Titanic was definitely not sold out. Did the screenwriters know that? If there is some way to research that question and find out I don't know about it.
How did Richard happen to meet Julia? The movie didn't cover that subject except that it seems to have happened somewhere near Mackinac. The Richard of 1912 preferred to live in Europe but that must have been an acquired habit. Prior to that, living in America, he must have got around. It's a shame he didn't make the trip back to Mackinac in 1912. He might have caught Elise McKenna's performance at The Grand Hotel. She might even have upgraded his opinion of Mackinac.
Even so Mackinac doesn't mean Julia was low class. That was the thing about the "old money" crowd. They occupied their own little world of inherited wealth and social position that stretched over a number of generations. Even the "new money" outsiders were not welcome into their world even though those people frequently had more money, larger mansions and more servants. They could even build their own greater and more magnificent opera houses. If we equate low class with skid row bums, and a lot of ordinary, non-old money, middle class people of that era probably would have done that, then the "new money" people would hardly have fit that category, and neither would Julia.
Perhaps it was a matter of social training. The "old money" people had a form of proper etiquette that only they were educated in and could understand. So they would look down on those who were not similarly refined. I think that had on one occasion caused a problem. Julia at some social function, being criticized in a snobbish way for her behavior, humiliated beyond endurance to the point of fleeing out to the moonlit surroundings, meeting in this hour of need a young man who was kind to her. And nine months later, Norman.
Dagwood, the rich playboy, and Blondie, the dance hall girl. Wow, that really does go back I kind of get lost when going back past Penny Singleton and Arthur Lake.
I think we're both having a lot of fun here. But getting back to a little more serious analysis I've thought about the question of who paid for George Healey's trip to Rome. He was still a priest when sent and it was his bishop who ordered him to go. So it seems reasonable that the church would have paid for it. Similar situation for coming back. If he was sent to Rome as part of his duties it would hardly be right to leave him stranded there. So it also seems reasonable for the church to provide funds to get him home.
I say "seems reasonable" because as a modern person I think in modern terms and I would expect the modern corporate mind to think in similar fashion. But I can admit to a question mark as to how the corporate mind of 1912 would think. I've read that in the immediate aftermath of the Titanic disaster the families of the deceased musicians received bills for the musicians uniforms that were lost when the ship sank. That was the 1912 corporate mind. The musicians, who had no responsibility for what happened, were held liable for clothing that went down with the ship, and since they were now dead that liability passed to their families. Of course the same corporate mind would have regarded it as absolutely absurd that they themselves had any financial liability to these families for the loss of sons, husbands and fathers.
So I don't know about 1912. But however it was arranged George Healey was able to afford passage back to America.
I think we both enjoy this movie. We certainly find a lot of interesting and fun things about it to discuss.
One final off topic item. I really never intended to delve into personal information but I'm going to admit to you that in my much younger days I too was a US Navy ET.
