 1997 version with Prince Charles of Wales, she refused because she couldn't bear another movie like that. The movie had made Captain Stanley Lord, the captain of the Californian, a lazy man that didn't care about the ship that was firing white rockets. It has been unproven, and Captain Lord's family was quite upset. This movie was liked by most survivors however, and the audiences have loved it. If you are wanting to see the 1997 version but you don't want to watch it because of a few bad parts in it, try this movie. It's far better, and more accurate.b

Titanic Unit Study

When I first got interested in the Titanic, my Mom looked for a Titanic Unit Study, and couldn't find one. Now that I'm older, I'm making a Titanic Unit Study for others. I am open to any suggestions. If have any, just post a comment and I'll take your thoughts into serious consideration.

Two Titanic Letters to be Auctioned Saturday

NEW YORK (AFP) — Two letters from Titanic passengers are to be auctioned in New York this month, one of them featuring an excited description of the doomed ship just moments before setting sail.

Letters on White Star Lines stationary inscribed with "On board RMS Titanic" are "extremely rare and are among the most prized artifacts from the disaster," said Robert Litzenberger, a specialist at Spink Smythe auction house.

The letters are expected to sell January 16 for 10,000 dollars to 20,000 dollars each, he said. The items will be offered in New York and online by Spink Smythe.

In one letter, businessman Adolphe Saalfeld penned a hurried note to his wife just before the Titanic left Southampton on her 1912 maiden voyage, sinking with the loss of some 1,500 lives after hitting a north Atlantic iceberg.

"I just had an hours roaming abt (about) on this wonderful boat ... I like my cabin very much. It is like a bed-sitting room and rather large. I am the first man to write a letter on board. They are still busy to finish the last touches onboard," he wrote.

Saalfeld survived the sinking in lifeboat number three, which was crammed mostly with women and children.

The other letter was written by George Graham, a department store salesman, who perished.

In a letter sent just before embarking, he apologized to a business associate that he had been too busy to make contact earlier: "I hope that you will accept my good wishes now even if they are a bit late. I hope to see you next year."

The Colored Family

There was a distinction on the Titanic, and the men and women of color were considered of lower standards during that time in England and France. However, that was not the case with the Laroche Family.

Joseph Phillipe Lemercier Laroche was born on May 26, 1885 in Haiti. His uncle was the president of the country, and that put him in a prominent state. He left in 1901 however, and went to Beauvais, France for school at age 15. Joseph got an engineering degree and married Juliette Lafargue in 1908. Together, they had a daughter named Simmone in 1909, and another daughter named Louise in 1910. Even though Joseph spoke French and English very well and had an engineering degree, his skin color porevented him from getting work. They weren't doing well, and were living in the basement of his father in law, who was a wine seller. Juliette got pregnant again in March of 1912, and decided to return to Haiti rather live on the charity of his father in law. Joseph's mother got them tickets on the LaFrance and paid 50,000 dollars for a parlor suite, but the coal strike made them transfer to the Titanic in 2nd class. Even though they were in 2nd class, they were allowed to eat with the 1st class passengers, and enjoy the 1st class luxuries. You can imagine the racial discrimination about him and his family, and they could have been alone the entire time, not knowing or getting to know anybody. At dinner, Kate Buss said that the children would run about before dinner. She described them as, "like Jap(anese) children". What probably also raised many eyebrows, was the Black man married to the olive colored woman. They enjoyed themselves though. The Titanic struck an iceberg on the evening of April 14, 1912 and was mortally wounded. The family was all all asleep when there came a knock at the door. Mr. Laroche answered the door, and was told that he and his family were to put on their lifejackets and go up on deck. Since this story was told as not to cause panic, they all did as the steward said and didn't worry about a thing. The men were not allowed into the lifeboats, so Joseph stayed behind while Juliette, Simmone, and Louise were put into possibly Boat No. 14. Unfortunately, Joseph died in the sinking. Mrs. Laroche and the children went back to France where she had a boy that she named, Joseph Jr. The family barely were surviving until sometime after WWI, when the White Star Line gave her 150,000 francs for her loses of items and clothing, and also pittance for the loss of her husband. The man that gave them this was Alexandre Millerand, an advocate of the White Star Line, and future president of France. She used some of the money to open a fabric dyeing place, and they did well. They kept in contact with fellow survivor, Edith Russell until her death. Juliette never remarried, and died at the age of 91 on January 10, 1980. Simmone die at the age of 64 on August 8, 1973. Louise later commemorated a plaque in 1995 at Cherbourg, next to the Normadic which the ship that carried them to the Titanic. It is the last White Star Line ship still to exist. Louise died in 1998. The family's story remained forgotten until 2000, when experts were able to piece together what happened. This was due to the family not wanting to talk about the disaster. I can't find out anything about Joseph Jr., but if he's alive, he could technically count as a survivor, although in the womb, he was still on the Titanic. The Laroche grandchildren don't talk about the sinking. Even though they never witnessed it, they don't talk about what their parents or grandparents had said about the disaster.

George D. Widener Collection

While in Washington D.C., we went to the National Museum of Art at the Smithsonian. While there, we went into a room that had the same style in paneling as the Titanic's Lounge, which is modeled for one of the rooms in the Palace of Versailles. The reason being, is because there was a collection of art pieces that was owned by King Louis XIV. The pieces were donated by a Mrs. Rice. Well, her former husband was George Dunton Widner. He and his son Harry put her into a lifeboat before going down with the ship. George Widner was a collector of art, and his son shared that same interest, collecting rare books. After Mrs. Widner arrived in Philadelphia and later married Dr. Rice, she donated these things to the Smithsonian. The art pieces were very interesting, and I think that it's ironic that they did the room at the Smithsonian in the same style as the Lounge.

Memorial to a Brave Man

Here in Washington D.C., we went to Arlington National Cemetery. While there, I found out that Archibald Butt was memorialized here. He was a man that died on the Titanic, but he was also the military aid of presidents Teddy Roosevelt, and William Taft. He helped others into the lifeboats and then waited for the end, which came that cold, April night. Although his body was never found, his father and brothers had an empty casket and memorial buried in the place that "Archie" had selected. The link earlier will take you to a biography I did about him. If you ever go there, you might want to look at it. Look under 1734.

Titanic Aquatic

(A model of the wreck in the middle of the lobby)

/> (Me with a replicated telemotor in the lobby)

Titanic Aquatic 1

Titanic Aquatic 2

For my birthday, my parents took me to the Georgia Aquarium, where they had an exhibit, called "Titanic Aquatic". We entered, and the first thing we saw was one of the bollards, from the stern. I could almost see people hitting the bollards, with the stern vertical. Then, we saw things that were used to build the ship. You then went to the next room, where there was the recreation of a 1st class cabin. It was nice, however the panels weren't exactly correct, and the china on the table wasn't White Star Line. They had a sink that came from one of the cabins, and you could almost hear the water running and someone's hands reaching in there. They also had currency from the wreck that were arabic and english. In the next room, there was china from 1st and 2nd class. Then, they had 3rd class china. In the next room, they had a replicated 3rd class corridor, with a replicated 3rd class cabin. In the next room, they had pots and pans from the kitchen. The room after that had a place where you could try to steer the ship from the iceberg. On the other wall, they had an iceberg that was the same temperature, as the water. I don't think I would've lasted more than 10-15 minutes. However, some died immediately while others died within half an hour. The next room had plates in the way they were on the sea bed, and other things. One wall had quotes from the survivors, describing the sinking. They had a model in front of the Titanic sinking and little lifeboats, in the gel that looked like water. The next place was a hallway where you saw the Titanic in 1912 on one side, and the Titanic in 1985 when Robert Ballard discovered on the other side. The last room had clothes that were in trunks, and are almost perfectly preserved. They also had personal items such as Major Peuchen's calling card, that they found in his wallet and spectacles that belonged to someone on board. One the other side were the stories of those on board that were from Georgia, and perfume bottles from a passenger, of which still had their scent. On the last wall, they had a list of all the passengers that were on board, and you could use the boarding pass they gave you at the start to see whether you survived or not. I was 2nd class passenger Edward Giles, and he died. At the end, I bought a piece of coal recovered in the 1994 expedition and is the only artifact from the actual wreck site, that the law allows you to own due to the abundance of 40 tons of it. If you live near Georgia, or you're passing through Atlanta, you might want to consider going. It's pretty cool, but you need to go through it with great reverence for those that died on board.

Titanic Automobiles

There is a record of one automobile in the Titanic's cargo hold. It was owned by William Carter going home to Philadelphia with his brand new French Renault (Mr. Carter survived the sinking). The Automobile was more than likely in the bow, where it was lifted into the cargo hold days before the sailing. It was where the iceberg struck, and went down with the ship. James Cameron went down to the hold in search, but came up empty handed. Today, if it still exists, the engine would be an unrecognizable mass of twisted metal, the seats would be gone, the frame would be bent with some of it gone, the lights would be imploded, the tires would be flat, the top would be mostly collapsed or gone, and the windshield would be shattered. That would be what it looks like compared to everything else, and I don't think you'd be able to find it on the first try. Unlike its portrayal in James Cameron's film, it was likely in a crate. It probably would have fallen forward due to its weight and the high angle the Titanic achieved. Today, a French Renault from 1912 goes for between 45,000 and 51,000 dollars.

The Author of a Legend

Walter Lord was born on October 8, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1939, he graduated from Princeton University and tried to get into Yale, but he joined the army after Pearl Harbor. He was made a code clerk in London, and graduated from Yale with a degree in law after WWII ended. Lord wrote 13 bestselling books. They were Day of Infamy, Incredible Victory, A Time to Stand, Peary to the Pole, Good years from 1900 to the First World War, The Past that would not Die, his greatest work A Night to Remember, and The Night Lives On. From what I know, Walter Lord after writing A Time to Stand about The Alamo, he actually discovered the long lost flag from the battle in the Mexican archives. While writing about A Night to Remember and The Night Lives On about the Titanic, he tracked down 63 living survivors in order to get their stories of the sinking and afterward. In 1958, William McQuitty decided to do a movie using A Night to Remember's name and facts. It tells the story minute-by-minute through the eyes of Kenneth More playing 2nd Officer Charles Lightoller, and going through the bravery of Thomas Andrews, Captain Smith, the true story of Ismay, the Strausses, and many others. The sets were built using the original blueprints and designs, and they had survivors including Lawrence Beasely, and Edith Russell. It remains to this day as the most accurate movie today. Walter Lord acted as technical adviser along side with survivor 4th Officer Joseph Boxhall. Walter Lord became known also for is vast collection in things that survivors from the Titanic had given him, and original pictures. Among those things was a musical toy pig from Edith Russell that she played in the lifeboat in order to comfort the children. In 1997, after years of speaking and signing autographs, he helped James Cameron in his movie, Titanic. Walter Lord died on May 19, 2002 at the age of 84 after battling Parkinsons for years. He was buried in a family plot in Green Mountain Cemetery.

Millvina Dean Sells Titanic Items

Trendite.net:
The last Titanic survivor, Millvina Dean, is selling personal items and momentoes of the Titanic obtained by her family, which was on the doomed ship. Millvina Dean was a two month infant when the Titanic drowned in the Atlantic. She is now 96 years old and lives in a nursing home. With no money to pay for her nursing home care, Millvina Dean, has now decided to auction her famed possessions.

Millvina’s family was on the ship after the family decided to emigrate to the United States and live in Kansas. But tragedy struck even before they reach American soil. Millvina along with her brother and mother (Eva Dean) was put in a lifeboat. Her father, Bertram Dean, did not make it and drowned with the ship. The family was travelling third class on the Titanic.

The auction is expected to fetch her 3000 British Pounds which is about $5150 in US dollars. Among the items that will be sold are a 100 year old suitcase and rare prints of the Titanic. The old suitcase was given to her family after they were rescued. It is said to have contained clothes for the family, which lost everything including their breadwinner with the ship. The rare prints of the Titanic were sent to her mother from the Titanic Relief fund and is said to have been signed by a number of popular artists of that time.