7. Saved From The Titanic Comes Out Less Than A Month After The Sinking
The Titanic sank on 15th April 1912. On 14th May 1912 the first film adaptation of the tragedy was released. In less than a month the sinking had gone from actual event happening right now to mass entertainment. The phrase too soon doesn't even come close. Capitalising on actress Dorothy Gibsons presence on the maiden voyage, it has her reliving her experiences, retelling the sinking in the blandest way possible; Gibson was on the first lifeboat released, meaning the story is little more than her feeling the impact, going to the deck and waiting for the Carpathia to pick her up. Theres what sounds like some interesting elements, with lingerie used to plug a leak in the boat and a creative use of archive footage (including the Olympic standing in for its sister ship), although nowadays its mainly remembered for the quick production turnaround. Oddly enough the reaction at the time was rather positive. Of course there were some critics (one called the whole project revolting), but for the most part people were impressed the film managed to show the personal side of the disaster. That really stands out now in a world where the release of The Impossible or United 93 has people tense (heck, even Doctor Who came under fire for its space liner Titanic being disrespectful). The sinking and subsequent media storm proved too much for Gibson. She retired after the emotional strain of that night (and subsequently reliving it) took its toll, while the film was lost in a fire at clair studios a couple of years later. An odd, sensitive (if by modern standards disrespectful) curio that no modern Titanic fanatic will get to see.