SOS Titanic

[Robert Gibbons]

I have posted on YouTube my behind-the-scenes home movies of SOS Titanic. I was on the set on the Queen Mary for two days and two nights of the 10 days they filmed the movie there. I wasn't able to edit some other footage on my home movie reel, so please forgive the beginning and the ending. You can view the footage at

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GVfqFsdL8E

Robert H. Gibbons

Moderator's note: Moved to the appropriate forum

[Richard A Krebes]

Great footage, Mr. Gibbons!
I always have ranked SOS a solid number 2 behind A Night To Remember in my favorite Titanic movies list (which ends with the 1953 Webb-Stanwyck film I confess) and recently watched it on You Tube. Viewing the sinking scenes several times.
I love how they did the iceberg collison. The music, the acting, and the setting all come together flawlessly.
Seizing the true drama of the moment with skill and class.
I found David Warner really refreshing as Lawrence Beasely after his, er, other Titanic turn. Wonder if "Leigh Goodwin" wasn't inspired by the picture of Beasley sitting on a bike in the Titanic's gym next to an unknown woman? Beasley was a widower with a young son at the time so he was technically "in the market", so had Leigh be real he just might have done what he does in the film.
Interesting stuff you got on film of Harry Andrews as Smith. Next to Laurence Naismith in ANTR he looks the most like E.J. Also interesting seeing Beverly Ross as herself but in costume as Madeline Force Astor.
How warm was it the days you were on set? Southern California can be just a little bit warmer than the North Atlantic, after all, if I may so dryly note, so I hope the cast were not burning up in their 1912 outfits.

[Robert Gibbons]

Richard: I was on the set four times--two in the daytime and two at night. I don't recall if it was too hot, but in southern California, it's pretty nice all year round. The filming was completed long before Memorial Day, 1979 because that's when Ed Kamuda came out to California and stayed with us. We went to the Queen Mary and the prop lifeboat was still on the deck starboard side just below the entrance to the bridge. I can't remember if the prop luggage was still on the dock, but on one of my visits to the Queen Mary, I managed to carefully peel off the replica White Star Line luggage stickers and they are now in the THS collection.

I saw the filming of the daytime scene with the Astors, Ismay and Captain Smith on a raised deck near the stern, and one deck below was Beesley and Leigh, Another deck below were the Third Class passengers. That's the main scene shown in my movies on YouTube. I walked with the actor who played Captain Smith and we talked about the statue to the real captain in his home town of Litchfield, England. I have a shot of the actor who played Mrs Astor and her assistant walking by the camera. I watched the filming of the scene where Beesley was talking to Leigh on the boat deck, which was really filmed at night. Also, I watched the filming of the scene where Beesley was talking to Leigh on the Carpathia after being rescued, filmed in the forward well deck area. The actors stood at the rail and the camera was down in the well deck looking up toward the stern of the Queen Mary. There was a Carpathia lifering to let the audience know where the action was taking place, and the actors stood on boxes to be high enough above the rail.

I saw the scene filmed in the Second Class Library set with a bearded man in the foreground and Leigh reading at a table. I got some stationary from that set, thanks to Susan St.James!

I watched the filming of the bridge scenes when the Titanic hit the iceberg, and those scenes were filmed before nightfall with a giant tarp over the bridge windows to keep out the light. Then when it got dark, there were giant lights placed outside the starboard side of the ship to film the sailing scene where Ismay is talking to the captain. I can't understand why they didn't take advantage of the natural light for the conversation and then film the hitting the iceberg scene in the real dark, but that's Hollywood! There was a scene filmed the first night of the Captain on that platform on the starboard side above the prop lifeboat, and I believe that scene is in my movies. My family and I stayed two nights on the ship, and we visited the set two other days. Robert H. Gibbons

[Robert Gibbons]

SOS TITANIC is on YouTube in multiple 10-minute segments. Go to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqmgzBQsQJw

for Part 1. Usually the next part is easy to find. Robert H. Gibbons

[Joshua Noble]

It's all right, but I put it at the bottom of my Titanic movie list. The movie seems to me, poorly made and a little too inaccurate. The actors did great jobs however.

[Erin Hopkins]

I've heard it most often described as a "soap opera movie". I agree that the actors did a good job. Especially David Warner with his role. It's kind of funny watching him go from the romantic hero in that movie to Lovejoy.

[Jeremy Aufderheide]

The movie seems to me, poorly made and a little too inaccurate. The actors did great jobs however.

You hit the nail on the head there...by saying "movie" and "the actors did great jobs".

That's what matters. It's not a documentary. It was made for entertainment, not accuracy. So, check out "Titanic: The Complete Story" for some accuracy.

And I think they did a great job on a 1970s television budget.

've heard it most often described as a "soap opera movie".

I sincerely disagree with this. I don't see anything remotely soap opera about it. The Cameron film and 1953 ares 10x more soap opera.

Especially David Warner with his role. It's kind of funny watching him go from the romantic hero in that movie to Lovejoy.

This is actually closer to the type of role that he was playing at the time. But I'd never ever ever classify the character of Lawrence Beasley as a "romantic hero"...lol.