S.O.S. Titanic Movie Review
Why include this ABC telefeature that aired in a 180-minute time slot in the fall of 1979 before it was released theatrically overseas in the spring of 1980? How many more movies do we need to see about this maritime catastrophe, anyway? Except for A Night to Remember, they all have the same plot: two-thirds fictional dramatizations of the lives of characters who may or may not have existed in real life, one-third rescue operations, with a moment or two at the end for someone to say something about The Folly of Man. As these make-believe yarns go, S.O.S. Titanic is pretty good. It's nearly the end of the line for David Janssen as the doomed John Jacob Astor. (Janssen's only 49 here, but looks much older and he died before an edited version played in theatres.) Susan St. James does a nice job in the role of a passenger whose name isn't on any of the Titanic lists. David Warner is quite effective in one of his more restrained roles as Laurence Beesley, a survivor who wrote an account of the disaster. Helen Mirren is on hand as May Sloan, another survivor, and Ian Holm is perfect as always as the self-important Bruce Ismay. James Costigan's script, while not in the same league as Eric Ambler's 1958 adaptation of Walter Lord's classic book, is intelligently low-key. But the question remains for filmmakers of the future: what else needs to be said about the Titanic? With all the time, energy, and money that have been spent since April 15, 1912, every microbe on the Titanic could have had a lifeboat of its very own. Historical Note: The very first movie about the Titanic starred actress Dorothy Gibson, a surviving first-class passenger who wears the same clothes in the 10-minute movie that she was wearing when she was rescued. Her co-stars include Alex Francis, Jack Adolfi, and Guy Oliver. Saved from the Titanic was released on May 14, 1912, and is considered a lost film so if anyone is hoarding it in an attic (and you know who you are), contact your nearest archive!
1979 102m/C GB David Janssen, Cloris Leachman, Susan St. James, David Warner, Ian Holm, Helen Mirren, Harry Andrews, David Battley, Ed Bishop, Peter Bourke, Shevaun Briars, Nick Brimble, Jacob Brooke, Catherine Byrne, Tony Caunter, Warren Clarke, Nicholas Davies, Deborah Fallender; D: Billy Hale; W: James Costigan; C: Christopher Challis; M: Howard Blake. VHS