MovieChat Forums > Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) Discussion > New spin on First Officer Murdoch

New spin on First Officer Murdoch

posted 20 years ago by t_smitts
3 replies | jump to latest

I noticed that the description of William Murdoch, Titanic's First Officer, is much nicer here than it was in the movie "Titanic". It's suggested here that majority of passengers who got away safely owe him their lives.

That's certainly a better characterization than in "Titanic" which shows Murdoch taking a bribe from Cal (though he eventually threw it back at him) and shooting people who rushed the lifeboats before turning his gun on himself.

I wonder if this wasn't a concious effort on Cameron's part to make up for how he was portrayed in the movie.

[–] BondsMartiniHabit 20 years ago

I think its because he was very 'hollywood - ised' in the film which was supposed to have a broad appeal, but as this was intended to appeal to a limited audience and the bored people they drag along (not me) then i think they had to make it truer to life. It being a documentary may have had something to do with it too.

3 Cheers For The Beers! All Hail To The Ale! Welcome The Wine ... For The Ladies!

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TheGuyWithTheFeet 14 years ago

It's suggested here that majority of passengers who got away safely owe him their lives.

Agreed. That makes him a hero of the evening, purported suicide or not.

That's certainly a better characterization than in "Titanic" which shows Murdoch taking a bribe from Cal (though he eventually threw it back at him)

To be fair, he didn't take the bribe. Cal stuffed him some money in his pocket while Murdoch was rushing somewhere and Murdoch didn't throw it back. He didn't push the money away but he didn't keep it and didn't agree to the bribe from Cal.

and shooting people who rushed the lifeboats before turning his gun on himself.

This didn't come out of nowhere. Stories of an officer suicide (with Murdoch being one of the two main suspects) have been around since the Carpathia landed in New York. This is a good article on the various accounts:

http://home.comcast.net/~bwormst/titanic/shots/shots.htm

I wonder if this wasn't a concious effort on Cameron's part to make up for how he was portrayed in the movie.

I thought the same thing. However, Murdoch's family may have been upset, but given that their relative is one of the two most likely to have committed suicide (if it actually happened), Cameron didn't exactly invent the scene. And, why do people lash onto that *single scene* when he portrayed other historical figures extremely bad: Molly Brown was not like Kathy Bates portayal, Ismay is horribly insulting, etc. etc.