A Night To Remember, 1958

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A Night To Remember, 1958
A second final shooting script for A Night To Remember, dated October, 1957, 102pp. of mimeographed typescript, the title page signed in pencil by Roy Ward Baker, some pages annotated in blue ballpoint pen or pencil in Baker's hand, with his notes on direction, observations and minor script changes, an addenda at the end titled New Scene for final Carpathia Sequence, an 11pp. Cast List and 1p. Unit List and three fold-out facsimile blueprints titled The White Star Triple-Screw Steamers "Olympic" And "Titanic", taken from The Shipbuilder magazine, June 1911, showing sectional views and deck plans, bound in red cloth boards, the spine gilt-stamped with film title and year of production; accompanied by a Picturegoer Seal of Merit certificate awarded to Roy Baker for A Night To Remember as an example of outstanding merit in film craftsmanship and entertainment -- 15x10in. (38x25.4cm.) framed, with a corresponding typescript letter from the editor, Robert Ottaway, signed, 2nd July, 1958, on Picturegoer headed stationery; and a file of correspondence relating to the production revealing the painstaking attention to detail that such a film required, including:
- a quantity of autograph letters, signed, from various actors requesting parts in the film, including Dennis Price, Frank Lawton and Irene Worth and various letters and telegrams of congratulation following the film's British première;
- a quantity of typescript letters and memos signed, from various individuals involved with the production, most from the producer William MacQuitty and the head of Rank, John Davies, majority on J. Arthur Rank Productions Limited stationery;
- five pages of mimeographed typescript notes titled Comments on "Titanic" Script - Walter Lord 27.2.57, the notes commenting on various scenes and referring back to the original Court of Enquiry into the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 [A Night To Remember is based on Lord's book of the same title, which is considered to be the definitve account of the sinking of Titanic, published in 1955];
- thirty stills and publicity photographs taken on and off set during filming, including two of Baker at the première with Dirk Bogarde [eighteen printed later], some duplicates, majority -- 10x8in. (25.4x20.3cm.);
- an illustrated souvenir programme for the British première; and related material (a lot)

Literature

R. Baker, op. cit, 2000

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

A Night To Remember is considered to be the definitive depiction of events leading up to and during the night of April 14th, 1912 when the Titanic sank in the Atlantic. There have been several film versions of the tragedy, presented with varying degrees of success. The first as early as 1915 from Italian director Pier Angelo Mazzolotti, a German version made in 1943 as Nazi Propaganda, although not released until after the war, and the Hollywood versions of 1953 and 1997. Roy Baker attributes, in part, the success of A Night To Remember to tremendous team effort and attention to detail, an example of which he recalls in his memoirs...During the scene of lunch at the captain's table we served the same menu as on the fatal day. There was no need to do this, but some food had to be eaten and it might as well be correct. The film was a huge critical success; it was included in a Top Ten list compiled by the New York critics [though sadly due to a newspaper strike, the news was not far-reaching], it won a Golden Globe for Best English Language Film, and Roy Baker was awarded a Certificate of Merit by Picturegoer magazine [included in this lot]. In his Afterword to Baker's memoirs, The Director's Cut, Samuel Goldwyn Jnr. recalls reading a statement from James Cameron, director of the 1997 film Titanic....he said that if he hadn't seen A Night To Remember, there never would have been Titanic.
A poignant connection to the real event lies with the film's producer, William MacQuitty, who, as a boy of six, watched Titanic being launched from a Belfast shipyard.

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