Ocean Liners in Fact, Fiction and On Screen
Ocean Liners in Fact, Fiction and On Screen:
Movies let you revisit the glory days of the grand transatlantic ocean liners i.e., life aboard these floating palaces.
Royal Wedding
Stanley Donen, 1951, Fred Astaire and Jane Powell are a brother-sister act who dance up a storm en route to England. Featuring Astaire’s dazzling wall-and-ceiling jig.
Shall We Dance
Mark Sandrich, 1937, A hoofer named Pete (Fred Astaire) pretends to be ballet dancer Petrov in order to attract musical review star Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers). Featuring “Slap That Bass.”
The Lady Eve
Preston Sturges, 1941
One of the very greatest American sound comedies stages the maritime romantic collision of meek snake expert Henry Fonda and spitfire con lady Barbara Stanwyck.
The Poseidon Adventure
Ronald Neame, 1972, Part religious parable, part disaster movie, all superior entertainment: an all-star cast tries to lead us to safety after a tsunami overturns their luxury liner.
The Princess Comes Across
William K. Howard, 1936, Hoping to land a movie contract, Carole Lombard pretends to be a Swedish princess while crossing the Atlantic on boat full of unsavories. With Fred MacMurray.
Titanic
James Cameron, 1997, Showered with Oscars, Cameron’s epic account of the early demise of the most famous ship of them all is a feast for the eyes and ears.
