{"id":78508,"date":"2024-04-12T10:41:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T15:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=78508"},"modified":"2024-04-12T10:41:24","modified_gmt":"2024-04-12T15:41:24","slug":"have-you-seen-titanic-1953","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=78508","title":{"rendered":"Have you seen…”Titanic (1953)”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By JOHN BILLINGER<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiger Media Network<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Titanic-a-thon continues this week<\/a> with the first film that has \u201cTitanic\u201d in the title. It\u2019s \u201cTitanic\u201d. Specifically, the 1953 version. But first a little background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the years following the release of Atlantic, other films featuring the Titanic were made, which we\u2019ll skip over. The first was a 1933 film titled \u201cCavalcade.\u201d The film is a nostalgic look back on the first 30 years of the 20th century. The ship is only in one scene. This movie is also noticeable for being the only other film made about the Titanic that won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Ten years later, the Nazis made the version of Titanic. In fact, their film was the first one made about the disaster where the title of the movie is the same as the ship. The Nazis essentially took the story of the tragedy into a propaganda vehicle with a message of: \u201cGerman Nationalism Good, Capitalism Bad.\u201d It wasn\u2019t a hit and has remained in obscurity ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ten years after that (I guess by some coincidence), 20th Century Fox decided to make their own version titled \u201cTitanic.\u201d Made as a starring vehicle for lead actor Clifton Webb, the film was released on April 16, 1953, just a day after the 40th anniversary of the disaster, and was a modest enough success. It later won two Oscars, one for Best Adapted Screenplay (which ironically, the 1997 Cameron version didn\u2019t win that award) and for Best Art Direction. Also starring in the film were Barbara Stanwyck (who is considered to be one of the greatest actresses who\u2019ve never won an Academy award, Robert Wagner (ironically, the Titanic disaster is only the second worst thing that involved him and a boat), and Audrey Dalton (who also starred in the 1957 movie \u201cThe Monster That Challenged the World, which we will discuss in our podcast \u201cIt Came From The DVD Collection<\/a>\u201d in the coming weeks).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plot is as follows\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April of 1912, Julia Sturges (played by Stanwyck) decides that she has had enough of her wealthy husband Richard (played by Webb), and decides to take her children to America. She hopes that this will dissuade them from living a wealthy and ignorant life like their father. Richard however, catches wind of them and rendezvous with them during the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Melodrama ensues, arguments are had, and secrets are revealed. When the ship begins sinking, Richard must rise above to save his family and others. Also included are sub-plots involving the Sturges\u2019 daughter (played by Dalton) having a romance with a college frat boy (played by Wagner) and an alcoholic priest who has a redemption arc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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