Home Education Which Stories From the ‘Titanic’ Movie Actually Happened in Real Life?

Which Stories From the ‘Titanic’ Movie Actually Happened in Real Life?

by Tracy Finke

The RMS Titanic was a British overseas ship that sailed on April 10 and sank in the North Atlantic in the early morning hours of April 15, 1912. The ship was on its first voyage from Southampton to New York, carrying about 2220 people, and after colliding with the glacier, more than 1500 people were killed.

Image source: wallpaperose.com

The 1997 Titanic movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet triggered a number of rumors in its day, but director James Cameron soon explained that Jack and Rose’s love story was a fiction. Yet most of the characters who appear in the film are imbued with real stories.

Historian Don Lynch said several years ago that before the story of Jack and Rose, Cameron selected the real people whose stories he told in the script. He worked on the set of the film himself and helped the actors understand their roles and get to know the people they embodied.

Image source: Pinterest

One of those is the story of Margaret Brown, the woman who was portrayed in the film by Kathy Bates. Brown later became famous because, as in the movie, she was a member of the first class, and persuaded the helmsman of the rescue ship, where there was still room to return for the survivors of the lower classes.

View this post on Instagram

The captain goes down with the ship. ? #respect

A post shared by Titanic (@titanicmovie) on

According to historians, Margaret had a more dynamic personality than the one portrayed in the movie. After the shipwreck, Brown established a foundation for survivors of the disaster and handed the prize to the captain of the ship, Carpathia, who rescued many people after the Titanic sank.

Scenes from the movie that really happened

Actor Jonathan Evans-Jones embodied violinist Wallace Heatley, who encouraged the band to play on the deck of the ship until the Titanic sank. His story is real, too, and the movie portrayed it exactly as it happened. None of the band members survived the sinking.

Image source: Pinterest

The captain of the ship, Edward John Smith, is also realistically portrayed, given the fact that he sank along with the ship. He did not close himself into the cabin but helped many to try to save themselves in the accident. He was offered a place in the rescue ship, but he did not accept it and died.

Image source: historygarage.com

In the scene where Jack and Rose stop at the railing of the Titanic before the ship sinks, a man is shown standing with them on the deck and drinking from his flask. It’s about Charles Jourghin, who worked as a baker on the Titanic. The scene portrayed in the movie happened just like that, and Jourghin survived the accident.

View this post on Instagram

All right, open your eyes… #ValentinesDay

A post shared by Titanic (@titanicmovie) on

American businessman Benjamin Guggenheim is also real, whose character in the movie says one of the most memorable sentences at the time of the accident. He points out that he is refusing a lifejacket because he has dressed up the most expensive suit, so he has to sink with a boat in style. It is unknown how he really said everything at the time of the accident, but he is among the real people in the movie.

Image source: yahoo.com

“Titanic” won 11 Oscars, with $200 million set aside for production. The movie grossed over $ 1.5 billion worldwide when it was released.

Read Also: Leonardo DiCaprio Lived in His Mother’s Guest Room Before “Titanic”