Favorite actor who has played Lightoller

[Pat Winship]

I suppose that there's never really been a satisfactory portrayal of Lights in film. More was lovely, but not quite it, and the rest were essentially cameos. (Haven't seen the German flick mentioned by Inger and Monika)

 

[Inger Sheil]

In an odd sort of way, Pat, you might find yourself enjoying it! I know I did. I probably should have been outraged, but it was just so ludicrous. Lightoller in his on-screen persona knocking back the champagne vs. Lightoller in reality causing his wife anxiety because he lost so much weight in the aftermath of the sinking ( not to mention suffering what sounds like a PTSD flashback at least once) I couldn't take the movie version seriously enough to get angry.

 

[Pat Winship]

That's the same point that most of the forum members of uboat.net have reached when it comes to the infamous movie u-571. They've given up screaming about its numerous historical and operational inaccuracies, and have learned to look at it as a string of sight gags! Even those who are not real experts, such as myself, can pick up a lot of them.

 

[Monika E. Simon]

Not that I have any intention of watching that thing (the German Titanic Inquiry film) ever again - or not for some time at least - but I have the sneaky suspicion that I'd be hard pressed to just see the funny side of it. It must be one of those cases, where one feels automatically, if unreasonably, somewhat responsible for something just because it comes from the same country as oneself.

It is an interesting idea - and one that has been suggested on a different thread here - to make a film about the Senate Hearing, but this film certainly shows that you can make a real mess out of it. And not only because it is Wader than Wade.

Pat, I agree, a really, really satisfactory portrayal of Lightoller has not happened yet, but I guess that would require a mini-series of his life.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

There's also The Titanic Chronicles, an audio production in which testimonies from the Senate Hearing are read by actors from various Titanic films. But none of these old hands play their familiar roles. Bernard Hill (Cameron's Captain Smith), for instance, is Stanley Lord, Eric Braedon (Cameron's Astor) is Ismay, and Gloria Stuart ('old Rose') is Helen Bishop. Now, with the full range of Titanic cast lists to choose from, who did they select to deliver the voice of Lightoller? It was Tim Curry, the villainous steward from the TV mini-series!
.

 

[Inger Sheil]

quote:

Now, with the full range of Titanic cast lists to choose from, who did they select to deliver the voice of Lightoller? It was Tim Curry, the villainous steward from the TV mini-series!

"You still here, Hemming? You're a dead duck!!"

I never bought the tapes, Bob - but there is something oddly appealing in the idea of Tim Curry chewing the audio as Lightoller, if he played the role anything like he played the steward. He's another character I've grown oddly fond of over the years - universally reviled rape scene aside. I've always been quite delighted by the fact that the script calls for him to pull a gun on possibly the one man aboard the ship the night it sank that you would not want to threaten with a firearm - Harold Lowe.

That Lowe is unarmed in this version and has to finish off the villain of the piece with an oar makes it all the more delicious.​

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>I've always been quite delighted by the fact that the script calls for him to pull a gun on possibly the one man aboard the ship the night it sank that you would not want to threaten with a firearm - Harold Lowe. <<

You've got to be kidding me! Threatening somebody like Lowe with a gun is like holding a square dance in a minefield. It's just not a good idea.

 

[Monika E. Simon]

I know that Tim Curry has had more than his fair share of strange parts in odd to outright awful films (Disney's Three Musketeers for example) but he always gives the impression he's enjoying himself tremendously. Chewing the scenery with the best of them. He does have an excellent voice though (as I personally experienced when I saw him as King Arthur in Spamalot in November), so I can imagine him to be quite good in the part.

I just checked who played Lightoller in No Greater Love (a film I have seen but can't really remember anything) and the IMDb has "Malcom Stoddard (archive footage)" listed. Did they recycle bits from SOS Titanic here?

Random aside: I almost fell off my chair laughing reading the cast list: Hayden Christensen is in No Greater Love, too. Goodness. Perhaps I should try and fix my VCR after all.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Yes, No Greater Love uses footage from SOS Titanic.

In The Chronicles there was of course no scenery to chew, so Curry plays Lights with a flat and featureless voice. For a bit more colour, how about Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) in the role?

Lowe (brandishing dinky little 9mm): "Any problems, Lights? I've got a gun".
Lightoller (pulling out his .45 Webley): "Nah, tha's not a gun. This is a gun!"
.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

If I'm not mistaken, The real Harold Lowe's personal firearm was a Browning automatic which was chambered for the .45 ACP. This was one of that generation's manstopper rounds which was developed by the U.S. Army when they found out just how weak the .38 Long Colt was.

Trust me, you do not want to be on the recieving end of that.

 

[Laura Jay]

I would say Stephen Waddington from the miniseries. As far as miniseries go it was OK (so much inaccuracy!) but Waddington did play Lights with charm and he was far less capricious than Cameron's movie.