I recently viewed this film and was impressed.In my opinion it is better than all versions of the Titanic story other than the 1958 film "Night to Remember". It is much "tighter" than the bloated Cameron film. My question is:was there any truth to the stock fight subplot in real life?
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To try to give you a somewhat more lucid reply than the one you got two years ago: No. The stock manipulation subplot is an absolute lie, made up to give a false reason behind the ship's sinking.
However, I'm stunned that you find this movie "better than all the other versions of the Titanic story" other than A Night to Remember, or that you could even compare it to ANTR or the 1953 and 1997 (and other) films of the same title. This film is almost completely false in its facts. It is, and was intended to be, anti-British Nazi propaganda, pure and simple. I enjoy watching it in the sense that it's a fascinating take on an oft-filmed historical event, and you rarely see regular commercial films made under Hitler's regime. But "better"? Strictly from a content point of view, it's all dishonest, distorted, Nazistic lies.
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No, I understood the reason for its bluntness, and agree with your motivation, but I felt a bit more information was called for, as I was also disturbed that the poster felt this movie was somehow more "accurate", which is patently ridiculous.
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Well, you saw that actual Neo-Nazi on another thread here (Spike in Berlin, I think he calls himself), who's a genuine psychopath and racist. His prattlings make the most obnoxious idiots I've seen anywhere on IMDb sound like positively rational geniuses.
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No truth what so ever to the stock manipulation as, I believe it was White Star Lines was not a publicly traded company at the time. What is interesting is its war against the rich propaganda. Sounds somewhat like contemporary Democrat party politics doesn’t it? I find that somewhat creepy and more than just a little troubling. Rich in New Mexico.
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I think people are being a bit hard on the OP. I don't believe they necessarily mean that this is the end-all version for historical accuracy. I think perhaps they are regarding it as a piece of cinema. "A Night to Remember" is my favorite for both film-making and history purposes. My second favorite is (gasp) the James Cameron film. Can we all just acknowledge that the acting and storyline are mediocre at best, and admit that we all love it anyway because in has spectacular production values and it's entertaining as all hell (the last hour at least). The 1943 German one would be my third favorite. As a film, it's pretty unique for it's time. Really the first, big budget, spectacular attempt that I have seen (regrettably I have not been able to access the numerous silent versions or the early sound flick "Atlantic"). The cinematography and overall style of the film are sensational. It's beautiful and very chic. Despite being one of the shorter Titanic films, the disaster sequence is very well paced, moving quickly, but with adequate build-up to the big moment. It's glamorous, but at the same time unlike anything Hollywood was turning out in 1943. A real gem. Then there's the 1953 movie. A fun romp. Clifton Webb's dialogue is fantastic. The movie is handsome, but lacks any real sense of era (I know, neither did the 1943 film, but that one had more style). The plot is fairly standard melodrama fair, and a bit stuffy, even though the acting is adequate. The disaster sequence is both too short, and historically inaccurate, and lacks the suspense of the German version. It has some fun quirks, like an awesome prologue with the iceberg breaking off of a glacier, and Thelma Ritter as a bawdy, Molly Brown-esque socialite, but it doesn't stand out as one of the best for either history or film-making purposes.
shareFor starters, this is the real 1st Officer:
Murdoch, Lieutenant William McMaster, RNR 39 Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland Belfast First Officer
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crew_of_the_RMS_Titanic#Ship.27s_officers