Titanic (1953)
Directed by Jean Negulesco

Film Review

Jean Negulesco's Titanic may lack the mindblowing spectacle and grandeur of James Cameron's identically titled film of 1997 but it has arguably more in the way of human interest.  The small-scale family drama that is at the heart of the narrative brings home the immense personal tragedy of the ocean liner's sinking on its maiden voyage in April 1912, and this is down mostly to the arresting performances from the lead actors, Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck.  The supporting cast includes a rich assortment of American and British actors of the period, with noteworthy contributions from Thelma Ritter, Brian Aherne, Richard Basehart and Robert Wagner (the latter looking disarmingly over-earnest in one of his first film roles).  After a low-key first half the tension soon begins to ratchet up in the second, building to its inescapable tragic climax, the drama of which is palpably rendered by some fine effects work and direction.  It's nowhere near as impressive as Roy Ward Baker's A Night to Remember (1958) but it does convey, more so than Cameron's glossy blockbuster, the human cost of the world's most famous maritime disaster.

Film Synopsis

Richard Sturges, a wealthy American living in Europe, is so desperate to find his runaway wife Julia that he buys a steerage-class ticket on the RMS Titanic for its maiden voyage across the Atlantic.  Julia has made up her mind to leave her husband and settle down in America with her two children, Annette and Norman.  Once the ship is safely underway, Richard confronts his wife but she hits him with the revelation that Norman is not his son.  Astonished and angered by this news, Richard surrenders his parental responsibilities towards Norman but insists that Annette stays with him.  Like everyone aboard the ship, Richard and Julia are blissfully unaware of the greater tragedy that is to come...