S.O.S. Titanic (TV Movie 1979)

S.O.S. Titanic: Directed by William Hale. With Harry Andrews, David Battley, Ed Bishop, Tony Caunter. On its maiden voyage in April 1912, the supposedly unsinkable R.M.S. Titanic hits an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.

“There are two versions of this film. One is much better than the other and runs for another 30 minutes and can now be viewed in its entirety on You Tube. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis is a made for TV film and as such, the budget is limited, but not entirely noticeable. Yes, some scenes are clearly shot on the Queen Mary, but the film is engrossing so you donu0026#39;t really take much notice. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSOS Titanic is also quite different from all of the other versions in that: (1) it starts with the ending and tells the story in a flashback format. And (2), it is the first Titanic film to feature all three passenger classes in some detail. And it also has the distinction of being the fist Titanic film to be filmed in colour. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere is some mis-casting. David Jansonu0026#39;s Astor gives it his best shot, but does not quite pull it off, and Cloris Leachman is the worst Molly Brown I have seen. Some more real life characters are featured in this film, the Lift Boy and the u0026#39;Bootu0026#39; boys. Even stewardess Violet Jessop is included, but incorrectly portrayed as an elderly stewardess when in fact Violet was in her mid 20s. J Bruce Ismay is portrayed far more accurately in this film and it is through his eyes that we flashback to the events. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere is no real plot line as such, and this film plays more like a documentary although does not quite manage to pull it off like u0026#39;A Night To Rememberu0026#39; did. There are a few small sub-plots, but this film is based on the book by 2nd class passenger and Titanic survivor Lawrence Beeseley. There is a short scene between him and his fictional female companion where they are shown on the middle decks discussing u0026quot;them up thereu0026quot; and u0026quot;those down thereu0026quot;, which really emphasises the class distinction to good effect. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAlthough not actually seen, the near collision at Southampton IS mentioned in the dialogue, something all the other films always leave out. There is also a good scene showing the Tenders.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe soundtrack is excellent and the music is extremely atmospheric. You really feel like you are there. And with the a great many more scenes showing children, it really does have an effect on you, especially the opening sequence which is superb. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eOK, Titanicu0026#39;s life boats did NOT have to wade their way through a field of ice to reach the Carpathia, and the crew on the Carpathia actually had everything prepared before the Titanicu0026#39;s boats reached her and not a mad rush as they arrive. But I think this can be forgiven and taken as a bit of poetic license. What is unforgivable is the glaring mistake about the date. They show it as Sunday April 12th, when as we all know it was Sunday April 14th. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut the costumes and sets are spot on and we see a lot more of this ship than in other films: The Turkish Baths, The Stewardessu0026#39; rooms,The Gymnasium to name just a few. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll in all, a good film.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe sinking sequence is not the best of the bunch, and nothing will surpass Cameronu0026#39;s version in that area, but this film is not about special effects. The ship sinks intact in SOS Titanic but this was the accepted version in 1979.”