Review for Titanic (1953) The Titanic has had an interesting place in cinema. It has been chronicled in silent films (1912's "Save the Titanic"), as the basis for a Nazi propaganda film (1943's of "Titanic"), a historical drama (1958's "A Night to Remember"), and most recently a romantic epic drama (James Cameron's "Titanic"). Jean Negulesco's 1953 version of Titanic tries to be like a historical drama and fictional drama at the same time, succeeding in some areas, but failing in most areas.
Rich, upper-class married Julia Sturges (Barbara Stanwyck) separates from her stuffy and uptight husband Richard (Clifton Webb), wanting to bring up her teenage daughter (Audrey Dalton) and young son as middle class Americans in Michigan. Richard doesn't want his kids to have such low lifestyle, so after buying a ticket from a steerage passenger aboard the Titanic, is set to stop his wife from taking "his" kids. Aboard the ship, the daughter strikes up a romance with an American college student (Robert Wagner), a defrocked priest (Richard Baseheart) is running away from his own problems, and the eventful April 15 sinking of Titanic will change everyone's lives forever.
Let me start off with the positives. As a historical drama, this movie does pretty well in most areas. The sets are pretty awesome in scope and detail. You get the sense of the vastness of the Titanic from the many rooms and wide shots throughout the film. While it is normal for Hollywood to take artistic license with anything that has historical significance, the things that I know beforehand and know are historically inaccurate, I can't let fly by. There was no explosion on board the Titanic as it would've been impossible, right before the Titanic sank in the ocean the passengers didn't stop and sing a Welsh hymn. Those two things that happened in the movie really bothered me as anyone who is not familiar with the Titanic should know that stuff never happened. Hollywood can take artistic license as long its believable to some degree.
Now the movie as a drama is so uneven I may not have the right words to get my point across, but I'll try my best. The actors are for the most part great. Barbara Stanwyck has yet to fail me. Clifton Webb as well. He is very good as unhumorous, spoiled man who wants to do things for his benefit and his ways. They both have a sincere love and understanding for each other as characters, yet still have a true yearning to do things their own ways for their own reasons. This was my first Audrey Dalton film, and she gives a well enriched performance as an arrogant, stuck up, spoiled rich girl, who knows that the one thing she can't buy is love and wants it from the right person. Thelma Ritter who plays a "Molly Brown like character" is fantastic as usual. She delivers lines like she was born to say them. Another one that has never failed me. Richard Baseheart is also very good, and quite possibly the best actor in the film, as the priest who is running away from his own demons. There is a scene with him and Barbara Stanwyck in his cabin and she finds out he was priest. The monologue he gives about his family and his reasons why he left the priesthood is so poignant and heartbreaking. The one who has though in this film, is Robert Wagner. I personally feel his character is so out of place, like he is from the wrong time period. His dialogue, actions, and overall conduct seem too 1950's for me. It seems more that he should be more in a 50's sitcom as an older brother like in "Leave it to Beaver." His romance with Audrey Dalton works, mostly because Dalton isn't so upfront with her emotions. I could believe more that she loved him, and not the other way around.
While having good actors is a plus, the writing and direction are another story in there own ways. Jean Negulesco unfortunately doesn't seem to know pacing because the movie at many times just seems to stop, with characters just talking. The actors are great to watch, but even a great speaker should know when to stop talking and take his seat. I understand this is a melodrama, but even melodramas should have their own distinct pacing. The writing is probably the worst, which surprises me as there were three of Hollywood's most adept screenwriters writing on this film. Charles Brackett wrote another great melodrama with Billy Wilder, Sunset Blvd., but I have no idea what went wrong here. The dialogue ranges from good to acceptable with the actor's delivering the worst lines in the best way they can.
Titanic is a movie not for people looking for history of the Titanic. It is for people who like Hollywood melodramas. If you want to see the best film about Titanic in my opinion, see A Night to Remember.
Rich, upper-class married Julia Sturges (Barbara Stanwyck) separates from her stuffy and uptight husband Richard (Clifton Webb), wanting to bring up her teenage daughter (Audrey Dalton) and young son as middle class Americans in Michigan. Richard doesn't want his kids to have such low lifestyle, so after buying a ticket from a steerage passenger aboard the Titanic, is set to stop his wife from taking "his" kids. Aboard the ship, the daughter strikes up a romance with an American college student (Robert Wagner), a defrocked priest (Richard Baseheart) is running away from his own problems, and the eventful April 15 sinking of Titanic will change everyone's lives forever.
Let me start off with the positives. As a historical drama, this movie does pretty well in most areas. The sets are pretty awesome in scope and detail. You get the sense of the vastness of the Titanic from the many rooms and wide shots throughout the film. While it is normal for Hollywood to take artistic license with anything that has historical significance, the things that I know beforehand and know are historically inaccurate, I can't let fly by. There was no explosion on board the Titanic as it would've been impossible, right before the Titanic sank in the ocean the passengers didn't stop and sing a Welsh hymn. Those two things that happened in the movie really bothered me as anyone who is not familiar with the Titanic should know that stuff never happened. Hollywood can take artistic license as long its believable to some degree.
Now the movie as a drama is so uneven I may not have the right words to get my point across, but I'll try my best. The actors are for the most part great. Barbara Stanwyck has yet to fail me. Clifton Webb as well. He is very good as unhumorous, spoiled man who wants to do things for his benefit and his ways. They both have a sincere love and understanding for each other as characters, yet still have a true yearning to do things their own ways for their own reasons. This was my first Audrey Dalton film, and she gives a well enriched performance as an arrogant, stuck up, spoiled rich girl, who knows that the one thing she can't buy is love and wants it from the right person. Thelma Ritter who plays a "Molly Brown like character" is fantastic as usual. She delivers lines like she was born to say them. Another one that has never failed me. Richard Baseheart is also very good, and quite possibly the best actor in the film, as the priest who is running away from his own demons. There is a scene with him and Barbara Stanwyck in his cabin and she finds out he was priest. The monologue he gives about his family and his reasons why he left the priesthood is so poignant and heartbreaking. The one who has though in this film, is Robert Wagner. I personally feel his character is so out of place, like he is from the wrong time period. His dialogue, actions, and overall conduct seem too 1950's for me. It seems more that he should be more in a 50's sitcom as an older brother like in "Leave it to Beaver." His romance with Audrey Dalton works, mostly because Dalton isn't so upfront with her emotions. I could believe more that she loved him, and not the other way around.
While having good actors is a plus, the writing and direction are another story in there own ways. Jean Negulesco unfortunately doesn't seem to know pacing because the movie at many times just seems to stop, with characters just talking. The actors are great to watch, but even a great speaker should know when to stop talking and take his seat. I understand this is a melodrama, but even melodramas should have their own distinct pacing. The writing is probably the worst, which surprises me as there were three of Hollywood's most adept screenwriters writing on this film. Charles Brackett wrote another great melodrama with Billy Wilder, Sunset Blvd., but I have no idea what went wrong here. The dialogue ranges from good to acceptable with the actor's delivering the worst lines in the best way they can.
Titanic is a movie not for people looking for history of the Titanic. It is for people who like Hollywood melodramas. If you want to see the best film about Titanic in my opinion, see A Night to Remember.