Titanic Tropes: Carpathia Receives Distress Call (1958-1996)

[@SitInTheShayd]

I appreciate how every movie agrees perfectly on what Capt Rostron was wearing when he went to bed

[@johnking5174]

It's called an "educated guess"

[@TheAngelOfDeath01]

Yeah, but the proper behaviour and discipline sure fades away. If you were to barge into a captains cabin under any circumstance you were to get a boot up your ass -- even today!

[@TheGroundedAviator]

@@TheAngelOfDeath01 Verbally at least, but any good leader would know if someone does that i must be very serious.

[@Westyrulz]

In 1912 nearly all Men wore Nightshirts to bed.

[@Westyrulz]

​@@TheAngelOfDeath01Especially if you were batting off when they barged in.😂

[@cathrinrehder6652]

One must not forget the fact that the Carpathia also put herself in great danger by heading straight into the area where there was known to be a lot of ice. Sometimes this is overlooked. And to suddenly have over 700 passengers more on board was a mighty task.

[@davidkraft314]

Plus they found a way to make the carpathia go beyond her top speed. He really pushed the ship to get there, he wasn't in time to save many lives, but I respect the man for doing everything he could.

[@HighSierra1500]

@@davidkraft314 RMS Carpathia had a top speed of 14.5 knots. If I remember correctly, they had to shut all the dampers and route all the steam to the engines to achieve 17.5 knots. There would be no heat in any of the rooms, but the ship would go faster.

[@notsureyou]

@@HighSierra1500 From memory I read that the chief engineer "accidently" put a rag over the steam gauge (so that they couldn't see that it was in the red, or beyond whatever limit)

[@sanchez501]

The Carpathia story deserves it's on film. As has been pointed out, they put themselves in such danger.

[@notsureyou]

@@sanchez501 And in her final act of saving others, When she was mortally damaged by Torpedo's in 1918, She signalled the other ships by flag which attracted the attention of patrol boats as well as causing the rest of the convoy to steam away at full speed, And not only that, The Submarine (SM U-55) fired a third and it's last remaining torpedo into the sinking ship, Which more than likely saved yet another ship from being sunk by that U-Boat. So Carpathia took 3 torpedo's before she sank.

[@harrietharlow9929]

I love in "A Night to remember" that Captain Rostron doesn't hesitate when he reads the wireless message. "Mr. Dean, turn the ship around!" Rostron was known at Cunard as "the Electric Spark" for his ability to think on his feet.

[@BuzbyWuzby]

Also his trust and faith in his officers compared to the attitude of some of them to the news

[@frednone]

What was even more impressive is he rattled off a list of instructions to prepare the ship to receive Titanic survivors before he asked that question too.

[@bethanyhait6880]

You’ll notice he only scolds before he realizes who it is. He knew Cottam wouldn’t have just barged in on him like that if it weren’t an emergency. That’s why he immediately tells the officers to turn the ship around, and only THEN asks Cottam if he’s sure. Great testament to Rostrom’s leadership.

[@frednone]

The list of things he did with The Carpathia while on his way became an example list for emergency preparedness too. A remarkable man, in the right place at almost the right time. Pity he wasn't captain of the Californian.

[@margaretgarside5617]

@@frednone He pushed that much-smaller ship as fast as he could --and through an ice field. I kept seeing the Millenium Falcon dodging asteroids. And this really happened!

[@robertmorris8997]

Carpathia diverted all steam to the engines, none for heat or hot water. Someone else posted she achieved her fastest speed ever.

[@whovianhistorybuff]

When the Mauretania was out to break her previous speed record in 1922 after being converted to oil burning rather than coal it shouldn't be a surprise that Rostron was her skipper.

[@takashitamagawa5881]

Somewhere on another KZbin video it was stated that CARPATHIA's crazy dash north overstressed her machinery and that she wasn't the same afterwards. She could only achieve that speed that one time. Sad that the ultimate fate of this heroic ship was to be sunk by a German U-boat in the coming war.

[@misterwhipple2870]

@@whovianhistorybuff Arthur ROSTRON, 1869-1940. He was a great mariner.

[@misterwhipple2870]

They got 17 1/2 knots out of a 14-knot ship. It damaged her engines.

[@MrBlueBurd0451]

@@misterwhipple2870Carpathia was designed for a trial speed of 15.5.

[@Ceej_MM]

Captain Rostron was basically the James T. Kirk of the Cunard line. Dude pushed his ship through night and ice at an absolutely ludicrous speed without a second's hesitation because there was the chance he could save some lives. On a night filled with heroes, his name stands right up there with the best of them.

[@15mmGustavus]

It's a real shame he wasn't in the 97 one

[@d.owczarzak6888]

Agreed, he was a great sailor.

[@richardtaylor1652]

Rostron deserved every accolade and award he won for his actions that morning.

[@JamesBond-gg4wg]

I had difficult debates in the Titanic form about his courage and actions, some claimed he was reckless, I was advocating for him and fought hard for his reputation, in my eyes he had balls of steel, cowardly people find it hard to understand.

[@ragtowne]

Prepare ship for Light Speed! No no no Light Speed's too slow! Light Speed too slow? We're gonna have to go right to- Ludicrous Speed!

[@jantyszka1036]

As usual 'A Night to Remember' nails it for accuracy, the sense of urgency and imminent danger.

[@seanC3i]

Yes, the 1958 version got right basically everything that was known at the time. AFAIK the only things they got wrong were showing the ship sinking in one piece, and the damage from the iceberg being a long gash rather than a series of smaller holes spread out over multiple compartments. Both aspects that were accepted until the wreck was found in 1985.

[@raynoraynov5651]

Accuracy?!?!?! Not really. It's a known fact (as shown in the 1996 version) that Cottam himself contacted the Titanic, not that he accidentally heard the Titanic's distress call. He was a friend of Phillips, and he decided to call him before going to bed for the night.

[@johnwelsh2769]

@@raynoraynov5651 You are partly correct. He contacted the Titanic to let them know that Cape Cod was "sending a batch of messages for him".

[@raynoraynov5651]

@@johnwelsh2769, yes, I know. Cottam did it because he was a friend of Phillips. Otherwise he wouldn't care, to notify him about that batch.

[@BMAN-eb4jk]

A night to remember is by far the best titanic movie in my opinion. The fact they actually included details of those who weren’t even on the ship itself and had a crucial role during the sinking is what makes the film stand out above any other film. Including James Cameron’s film.

[@Krzyszczynski]

Anyone else notice how the 1958 Cottam acknowledges his captain's orders with "Yes sir", instead of the "Aye aye sir" customary among sailors? That's because, although he's working on a ship, he's actually an employee of the Marconi Company, not the vessel's owners - hence not really a seaman. Full marks for accuracy there.

[@santinojozefmiller7721]

This whole time I thought the Marconi operator was an employee of the ship. I did not realize that the Cunard lines hired a company to come on their ships.

[@Da_SpongeGun]

@@santinojozefmiller7721every ship was assigned a Marconi operator or 2 by Marconi.

[@santinojozefmiller7721]

@@Da_SpongeGun I thought Marconi was the name for the Morse code keys.

[@Da_SpongeGun]

@@santinojozefmiller7721 it’s also the name of the invented as well as the company

[@santinojozefmiller7721]

@@Da_SpongeGun interesting.

[@leopardhunter99]

Gotta say, I think the 1958 portrayal of this scene is the best. No music and the acting feels the most grounded in reality. I feel like with each newer installment the acting got more 'dramatized' and felt more phoned in.

[@hullie7529]

I especially dislike how in the 1996 movie they narrate everything they're transmitting, when in real life they'd never do that. Of course they do this so the viewer can understand, but is it really necessary? You already get a feeling of what they're relaying to each other in that scenario, there's no need to spell it out, and the 1958 movie doesn't need to do it to make it a compelling scene.

[@ac1646]

@@hullie7529 Well said. It's the old film adage, 'Show; don't tell'.

[@hansolo631]

@@hullie7529 wasn't the movie from 97 though? I agree with your sentiment but don't think Cameron would make such an amateur decision - but I haven't watched his movie in a while and don't remember if that scene is from the movie? I just did some googling and looks like there was a cbs mini-series in '96, which I guess is where the scene is from?

[@hullie7529]

@@hansolo631 Yes, that's from the 1996 tv miniseries, which is awful in my opinion for things like these.

[@TBone-bz9mp]

You have to remember that film technology had to advance to make modern movies possible. Like cameras in the 1950s were huge and cumbersome, they could zoom and pan, but moving them would require you to stop filming. So most filmmakers just film the scene with the camera fixed, like a play. This is why older films have a very documentarian feel, the camera isn’t active. Personally I like it, but it can be impersonal. You don’t fully connect with the characters, modern techniques allow for more emotive storytelling.

[@Warriorcats64]

Carpathia deserves a movie of its own for its actions.

[@Hagen1256]

Indeed, Carpathia was going full speed most of the way, at risk of hitting an iceberg.

[@adobokkeumbap]

I just watched a short-it would be very interesting how an unconnected ship that’s sailing smoothly approach a dilemma and how they quickly worked to solve it in distress. The chaos, operation, the passengers working together would be far more interesting than leo dicaprio fighting to remove restraints.

[@kannankk4262]

I agree

[@cathybrind2381]

@@adobokkeumbap The chaos and drama would be more interesting than Leonardo di Caprio doing anything.

[@crazyleyland5106]

And sadly she was destroyed in the 1st World War.

[@mrb.5610]

I think the 'Night to Remember' gets my vote for technical accuracy - he first throws the switch to the rotary inverter then moves the starter over to bring it up to speed - that's the whine in the background !

[@evancrum6811]

The only thing it wasn't correct on was the way it sank but to be fair at the time....there were conflicting stories.

[@KebabMusicLtd]

@@evancrum6811 It wasn't until they found the wreck in 1985 that they learned the truth about how she sank although there were many at the American and British enquiries that stated the ship had broken in half, both enquiries seemed to dismiss this likelihood. I read Wyn Craig Wade's book, Titanic, End Of A Dream several times in 1979 and even that maintained the belief that she sank in one-piece despite several witnesses saying differently.

[@evancrum6811]

@@KebabMusicLtd I know

[@mlaprarie]

Both the 58 and 79 films get the Marconi spark gap technology correct. This could only produce a buzz at specific broadcast frequencies, so it had to be controlled by interruption and therefore only used for Morse code. But it was very reliable and very powerful, with a transmission range of 1000 miles. Modulated signals, i.e. the "beeps" heard in the 96 film would not become standard until years later.

[@bebopkirby]

Not sure which movie was most accurate but the first two were spellbinding in the telling of the story. The third had a bit of a made for TV execution.

[@monsieurcommissaire1628]

"A Night To Remember" has, by far, the best portayal of the great Captain Arthur Rostron.

[@KebabMusicLtd]

Agreed totally,. The other two scenes seemed a little bit understated as compared to ANTR

[@johnn.4407]

Yes, the other films acting is so....non-urgent, uninterested almost.

[@austin.draude]

You can always count on A Night to Remember and the 1997 James Cameron film to completely lap the rest of the field in terms of accuracy.

[@theminingassassin16]

In my opinion, A Night to Remember's portrayal is the most accurate regarding how Harlod Cottam reacted to hearing Titanic's distress call.

[@doonsbury9656]

A shame that they don't show more of "A night to remember" scene as it illustrates how Captain Roston went on to detail exactly what he wanted done in the ship to facilitate not only picking up the survivors but also accommodating them and attending to sick & wounded. Perfectly illustrates just what a man of action this exceptional Captain was.

[@robrussell5329]

I think most ship captains are men of action. Even Captain Smith of Titanic. His Grand mistake is that he allowed himself to be pressured, perhaps even forced, by management to speed through the iceberg field.

[@varelion]

Have a look at this video on youtube: 'Captain Rostron being the best captain for 4 minutes'.

[@KebabMusicLtd]

@@varelion I was just going to recommend the very same video clips...

[@TheTrueAdept]

@@robrussell5329 no, Smith was following standard procedure at the time; hell, with the information he had, he 'turned the corner' more southernly than usual. The problem was that he was working with a very incomplete picture due to how Marconi operated.

[@Brecconable]

@@varelion I've done one better. I found a transcript from the Senate Inquiry with Cptn Rostron listing his emergency instructions for all departments in the Ship's Company.

[@JugSouthgate]

"A Night To Remember" even gets the Morse right - even down to how a rotary spark transmitter would have sounded.

[@mistofoles]

"It's a distress call from the Titanic, sir !" "The Titanic ?? What is it ?" "It's a huge passenger liner, but that's not important right now.."

[@MauriceCalis]

Rodger, Rodger. What's your vector, Victor?

[@ChristopherJRobin]

It's a completely different kind of ship, altogether.

[@MauriceCalis]

@@ChristopherJRobin It's a completely different kind of ship

[@Tarkus_H]

And it looks like a big Tylenol.

[@em23]

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit ice cubes.

[@MrKWiley918]

Of the 3 film clips shown, I felt the first was the most realistic, as you could hear the dynamo for the transmitter spool up when he switched it on.

[@saladbreath607]

4 film clips.

[@Trek001]

@@saladbreath607 Three film clips - Titanic 1996 was a television production

[@JugSouthgate]

Motor generator set for the spark transmitter.

[@EdMaloney-m7n]

A Night to Remember was the best film about the tragedy.

[@gftyhify]

Arthur Rostron was an awesome Captain and a true hero. I don’t know many people that could go from being angry due to being woken up so suddenly to concerned and ready for action in a matter of seconds.

[@hagamapama]

His swift action saved lives. People in the boats were dying of cold and exposure. Any further delay of rescue would have been measured in further lives lost. Captain Rostron did some damage to Carpathia, it was never quite the same after what he did to the engines. That's nothing against the lives he saved by doing it however.

[@texanlady4]

You’re describing pretty much every US marine that ever lived.

[@RedcoatT]

As a good captain once he realised the emergency he was woken for, it was the correct call to wake him.

[@codyking4848]

Harold Cottam, the wireless operator on Carpathia, was actually in the process of going to bed. While unlacing his boots, he put his headset on and heard Titanic's CQD/SOS. Had five minutes elapsed, Carpathia never would have heard the signals and rescued as many as they did.

[@Tyrunner0097]

Cottam wasn't even supposed to have his set on at that time. He was just turning on his receiver to confirm a message he sent had been confirmed to have been received, and he just happened to overhear messages from Cape Cod being meant to be sent to Titanic, with Titanic not acknowledging them. Cottam was just sending Phillips a courtesy "Hey, you know you got messages waiting for you?" when he got Titanic's SOS.

[@christopherhogg8364]

He was also a very close friend to Phillips on the titanic. They'd trained together.

[@thedeuce1374]

True, but then the Mount Temple, Frankfurt, or one of the other ships racing to the scene would have recovered the survivors. It would have just meant a longer wait for those in the lifeboats. A scarier thought? The wireless on the Titanic had gone down the day before the sinking. If the Titanic's wireless operators had not repaired the unit then no one would have known that Titanic had sunk. The survivors would have been floating around in those lifeboats until another ship happened to come upon them.

[@christopherhogg8364]

@@thedeuce1374 or what if they hadn't executed the port around so well? The iceberg would've ran down the whole side of the ship and it would've capsized in minutes and sank without trace. No time for distress call never mind evacuation. Or if it had happened in a storm.

[@thedeuce1374]

@@christopherhogg8364 True - although if there was a storm one wonders if THAT would have convinced Captain Smith to slow down, giving more reaction time to the helm. The 'what ifs' can go on forever when we discuss the Titanic disaster. But yeah, the port-around did buy some time to save at least some of the lives on board.

[@theblackbear211]

Captain Rostron's actions that night were those of a consummate professional and real seaman. With the weight of responsibility for his own ship and crew - he unhesitatingly steamed towards danger, all, while taking precautions, and preparing his ship to take on survivors. It has been said many times, that the Carpathia's Engineers achieved a turn of speed that she never made, either before or after that night. All those who survived owe there lives to Harold Cottam receiving the distress call, and Captain Roston's decisive actions.

[@jaswmclark]

Arthur Roston was the right man at the right place and made all the right decisions that night. He rightly deserved hid knighthood. If you can find a copy, read Captain Sir James Bisset.s biography, "Of Tramps and Ladies" for a description of the dash to the rescue. There is one passage where he describes Captain Roston's head bowed in prayer and states that there was another presence on the bridge that night.

[@HrLBolle]

Yeah Cunards R.M.S. Carpathia "tore her guts to sherds" in a way while en-route towards the rough site on which White Star Line's R.M.S. TITANIC was sinking and foundering. I read sometime ago her designed speed was about 15 knots and she would usually run at about 13 knots as service speed and that she made about 17.5 knots that night.

[@corpr8dystopia778]

correct, the RMS Carpathia never operated the same again, permanent mechanical damage, but efficiently operable. God bless the RMS Carpathia crew.

[@robertstorey7476]

It was a wild charge across the Ocean dodging Icebergs in the dark herself at full speed with all the available power directed to the propellers (heating switched off for example).

[@HrLBolle]

@@robertstorey7476 the shut down of the heating system in turn roused some of R.M.S. CARPATHIA's passengers from their sleep

[@sallykohorst8803]

I cried during this video as the carpathia was so shocked at the idea of all those people,2200 or so will die as it will take 4 hours to get there and they have 1 hour left. What a shock to those radio guys. I loved the 1958 movie radio guy the most. The other movies had the people not as anxious as he was.

[@davidjonathandunitz1528]

You can see how the Carpathia only picked up the distress call by accident, because they had switched off the wireless - after the disaster 24 hour radio watch became mandatory.

[@Farmer-bh3cg]

As I understand it, a 24 hour manned radio watch was not required. What Was required is an alarm to signify a distress message was being received. The Radio had to be on but it didn't have to be Manned as such.

[@kikuaviation3878]

It was the Californian who had turned her wireless off…Carpathia was listening to Cape Race and had then tried to tune in to Titanic’s frequency to tell her that Cape Race had wireless messages for her, when the distress call was heard.

[@Farmer-bh3cg]

@@kikuaviation3878 I'm very sorry my first response was not clear. The requirement to keep the radio, not Manned, but On to Receive Distress Calls was established After the Titanic disaster in response to the Californian's shutdown of her radio.

[@FalconFlyer75]

It’s insane how they could have joined the Californian in infamy vs being the heroes mostly by pure chance

[@Western-be2zs]

Captain Rostron used every bit of his experience and more to race to the Titanic,a true captain,and he evaded a torpedo attack on the Mauretania during the 1st World War,one of the greats 👍

[@germanname1990]

I was never all that excited with the portrayal of Rostron in the 1979 film. Rostron was known very well for his "act now, ask questions later" attitude, and the 1958 and 1996 films immortalized that attitude beautifully.

[@CaptainJZH]

1979 Rostron acts like he's tired lol

[@Krzyszczynski]

A bit surprising that Philip Stone didn't give an accurate portrayal of Captain Rostron. During his acting career he was often cast as decisive military officers or other authority figures. Maybe the script and/or the director was at fault.

[@cmalberts]

For whatever it's worth, the 1979 Rostron is shown swinging into action and barking out carefully detailed orders as soon as the first lifeboat is sighted. Truly being "the Electric Spark."

[@stinker43]

The 1979 film shows gauges at the wireless station that didn't exist in 1912. Of the 3 films, "A Night to Remember" is the best and most historically accurate. It shows like a documentary rather than a drama.

[@spikespa5208]

A good captain (as Rostron certainly was), when informed of it being an emergency, would stop with the castigating for discipline and find out what 's going on.

[@mygetawayart]

i hadn't seen A Night To Remember then, but finding the clip of the Carpathia sold me the entire movie. The acting, the script and the accuracy are stellar.

[@Trek001]

Two stories detail how good the detail was in that film (given what they thought at the time) 1) Several survivors were present at the various filming days and one female survivor saw the actor playing Captain Smith and had a flashback to seeing him as a little girl 2) When the _Titanic_ is sinking faster and faster, the set produced a groaning noise from the strain as it tilted. This alarmed a now elderly survivor and the production crew said that it was to be dubbed over with sound - but he told them that was EXACTLY the noise she made when she took a massive tilt surge and so the noise was kept in as described

[@cedarledgepublishing]

The Black and White clip was awesome. Surely the best!

[@Octolicia]

Rostron is trully a hero not only for coming to the rescue, but also for his leadership. :)

[@QUADRAXIS666]

Arthur Rostron was one of the greatest unsung heroes of the 20th century. May he rest in peace.

[@martinleavitt6094]

Absolutely on both of your takes...well said 🤟

[@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY]

I wish there were movie scenes of Harold Cottam after the Titanic’s sinking. He was good friends with the Titanic’s wireless radio operators Harold Bride and Jack Phillips and I can’t imagine how Cottam and Bride must’ve felt to have been seeing each other again after the tragedy and that their work is what got the Carpathia into action to rescue as many Titanic survivors as possible. It was also great of Bride to have been working together with Cottam to transmit official messages about the Titanic’s sinking during their journey to New York City even though he had badly injured his feet in the disaster.

[@CaptainJZH]

Also, Bride was unconscious in Carpathia's infirmary for at least a day, and afterwards suffered frostbite in his feet. I'm sure Cottam helped him through that, as his friend and all

[@cynthiahusband106]

It still brings tears to my eyes , still a haunting tragedy it’s 2023 , still so clear what happened to this unsinkable gorgeous ship all I can say all ships alerted that night wanted so desperately to help …., to this day heartbreaking just heartbreaking RIP to the 1500 and more souls on board who died that dark night April 1912.

[@TorontoJediMaster]

Most of the Marconi operators on the North Atlantic liners were acquainted with one another. Cyril Evans of the "Californian" was also friends with Phillips. Evans later said that he'd committed a breach of protocol by barging into Phillips' transmissions without asking permission first. He said that he took no offense to Phillips telling him to shut up and keep out.

[@tymondabrowski12]

@@TorontoJediMaster he stayed on wireless for one more hour and then went to sleep like everyone else planned to. Both Carpathia and Mount Temple (another shop that immediately turned, but came too late) wireless operators were going to sleep. Shout out to Olympic, which also immediately turned despite being 500 miles away.

[@ronnieince4568]

@@tymondabrowski12 same thing happened in 1956 when the Andrea Doria sank in the Atlantic -the captain if the French liner I "Ile de France " turned his ship around and all ahead emergency raced to rescue survivors and on arriving turned on.just about every light in his ship hugely relieving those awaiting rescue Some 1600 were rescued 46 lost their lives ...

[@lawrencedarmawan3164]

I love a night to remember It is historically accurate.

[@amtrakfan2]

I think god was on their side as Captain Rostron stated at the Senate inquiry in New York "The whole thing was absolutely providential. I will tell you this, that the wireless operator was in his cabin, at the time, not on official business at all, but just simply listening as he was undressing. He was unlacing his boots at the time. He had this apparatus on his ear, and the message came. That was the whole thing. In 10 minutes, maybe he would have been in bed, and we would not have heard the messages." And when the Carpathia sped to the Titanic's last position to pick up survivors.

[@harrietharlow9929]

Agree 100%! The Carpathia's Chief Engineer managed to get her up to 17.5 knots (she was rated for a top speed of around 14 knots). Never again could she attain such a speed. God was definitely with the Carpathia and her captain that night. Rostron was known at Cunard as the "Electric Spark" for his ability to think on his feet and come up with orders quicky. He certainly earned it that night. What I love is how, when told of the Titanic's plight, he didn't even wait for Cottam to confirm it. He said "Mr. Dean, turn the ship round. North, northwest". If there is a Heaven (and I believe there is), I believe Captain Rostron is there. When the Mauretania was being readied for her trip to the wreckers, Capt. Rostron was there to see her off. When asked if he'd like to to come aboard for the last time, he, ever the gentleman replied, "No, thank you. I prefer to remember her as she was."

[@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY]

With God all things are possible and Titanic’s officer Charles Lightoller was happy to say that after everything he went through in that tragedy.

[@patriciam4512]

When asked about the risk of running full speed through the iceberg-infested waters at night Rostom is said to have replied "I can only conclude another hand than mine was on the helm."

[@tymondabrowski12]

@@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY Sounds a bit wrong to attribute saved survivors to God but forgetting about all the victims that did die. What did God apparently do, make Carpathia a bit faster? That's what engineers were trying to do, and it ruined her boilers btw, possibly contributing to her future sinking. What God didn't do: he didn't let Titanic avoid the iceberg; he didn't make the California wireless operator go to sleep later and be able to hear the message; he didn't prevent water from getting into one of the boats, causing half of the passengers there to die of hypothermia; he didn't prevent one of the Collapsible boats to be flipped; he didn't tell the officer in the first boat to allow men inside, too (which caused lifeboats to be lowered when still not full); he didn't let Titanic to float for a few more hours; if with God all of those things are possible, why didn't they happen? Every person who knew what was happening was trying to prevent as many deaths as possible, many even endangering their own lives, but they weren't almighty, so they couldn't do much. God is, he knew about it, and could save everyone, and then just didn't. Thank the captain of Carpathia, thank the baker who forced people into lifeboats (including literally throwing kids) which saved their lives, thank the engineers on Titanic trying to keep lights on for as long as possible (needed for leaving the boat), thank those closing watertight doors to prolong the time it was afloat, even thank those who tried but couldn't reach it in time (Mount Temple, Frankfurt, Olympic) or just relayed messages to find more/closer ships. Thank those whose help/nfluence was proportional to what they could do.

[@sajidkhan639]

A night to remember was the best..

[@mikebronicki8264]

It is pretty much a straight line from oldest = best, to newest = worst.

[@jimcrawford5039]

A Night to Remember is by far the best movie of the disaster.

[@terryrainer2213]

A more realistic attitude, and better morse code, in the 1958 version.

[@b3j8]

That whole scene in the radio room in A Night to Remember is pretty accurate. But the "spark-gap transmitters of that era put out a nasty buzzing sound when code was sent. Not the pleasant tone later radios did.

[@fionawimber1028]

One fun fact about Carpathia is that one of her bridge officers on the bridge that night was a man named Bissett. Bissett would, 30 30 years later, command another Cunarder through the height of WW2. A ship by the name of Queen Mary!

[@napsterking7500]

A Night To Remember, best depiction, the Actor played the part most convincingly.

[@TheGrenadier97]

Great compilation; Carpathia, her captain and crew did as much as they possibly could that sad day. The 1958 scene is the best but both others have some interesting details as well. Some mention to this crucial episode should have been made in the famous 1997 edition, even if just in a director's cut release.

[@tomcurda4203]

The lovey dovey stuff with Jack and Rose was much too important (Sarcasm)

[@stephendavidbailey2743]

@@tomcurda4203 As I left the theater in 1997, an acquaintance was waiting to go in and asked how the film was. I said, it’s overwhelming, just stopping myself from saying “overwhelmingly bad “.

[@thedreamscripter4002]

@@tomcurda4203 Yes, it was (no sarcasm). Lot's of people don't understand how to create great film about catastrophe - you need to make people immersed into the story, to make them love the people who are going through that catastrophe - and thus you needed big plot, showing you entire Titanic, prior to the tragedy itself, and to make viewers pass through that catastrophe with some of its participants. So yes, all that love story of Jack and Rose was important. Yes, you can add additional plot with Carpathia - but that would basically require 5-hour-long film in such case, if you want to show the Carpathia plotline properly.

[@SealAngel]

A Night to Remember is the best Titanic movie ever... Leo and Kate were awesome but it was too Hollywood. A Night to Remember captures the real essence of that horrible night.

[@JohnLee-pt5jz]

Totally agree with you, it's my favourite Titanic movie I don't know how many times I've seen it over the years, just recently watched the colorised version on KZbin.

[@JONNOG88]

Exactly I *did* enjoy James Cameron version. And as a 90's kid it was part of childhood. But "A Night To Remember". Is the superior film.

[@dalekexterminae]

@@JONNOG88it is, only flaw was the titanic’s final plunge. Since the theory of the titanic splitting into 2 wasn’t popular at the time

[@d.owczarzak6888]

Agreed !

[@SupermarketSweep777]

@@dalekexterminae The perfect film would be a mix of A Night to Remember with the opening and final moments of the 1997 version to incorporate the knowledge gained after finding the wreck.

[@NJPurling]

Night to Remember: It seems that Captain Rostron sees terror in Cottam's face & he instantly realised the main is deadly serious. When Cottam entered his cabin he hears the frantic morse he winds the Marconi magnetic detector so it is more efficient. It was basically a wire-recorder. Cottam reads the CQD signal and knows someone is in serious trouble. Cottam knew Phillips & Bride? No wonder he dared to barge into the captain's cabin.

[@KebabMusicLtd]

It was because he knew Phillips (and Bride), I believe they had done some Marconi training together. He knew Philips was a serious guy when it came to the use of morse...

[@brianbommarito3376]

I’ve read many accounts. According to the sequence of events (of just this scene, not the dramas as a whole), the 1996 version is the most accurate, with the 1958 one coming in a close second. Cottam really did contact the Titanic first, regards a batch of routine messages for her from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He was unaware that they were sending a distress call until Phillips told him, almost verbatim, what the 1996 version says. “Come at once, we’ve struck a berg. It’s a CQD OM.” (CQD was the regular distress call prior to SOS. It was the 1912 version of “Mayday.” OM was an abbreviation for “old man”, which was a private joke among all the wireless operators, since the technology was new and the majority of the operators were between ages 18-30.) Then Cottam went to First Officer Dean, who actually did take the message seriously (unlike the 1958 version shown here), and both Dean and Cottam went to the Captain’s cabin. Dean let Cottam report directly to the Captain and was there just to receive orders from Captain Rostron if he required it.

[@davidshaffer4664]

The captain had big balls. No hesitation and direct.

[@Beachdude67]

I was a radioman in the Navy for 11 years. The wireless operator on the Carpathia is one of my heroes.

[@chrisby30]

What I like in A Night to remember is when Captain Rostron is told, he immediately orders the ship to turn, but they don't mention the time it will take to reach Titanic until a later scene which is on Titanic

[@hagamapama]

he starts moving Carpathian in the right general direction and says he'll figure out the exact course later. That gave him precious minutes of head start in a race where speed meant more lives saved.

[@JMC0991]

i love it when he goes CQ- then pauses. i love that part for some reason.

[@grahambraund756]

It's a shame that Jack Phillips perished, and wasn't able to thank Harold cottam for his help like Harold bride was able to

[@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY]

Yeah, he and Harold Bride were good friends with Harold Cottam long before that disaster happened too.

[@tomcurda4203]

One DOES wonder what actually happened to Jack Phillips.

[@jameswg13]

​@@tomcurda4203he died during the night. He was picked up by one of the lifeboats but died from exposure

[@Gameboy-Unboxings]

​@@jameswg13yeah but it's strange how Bride made it to an overturned life boat but not Phillips.. but guess it was easy to lose track of each other.. 😢

[@jameswg13]

@Gameboy-Unboxings he did make it to a life boat as well but died during the night.

[@warplanner8852]

The captain in the 1979 version was played by the late Philip Stone - a favorite of Stanley Kubrick. Mr Stone played Delbert Grady, the butler in _The Shining_ as well as other Kubrick movies. Mr Stone passed away in 2003.

[@derekstephen329]

God bless captain Rostrom. A true seaman znd hero.

[@asylumlover]

Long Live the memory of Captain Sir Arthur Henry Rostron!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A Night to Remember 1958 probably has this the most accurate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And Long Live the memory of RMS Carpathia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@tomcurda4203]

Pity that she was torpedoed and sunk by the SM U-55 in 1918.

[@derekstephen329]

God bless you sir Arthur Henry Rostrom. Bold, brave, the best of British seamanship.

[@williamschlenger1518]

A night to remember was the best.

[@russell-di8js]

A night to remember is the daddy of Titanic films & yes including the bigger budget more recent 1s. Made me cry as a kid in the 1970s

[@northerncaptain855]

I spent the better part of fifty years going to sea on Ocean Going Ships with much of that as Captain. When the unexpected middle of the night beating on the cabin door or phone ringing occurs it’s never good news.

[@changlisatoru]

A Night To Remember Was Best

[@georgehellerman9344]

Several people here comment appropriately on Rostrans heroics that night. He testified at the US and UK inquiries after the sinking and both governments recognized his actions as did the Titanic survivors.

[@Photogr182]

i know there just movies but i would not imagine the real Harold Cottam hearing Titanic's distress call! and when carpathia arriving four hours later and seen all the bodies of the people who didnt survive titanic

[@glenchapman3899]

Well they did all they could. Pretty well red lined the engines to get there. The heroics of the crew of the Carpathia would almost be worth a movie in its own right.

[@zonxgi]

The "A Night To Remember" version was the best. Loved the acting! 👏👏👏👍

[@saffronthurkettle6795]

The Carpathia was a brave ship to take on board those who survived titanic

[@chashague8479]

As Charles Pelligrino points out: Roston orders Carpathia to make for the Titanic's position -- THEN asks Harold Cottam, the radio operator if he is sure. "Everyone else would have done it the other way around"

[@anthonyxavier6300]

I actually liked the 1958 version. The part where he pause and the look of his face changes when he listens the morse code. And then you see him rushing on all of the things he is doing because lives depends on it.

[@1991sth]

I like the reaction they had when it's realised that they'll come in 4 hours, the 1997 movie also had this when Harold Bride gave Captain Smith the message from Carpathia and he was shocked when Bride told that. I noticed that A Night to Remember and S.O.S. Titanic both had Cottam adjusting his attire when he hears the distress call

[@harrietharlow9929]

Probably because Cottam was due to go off duty about then.

[@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY]

In reality, he was just in the process of untying his boots when he heard the distress call.

[@stinker43]

@@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY Untieing his shoelaces would have been harder to film and less dramatic than taking off his tie.

[@robinmotz5432]

This picture with Kenneth More was the best version.

[@TauroChuck]

Awesome theatrics in night to remember.

[@b3j8]

Pretty decent code there by that 1st Radio Officer. The 2nd guy sends like he just learned how!

[@stinker43]

Well, Bride was a fairly new Marconi employee. Phillips was a long-time guy. Bride would have likely been a little slower. They are both 20WPM or more.

[@spikespa5208]

Believe he's talking about the Cottam portrayer in th '79 film. Pretty slow.

[@b3j8]

@@spikespa5208 Yep I was.

[@antonioacevedo5200]

Very Chilling.

[@pikewerfer]

A night to remember great movie ❤

[@steveoh9285]

Cool comparison video, well done!

[@franceswitham8214]

A Night to Remember tops them all. It's the best movie about Titanic I've ever watched.

[@NorthWestern1919]

Who knew that before being caretaker of the Overlook Hotel, Delbert Grady was captain of the RMS Carpathia? Anyways, I see you've been using the extended television cut of S.O.S. Titanic for these videos, so good choice on that. The extended cut is the only Titanic production that actually begins with Carpathia rescuing Titanic's survivors, then flashes back to the maiden voyage. S.O.S. Titanic had plenty of faults, but I'll give them credit for shaking up the formula a bit there.

[@harrietharlow9929]

@@JOSH-lw2jv A man of many talents, obviously. Versatile chap he was.

[@RunOfTheHind]

I'm sorry to differ with you, sir. He's the captain. He's always been the captain.

[@DarthAverage]

The 1958 and 1996 versions got the "order of operations" correct - Rostron ordered the ship turned toward the CQD position, and THEN asked Cottom to confirm the information. As Walter Lord wrote, "99% of captains would have done it the other way around."

[@Tyrunner0097]

SOS Titanic didn't seem to imply it, while ANTR makes no mention of it, but ironically, the 1996 Titanic got right that Cottam was simply calling to Titanic to tell Phillips, "Say OM, don't you know that Cape Cod has a batch of messages waiting for you?" before Phillips radioed back the ship's distress. OM (Old Man) was wireless slang for "buddy", so Cottam and Phillips knew each other, hence they would say that over the radiowaves to one another. The 1996 movie Phillips would've known, once he heard it was Carpathia, that it was a friend who would believe him.

[@TorontoJediMaster]

That was probably just to streamline the story. Unless you have Cottam talking to himself as he sends a message, nobody (outside of the hardcore students of the disaster) would have known why he was sending off a message when he was planning on going to bed. (Here, it looks like he's just listening for anything interesting while getting into his pajamas.).

[@eljuano28]

OM is still operator slang among amateur radio operators. Not common, but still used.

[@schallrd1]

It's more like the night you would want to forget.

[@frednone]

I was always sad about the fate of the Carpathia.

[@dysmissme7343]

??

[@frednone]

@@dysmissme7343 She was sank by a German U-Boat in WW 1. (As was Californian.)

[@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY]

Yeah, but at least its sinking wasn’t nearly as tragic as the Titanic’s sinking.

[@iramrahul089]

Ist one was fantastic

[@StevenOBrien]

6:23 Gotta love how the captain here is able to immediately calculate the correct heading and formulate a plan in less than a second.

[@mistofoles]

Hey, in the second one, the radio operator is Christopher StraulI , he was in the hospital sitcom "ONLY WHEN I LAUGH", and the guy playing the Captain was "Dad" in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and Grady in THE SHINING.

[@commanderjameson2708]

So the opposite of what happened on Californian, where the dozy captain just wanted to go back to sleep and the 1st officer failed to take the initiative...

[@eljuano28]

The sound on the radios in the '96 movie were crystal oscillators; very stable tones. Those became common in the late thirties, early forties and then readily available after WWII. The buzzing in the two earlier movies at least resembles the spark gap transmitters on board the ships in the early 1910s. Real spark gap radios sounded like a welding apprentice with epilepsy. (I know; a little rude, but accurate.) "Tube" oscillators used a little later during the 1920s were tones, not buzzing, but they move around the frequencies quite a bit. Like doing Morse Code drunk on a slide whistle. There are still Amateur Radio operators building '29 Hartley oscillators and using them briefly once a year, (really cool to listen to,) and a lot of radio kit builders still commonly build crystal oscillators, but spark gap radios are relegated almost entirely to well attenuated museum displays. Their signals are just too "dirty" for the modern age of radio. Still cool to hear recordings though. //--......--//...-.-//.//.//

[@CommodoreJames]

I've been doing a deep study, and comparing between what happened to the Titanic in communication with Carpathia at that time irl, and depicted in films/shows, neither one of them got it correct. Cottam in 'A Night to Remember' was close, but the 1996 version of Titanic was even closer, but still incorrect at that time as they mistake it for Cape Race (surely enough Cottam thought that Cape Race would relay some news). The actuality of the first form of communication is when Cottam first replied that Cape Cod had message traffic for them, until he learned of the situation from Titanic which struck an iceberg, that's when minutes later Cottam asked "Shall I tell my Captain? Do you require assistance?" I'm a bit surprised that it was not included in the films/shows seen. I'm not even sure if there was a reason why it was not included, and it was a case of "get straight to the point" feeling.

[@James-uq6qt]

6:53 You can see the microphone in the corner 😂

[@DeeDee21479]

Woow amazing moments😢

[@thesilverblack708]

The RMS Carpathia has a story in its own right. During the First World War, she was commandeered to transport American & Canadian troops to Europe as part of a convoy of ships. On 15 July 1918, the fleet she was with split in half to avoid the German Navy. But she eventually was torpedoed by a sub off the coast of Ireland. She limped a little further on, but eventually began to sank. During the evacuation, the sub returned and fired a third shot, sealing the ship's fate and the crew boarded the lifeboats. The sub that sank her was almost in range to attack the lifeboats, only to be rescued by the HMS Snowdrop. Who drove off the sub with gunfire and eventually rescued the crew in the boats. Five men died in the sinking. All as a result of the first torpedo.

[@mjmorriplymouth]

A lot of comments referencing Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Was actually Cape Race, Newfoundland.

[@DarthVader-ig6ci]

Salute to Captain Arthur Rostron and Carpathia

[@3Authoress]

I’d really like to see a movie about the Carpathia. It starts out like a slice-of-life, maybe a drama or something, only to abruptly switch gears in the middle of the film to depict the urgent telegraph CQD/SOS from the Titanic, the Carpathia’s mad dash to the Titanic’s location while the sailors handle the ship & the passengers give up on their stories to help ready the Carpathia for gathering the Titanic’s survivors. Then the rest of the film is the rescue of the survivors, the grim gathering of the bodies, and dealing with the aftermath of sailing to the nearest port with the news, survivors, and bodies.

[@ThePierre58]

First one the best. Thats the movie I saw as a kid, incredible acting by Anthony Bushell, who played Captain Arthur Rostron.

[@PaulChiesa-db5zn]

Attention to detail is spot on in this movie

[@Valicroix]

I believe the closest to what happened is the movie "Titanic." The Carpathia was asking Titanic if they knew that Cape Cod was sending messages for her when Titanic responded with something like "come at once, we have struck a berg. It's a CQD Old Man." The other important point, in both "A Night to Remember" and "Titanic," is that Captain Rostron first orders the ship turned around and then cross examines the radio operator.

[@brisnwinters8161]

Rostron did all he could do to get there in time sadly it was not enough.

[@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY]

He was still a hero, though. All of those people who survived the Titanic disaster were exhausted, crying, shivering, and hurting terribly when the Carpathia had rescued them and no other ship arrived at the Titanic’s sinking location until around the time the Carpathia had picked up the last of the survivors, so if it weren’t for him and his efforts, things would’ve been much worse for the survivors and more of them probably would’ve died.

[@georgehellerman9344]

That was not his fault though. You say “it was not enough” as if he could have done more. He couldn’t have. It was impossible for the Carpathia to travel the 58 miles any quicker. In fact it went faster than it normally would and probably should have gone given the ice in the area.

[@FoxWolfWorld]

To me it just sounds like Titanic is dropping a sick beat

[@BrianMorrison]

It's a bit sad to hear pure tone Morse code in the last version, the first two have it right with rasping spark transmissions. I really enjoy the bit where the rotary inverters are turned on before transmission is possible, the spark transmitter needs the high voltage to generate the spark.

[@jasonatkin6787]

Caught that as well. Also, the hand-keying done in the 1996 version is utterly laughable in technique. Even back then in the early days of radio, they figured out that just tapping on the key's knob with your finger isn't how it's done. You'd fatigue very quickly doing it that way. The way Cottam does it in the 1958 version is spot-on accurate. Good gawd almighty.

[@SafetyProMalta]

1st was best, without doubt.

[@lawrencegerst8564]

All three versions were excellent

[@troppo4872]

The morse is spot on.

[@karlgiles6204]

4:01 In the 1979 movie even the carpathia crew didn't believe the titanic was sinking

[@pjabrony8280]

4:30 "He's had an urgent communication from the Titanic." "The Titanic? Well, what is it?" "It's a big ocean liner, sir, but that's not important right now."

[@develynseether4426]

Surely you're joking?

[@georgehellerman9344]

@@develynseether4426 Im not joking and dont call me Shirley.

[@develynseether4426]

@@georgehellerman9344 I don't understand the joke altogether

[@georgehellerman9344]

@@develynseether4426 watch the movie Airplane with Leslie Nielson

[@cathybrind2381]

@@develynseether4426 Sigh........

[@austin.draude]

I've never wondered what it would sound like if an actor in a Titanic movie tried to imitate Boris from Goldeneye, but "Cottam" in the 96 miniseries pulled that one off...

[@JL-gf3yc]

First one was actually pretty good

[@Clevinger67]

I like the SOS Titanic scene. The actor who played the Captain was Alex's father in "A Clockwork Orange," and also Delbert Grady in "The Shining." The intensity of the scene is much like Andrews telling Captain Smith that the Titanic is going to sink.

[@patriciaalvareztostado8170]

Is sad how many circumstance help the accident, soo many things that made so many life's lost, but like all the aviation accidents they learn from that, they study meticulously why the plane crash, in the case of the Titanic a lot of things changed after, they should always be someone on the radio, if one goes to sleep other would take his place, there were more life boots in the ships,

[@carlgharis7948]

Exactly you call 911 or 999 or whatever the emergency number is in whichever country you live in they're NOT on voice-mail between midnight and 7am

[@maryshaffer5675]

Ive watched this several times.

[@mythal0620]

An interesting juxtaposition, thank you!

[@Gr84me]

As far as I can remember, the wireless operator in the Titanic is friends with the one on Carpathia. They even called each other old man during signal transmission!

[@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY]

And the picture of those two wireless operators together at the US inquiry following the disaster is now on Reddit too!

[@carlgharis7948]

Cottom was like 21/22 years old in real life. These guys who play him seem a bit older

[@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY]

Yeah, and the real Harold Cottam was actually offered to portray himself in the movie A Night To Remember, but he rejected it.

[@carlgharis7948]

@DANIELLE LACY right I think he rejected it because by then he was a retired man pushing 70. And I guess it his line of thinking is it just wouldn't be accurate. Kinda like the opposite sanario you don't have someone who looks like a teenager play the T.V. dad in a sitcom or the father figure in the plot of a movie.

[@stinker43]

@@DANIELLE_BREANNA_LACY I don't doubt it. To re-create such a horrible incident would be something no one would want to do.

[@stinker43]

I see films of Audie Murphy re-creating his MOH incident from WWII, and think as a human being he had more guts redoing it than in the actual event.