S.O.S. Titanic (1979)

On the 10th of April 1912, the "unsinkable" luxury liner R.M.S. Titanic leaves Southhampton, England on her maiden voyage to New York. Directed by William Hale, this was shown in the U.S. in a 2 1/2 hour cut on television and released overseas in a theatrical cut running one hour and 43 minutes. I watched the longer cut. There have been countless film and TV (and even a Tony award winning musical) versions of the Titanic tragedy and they all vary in quality. This is one of the better adaptations as it tries to stick to the actual facts rather than place fictional characters (like the 1997 Cameron film) at the center of the story. Unusual from other adaptations, the film focuses on the class system of the passengers as a microcosm of the British class system. The main problem with the film is that trying to cram so many characters' (most of them real passengers on the Titanic) stories into a 2 1/2 hour time slot is that they are just sketches of human beings rather than fully fleshed out. We never really get to know them. There is one exception however, two schoolteachers (David Warner, Susan Saint James) who begin a tentative relationship on the voyage. The script allows more characterization so we get to know them and they make more of an impression than any of the other characters and Warner and Saint James are quite good in the roles. The film does a nice job of covering the fear and hysteria (and bravery) during the ship's final hours. The large cast includes Helen Mirren, David Janssen, Ian Holm, Cloris Leachman, Harry Andrews, Anna Quayle, Lise Hilboldt and Beverly Ross.