A Night To Remember (1958)

James Cameron's Titanic is the most known film about the tragic sinking of the Unsinkable ship and yet this film made almost forty years earlier is actually just as good.  The only real difference dramatically is that the newer film has a central character and love story to follow while this film directed by Roy Ward Baker and based on the famous book by Walter Lord follows various story lines.  One story line that it tells and that's absent in Cameron's film is the point of view of the SS California's crew; I never realized that there was a ship so close to the Titanic.  This storyline alone makes this film worth watching.  This really is an elegant film that's powerful in its subtlety and beautiful in its production.  Sure the special effects might not be as dramatic as the newer version but they still impress.  Most shocking for me is that this film wasn't even nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture the year it came out.  Instead the prize went to Gigi.  That's a head scratcher for you becaue this film is certainly better.  Grade: A