Bloopers are courtesy of The Internet Movie Data-Base
Crew or equipment visible
Reflected in Rose's TV.
Revealing mistakes
A desert is visible between the dock and the Titanic when docked at Southampton.
Factual errors
On departure from Southampton, an underwater shot of the propellers showed the immediate startup and clockwise
rotation of two adjacent propellers. From an engineering and from an operational viewpoint, this is extremely unlikely.
Adjacent propellers in a normal steem recipricating plant are started independently by hand operation of large
slow-moving valves, as shown in the engine-reversing scene after sighting the iceberg.
Continuity
When Captain Smith orders, ``Take her to sea, Mr. Murdoch -- let's stretch her legs'', they are standing to the right of
the wheelhouse looking forward with the sun coming from their left. When Murdoch walks into the wheelhouse to carry
out the order, the sun is behind him.
The draft markings on the Titanic's bow when Jack looks at the dolphis later change size and position.
Anachronisms
Jack claims to have gone ice fishing on Lake Wissota, which wasn't created until five years after the Titanic sank.
Continuity
The pipe frames supporting the third class berths had set-screw speed rail fittings, not developed until 1946.
In the scene where Jack is teaching Rose to spit, there is no spit on his chin as he starts to turn around to face the
ladies, but by the time he has completed his turn he has some on his chin.
Factual errors
The painting over the fireplace in the Titanic's first class smoking lounge in the film depicts New York harbour, which
was actually the painting on the Titanic's sister ship, ``Olympic''. The painter, Norman Wilkinson, had provided a scene
of Plymouth harbor for Titanic, but no pictures of this work survive.
The main characters have lunch in the Palm Court/Verandah on A Deck. These were not used for dining, although
passengers could order tea or a small snack.
Cal orders lamb with mint sauce for himself and Rose. Lamb was only available for dinner on the ship, while mutton
was reserved for lunch. The lamb was prepared in the D-Deck galley and would not have been served in the Palm
Court.
Crew or equipment visible
While Jack and Rose are walking on the promenade the day after he rescued her, a small hill with a building on it is
visible over Jack's shoulder and above the ship.
Continuity
Jack takes Rose and Molly's arms to go into dinner. They start walking, but in the next shot they are still standing apart.
Crew or equipment visible
Reflected in the glass door opened for Jack as he enters the dining room.
Factual errors
The worship services held at 10:30 on Sunday April 14th, 1912, in the First Class Dining Room were open to all
passengers of the ship.
Anachronisms
``Eternal Father Strong To Save'' is sung during the worship service; the verse that begins ``Lord, guard and guide the
men who fly/ Through the great spaces in the sky'' was written by Mary C. D. Hamilton in 1915.
Factual errors
During the scene when Rose ''flies'' from the ship's bow, the sunlight is clearly falling almost exactly straight across the
ship from left to right. On the evening of the 14th, the ship would be steaming somewhere between WSW and SW; the
lighting in the movie would indicate that the sun is between SSE and SE, when it would have been between W and
WNW.
The hands sketching Rose are clearly too old to belong to Jack. (They actually belong to director James Cameron.)
Continuity
After the first few lines of the sketch are drawn, a blood blister appears below his thumbnail.
Factual errors
Workers in the Titanic's engine room had to wear thick protective clothing to shield them from the heat generated by
the engines.
Anachronisms
The gauges in the engine room are fitted with sweated tubing fittings, a plumbing technique not available when the ship
was constructed. The fittings should have been threaded brass.
Factual errors
There was no door between boiler room 6 and the cargo area (and no access to any but authorized crew). If there had
been a door, it would have entered the third cargo area aft, not the one where the Renault was stored.
Crew or equipment visible
Reflected in a brass panel on the front of the Renault that Jack and Rose find in the cargo hold.
Factual errors
When Titanic strikes the iceberg, First Officer Murdoch runs into the bridge, jarring Second Officer Lightoller, who
spills his tea. In fact, Lightoller was in his quarters at the time, and did not come to the bridge until roused by Fourth
Officer Boxhall, 25 minutes later.
The ``CQD'' disaster message that the radio operator started clicking out on the telegraph key was not intelligible
Morse code.
When Captain Smith enters the wheelhouse, the ship's telegraph is set to ``Full Reverse''. In fact, after the ship had
struck the iceberg Smith ordered ``All Stop'', and as such the telegraph should have pointed straight up.
Continuity
The porthole in the room where Jack is held prisoner is shown to be several feet below water, yet in a shot from inside
the room, the surface of the water is visible inches above the porthole.
Factual errors
Eyewitness testimony to the sinking conflicted, and until the discovery of the wreck in 1985 the generally accepted
description was that the ship had sunk intact. Of those who claimed the ship had broken up prior to sinking, some
claimed that after breaking away from the bow, the stern rolled to port, almostly completely turning over..
Make-up artists on the film used pictures of corpses from the disaster, but the amount of ice in the hair of victims in the
movie seems to be excessive. It was not nearly cold enough to freeze seawater, and the only immediate source of fresh
water in the hair would be breath, which would not contain nearly as much as depicted in the short time people survived
in the water.
It is impossible for voices to echo in the middle of the North Atlantic unless there is a large, flat object like a ship
nearby.
Anachronisms
When the rescue ship enters New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty is seen, the torch visible is the new, restored
torch (post 1986), which is gold-leaf covered and illuminated from the exterior, unlike the original torch, which was
illuminated from within and had an amber stained-glass look.
Incorrectly regarded as goofs
Although the Titanic's fourth smokestack was not an exhaust avenue for the ship's engines, it was used as an outlet for
the Titanic's massive kitchen. Since the Titanic used coal stoves, some smoke would have been coming out of the fourth
smokestack. In one of the flyovers of the ship, it is possible to see that most of the top of the fourth smokestack is
sealed.
It has been stated that the paintings in Rose's room are famous works that did not go down with Titanic. The paintings
were by artists noted for creating many similar paintings.
Although her fingers partially obscure it, the coin that Rose gives to Jack is generally agreed to be a Barber dime,
minted 1892-1916. The Barber dime is distinctive because the portrait of Liberty on the head of the coin faces the
right, not the left.
After the iceberg is spotted, First Officer Murdoch bellows a helm order: ``Hard-a-starboard!'' But Quartermaster
Hichens, manning the wheel, turns the wheel counter-clockwise, or to port. At first glance this would seem to be a
mistake. The order itself, ``Hard-a-starboard,'' was a holdover from earlier days when the tiller of a ship would be used
to control the rudder. Pushing the tiller to the right (starboard) would cause the ship to turn to the left (port). So a turn
to port was ordered by calling ``hard-a-starboard.'' Sources differ on which way the wheel had to be turned to actually
carry out this order. Director James Cameron is on the record as being aware of the possible confusion that turning the
wheel in the ``wrong'' direction might create, but decided to include it to be as accurate as possible.
The ''middle finger'' gesture was used as early as the late 19th century.
Young Rose's eyes appear green in some scenes due to colored lighting from flares, etc.
The gun that Cal uses to go after Rose and Jack was a Colt 45M1911, created in 1910. The gun holds 7 bullets in the
clip with an eighth in the chamber. Cal did not pull back the slide (which would have ejected a bullet) before shooting
and fired exactly eight shots.
There is much disagreement over the last song played by the band before the ship sank. Wallace Hartley's family firmly
believe that it was ``Nearer My God to Thee'' as shown in the film, and indeed had this inscription placed on his
tombstone, as do the majority of witnesses. According to Junior Wireless Operator Harold Bride, the band played the
song ``Songe d'Automne'', which has some similar sections.
The lifeboats for RMS Titanic were in fact labeled ``SS Titanic''. This is verified by a photograph which appears on
page 718 of National Geographic Magazine Vol. 168 no. 6 (December 1985).
The credits explain that some dramatic license has been taken; this is apparent with several minor characters. Benjamin
Guggenheim's mistress, Madame Aubert, never dined in the First-Class Dining Saloon. She took all of her meals in the
A la Carte restaurant on B-Deck. JJ Astor is last seen in the First Class main staircase as the glass dome implodes. In
fact, his body was recovered from the North Atlantic a few weeks after the sinking. The body was crushed and
coversed with soot, indicating that he had been crushed by the collapsing #1 funnel.
R.M.S. Titanic, 1912
Timeline
Passengers
Facts
Crew
The Musicians
Pictures
More to come....
Titanic : The Movie
Cast
Script
Pictures
Sound Clips
Memorable Movie Lines
The Set
The Making
Bloopers
Facts
More to come....