25 years of ‘Titanic’: Sunken jewellery, a car stowed away for would-be lovers and the myths of the grand staircase

IT’S 25 years since Titanic was released in Irish cinemas — meaning a whole new generation can let the fatal shipboard romance wash all over them… S ometimes it’s hard to see the join between fact and fiction, so here’s the drill as you prepare to be a passenger to the sinking: 25 points to ponder for those 25 years. 1 Leonardo DiCaprio ’s character is called Jack Dawson. Remarkably, there was a J.

Dawson in the crew, a fireman from Dublin named Joseph Dawson. His body was recovered and buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where it commands the greatest attention among the Titanic graves. 2 Jack wins his ticket by playing poker in a dockside pub, a representation of The Grapes pub, which still stands in Southampton, although the gambling there today is of the fruit-machine variety.

The late run to the ship echoes reality – several crew missed the sailing despite a desperate dash after supping a last pint. 3 It wasn’t hard to board a vessel in someone else’s name. Passports were not yet required, and often tickets were brought in America by an earlier sibling emigrant and sent home to “bring the next one out.

” Read More Titanic survivor Molly Brown’s blanket to go under the hammer James Cameron ‘would not change a frame’ of Titanic 25 years after first release 4 One of the iconic scenes in the movie is the steerage party, in which Gaelic Storm band members play John Ryan’s Polka , a familiar Irish tune. There was indeed such a party, led by Irish third-class passengers, on the Sunday night before the iceberg was struck. 5 Director James Cameron’s brainwave was to stage Romeo and Juliet aboard the ship, thereby lulling the audience before the inevitable tragedy.

In fact, there could be no mixing between a first-class girl (Kate Winslet plays fictional Rose DeWitt Bukater) and a steerage lad because of strict segregation demanded by US quarantine laws. 6 Yes, the real Titanic appears in some shots. Cameron took the Mir-1 submersible down to the wreck in late summer 1995.

“The first dive was a nightmare,” he said. “We didn’t see the ship until we were 15 feet from it. ” Fairly fuzzy footage was the result.

7 The ‘Heart of the Ocean’ diamond is a motif of the movie. In reality, the most costly single gem lost was a pink diamond, on which Charlotte Cardeza of Germantown, Philadelphia, claimed $20,000. Swedish diplomat HB Steffanson valued a painting by Merry-Joseph Blondel, La Circassienne au Bain , at $100,000.

8 ‘Tommy Ryan’ is a generic Irish character who pals up with Jack Dawson. There was an Irishman named Eddie Ryan aboard, from Tipperary, who effectively admitted dressing and acting like a woman to ensure his own survival. 9 The Irish had little to lose, apart from their lives.

Eugene Daly claimed $50 for a lost set of uilleann pipes, described as ‘bagpipes’ in US court filings. A portrait of Robert Emmet also went down with the ship, along with a consignment of hurleys. 10 The Irish boarded in Cobh, then called Queenstown.

British rule of Ireland was being addressed through the tabling of the Home Rule Bill on the very day Irish passengers boarded – April 11, 1912. Video of the Day 11 Construction of half a ship, to be used in the movie, began at Baja on the Mexican coast on May 31, 1996. This was the same date the Titanic was launched 85 years earlier.

It is also the day, in 2009, on which the last survivor, Millvina Dean, was destined to die, aged 97. She visited Cobh late in life, where a short-lived restaurant was named in her honour. 12 The half-ship was visually flipped to provide both port and starboard sides in the final flick.

Some extras wore crew jerseys with ‘White Star Line’ in mirror writing so that it would read correctly when flopped horizontally. 13 Spoiler alert: Jack and Rose consummate their steamy shipboard fling inside a motor car stowed in the hold. Yes, there actually was a car on the real-life ship – a Renault, being shipped by wealthy William Carter.

Well, that is only sort of true, as it had been dismantled and was stored in crates. 14 The managing director of Harland & Wolff, the Belfast builders, is represented in the movie. Thomas Andrews lost his life in the sinking.

He was on board to carry out a snag list, as the new ship was not entirely finished. Expand Close RMS Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912, for its maiden voyage. Five days later it struck an iceberg and sank, with the loss of over 1,500 lives.

Photo: Getty Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp RMS Titanic departing Southampton on April 10, 1912, for its maiden voyage. Five days later it struck an iceberg and sank, with the loss of over 1,500 lives. Photo: Getty Images 15 Another character is the Unsinkable Molly Brown, a socialite from Denver, played by Kathy Bates.

She really did exist and dominated her lifeboat. She subsequently operated an ambulance in the First World War. She even ran for Congress.

16 The movie portrays Captain EJ Smith as unduly influenced by Bruce Ismay, managing director of the White Star Line. Ismay got into a lifeboat, while Smith drowned. 17 The grand staircase features at key moments in the movie, but passengers didn’t descend from the clock and carvings because that actually led to the deck outside.

18 Titanic may not have been the fastest vessel afloat, but she was still doing her highest speed of the voyage when she struck the iceberg. 19 The direction a passenger turned when ascending the staircase made a difference on evacuation. Men were rigorously kept out of the boats on the port side.

20 Why wasn’t the ship diverted after ice warnings were received? Arguably because she hadn’t the capacity. “Insufficient coal,” testified Third Officer Pitman to an official inquiry. There had just been a six-week coal strike in England, while Titanic also had a bunker fire aboard.

21 A couple of real-life millionaires are portrayed aboard, including John Jacob Astor IV, whose pregnant wife Madeleine reportedly bought $800 worth of Irish lace when local traders came aboard at Queenstown. 22 Astor, one of the richest men in the world, lost his life. His young bride was saved.

She is credited by Daniel Buckley of Ballydesmond, Co Cork, with saving his life too, by covering him with her shawl as men were ordered from a lifeboat. 23 The band is iconic… and master Wallace Hartley did previously vow to play Nearer, My God, to Thee if ever in a sinking. In fact there were two bands, a quintet (first class) and a trio (second), but they amalgamated on deck, sans piano.

24 Keep an eye out for the carpet in first class, exactly reproduced for the movie from off-cuts left behind. The rich flooring was originally produced for the ship by a firm in Abbeyleix, Co Laois, now gone out of business. 25 Guinness features in the steerage party, but most of the beer aboard was Bass ale.

Soft drinks were supplied by Cantrell & Cochrane who took out pre-sinking adverts in Irish newspapers to hail their selection. There’s lots wrong with the portrayal of the sinking, but a lot right, including end-stage panic and hysteria. Previous treatments showed civilized passengers standing stoically at the rail to sing hymns.

When a ship collides, get up top early! Read More Titanic survivor Molly Brown’s blanket to go under the hammer James Cameron ‘would not change a frame’ of Titanic 25 years after first release Related topics Leonardo DiCaprio.