Remembering the Titanic Tragedy

I'm remembering the Titanic tragedy, which occurred 100 years ago today, watching The Unsinkable Molly Brown and A Night to Remember.  

One of my favorite Debbie Reynolds films is The Unsinkable Molly Brown. Molly Brown, given name Margaret (née Tobin), was born in 1867 in Hannibal, Missouri, the second of four children to parents John and Johanna who'd each been widowed young. When they met they were both raising a young daughter and added two sons and another daughter aside from Molly to their family.

Molly, or Maggie to her friends, was determined to marry a rich man. Her reasons were noble. According to Wikipedia she said:

"I wanted a rich man, but I loved Jim Brown. I thought about how I wanted comfort for my father and how I had determined to stay single until a man presented himself who could give to the tired old man the things I longed for him. Jim was as poor as we were, and had no better chance in life. I struggled hard with myself in those days. I loved Jim, but he was poor. Finally, I decided that I'd be better off with a poor man whom I loved than with a wealthy one whose money had attracted me. So I married Jim Brown."

Margaret and James were married in the fall of 1886 at the Annunciation Church in Leadville, Colorado. (And in the teeniest of connections, I too was married in the fall at Annunciation Church, although this church is in Ilion, New York.)

They ended up doing quite well for themselves in the end.

Molly was a first class passenger on the Titanic. She boarded in Cherbourg, France. When the ship began to sink she delayed her disembarkment to help others get on lifeboats. When she finally left on Lifeboat 6, she not only helped row but there are reports that she got the lifeboat to go back for more survivors. Hence her nickname "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."

Picture from Wikipedia.

The Between the Lions blog has a fantastic account of her Titanic story. Part One is here and Part Two is here. Part Three is here.

Her home in Denver is now a museum. Margaret did not waste her second chance at life. She went on to do many great things in her lifetime. You can read about her life here.

As for Debbie Reynolds, before the movie begins they show her interviewed by Ben Mankiewicz at the 3rd annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. She tells Ben that "it was a great part for a woman, unsinkable, ain't down yet, gonna get through everything in life, sorta reminds me of me." She also said that it was her favorite film for her, as an actress. "Molly Brown was a wonderful role."

I know one Molly, Molly Bolden. She is the pretty awesome owner of Bent Pages Bookstore and Cafe. I first met Molly at Heather Graham's Writers for New Orleans Conference. I highly recommend this conference. It is a lot of fun!

Back on topic.

I am looking forward to watching A Night to Remember. Although I have read the book, I have never seen the movie. Based on the book written by Walter Lord, who interviewed quite a few survivors during his research, the producer of the movie, William MacQuitty, watched the Titantic being launched when he was six years old. TCM has an informative article about the making of the movie.

Closer to home, as I read up on the various articles about the Titanic, I discovered that there was a gentleman from my area on board.

Mr. Gilbert Milligan Tucker, Jr., native of Albany, New York, was a first class passenger who boarded in Cherbourg and survived. His final destination was home.

I found yet another connection while reading about the Titanic tragedy. Among the passengers who had a ticket but did not sail was a man named Theodore Dreiser. Many years ago I enjoyed a movie called A Place in the Sun which starred Elizabeth Taylor and Montgomery Clift. I later learned that the movie was based on the book "An American Tragedy" written in 1925 by Mr. Dreiser. The book was inspired by the true story of Chester Gillette and Grace Brown. (Craig Brandon has also written some non-fiction books about their story.)

Chester was tried and convicted of murdering his pregnant girlfriend Grace. He was executed in 1908 at the Auburn State Prison (Auburn, New York). I learned a lot about their story while researching a book of my own based on the hanging of Roxalana Druse in 1887. Chester and Roxalana had their own connection. They were both housed in the Herkimer County jail and tried at the Herkimer County Courthouse. Both cases brought national attention. And because Roxalana's hanging was so badly botched, New York State began using the electric chair as the means of execution, thereby sparing Chester the ignominy of being hanged. (More about Roxalana and maybe Chester in upcoming posts.)

So here's to the passengers of the Titanic, the heroes, the survivors, the fallen. May you all rest in peace.