That Sinking Feeling: "Titanic" (1953)

To compare 20th Century Fox's 1953 production of "Titanic" to James Cameron's 1997 spectacle is a bit like comparing the Cliff Notes edition of "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" to the real thing; in fact, one could probably watch the simple, black and white 50's version twice in the time it would take you to sail through (pun intended) the 90's edition once.  But despite the lack of all those CGI created special effects and that oh-so-inspirational Celine Dion theme song, the original is not all that bad a film in and of itself.  In fact, there are one or two very distinct links between the two films, other than the fact that there is a cameo appearance by an iceberg and things don't end well for a great many passengers.

I am not one of those so beloved of Cameron's film as to believe it is a cinematic masterpiece, although I freely admit is a masterful piece of filmmaking, with great detail (and great money) spent on recreating the look of the ship; something that clearly was not done with the 1953 edition.  Still, the earlier film was nominated for its impressive art direction, and actually won an Oscar for its story and screenplay (a category that Cameron's film was famously not even nominated in).  Director Jean Negulesco does a competent job splitting his energies between the personal passenger stories and the details of the ship's voyage and destruction, and it is this even-handedness that makes the film interesting.

Julia Sturges (Barbara Stanwyck) has chosen to take her children back to America from Europe so that they may be raised like ordinary people, without bothering to tell her uppity husband Richard (Clifton Webb), which forces him to bribe a steerage passenger out of a ticket so that he may join them on the ship.  Daughter Annette (Audrey Dalton) is a snobbish brat, definitely her father's daughter, but finds herself being charmed by the pleasant company of young college student Giff Rogers (Robert Wagner).  Also featured are Brian Aherne as stoic Captain Smith, Richard Basehart as a disgraced priest, going back to face his family in the States, and a rough-and-tumble heiress named Maude Young (the divine Thelma Ritter), who is obviously based on the real-life Molly Brown.

Though the film has a running time of just under 100 minutes, the characters are developed sufficiently and the story moves briskly through the ship's voyage.  And considering that only a fraction of the time is devoted to the actual sinking when compared to Cameron's film, there is still a strong emotional impact felt.  And though rabid fans of Cameron's film would probably be offended by watching what they might consider a 'low-rent' version of the story, it can be appreciated for its own charms and its success in storytelling.