A BRILLIANT ARC OF ELECTRICITY fills frame-- the
spark gap of the Marconi instrument as
SENIOR WIRELESS OPERATOR JACK PHILLIPS (24) rapidly
keys out a message. Junior
Operator Bride looks through the huge stack of
outgoing messages swamping them.
BRIDE
Look at this one, he wants his private train to meet
him. La dee da.
(slaps them down)
We'll be up all bloody night on this lot.
Phillips starts
to receive an incoming message from a nearby ship, the Leyland freighter
CALIFORNIAN, which jams his outgoing
signal. At such close range, the beeps are deafening.
PHILLIPS
Christ! It's that idiot on the Californian.
Cursing, Phillips furiously keys a rebuke.
CUT TO:
Wireless Operator CYRIL EVANS pulls his earphone off his ear as the Titanic's spark deafens him. He translates the message for THIRD OFFICER GROVES.
EVANS
Stupid bastard. I try and warn him about the ice, and he
says "Keep out. Shut up. I'm working Cape Race."
GROVES
Now what's he sending?
EVANS
"No seasickness. Poker business good. Al". Well
that’s it for me. I'm shutting down.
As Evans wearily switches off his generator,
Groves goes out on deck. PAN OFF HIM to reveal the ship is stopped fifty
yards from the edge of a field of pack ice and icebergs stretching as far
as the eye can see.
CUT TO:
ON TITANIC, steaming hell-bent through the darkness, hurling up white water at the bows. The bow comes straight at us, until the bow wave WIPES THE FRAME--
CUT TO:
PUSHING IN on the rear window of the Renault, which is completely fogged up. Rose's hand comes up and slams against the glass for a moment, making a handprint in the veil of condensation.
INSIDE THE CAR, Jack's overcoat is a blanket over them. It stirs and Rose pulls it down. They are huddled under it, intertwined, still mostly clothed. Their faces are flushed and they look at each other wonderingly. She puts her hand on his face, as if making sure he is real.
ROSE
You're trembling.
JACK
It's okay. I'm alright.
He lays his cheek against her chest.
JACK
I can hear your heart beating.
She hugs his head to her chest, and just holds on for dear life.
OLD ROSE (V.O.)
Well, I wasn't the first teenage girl to get seduced in
the backseat of a car, and certainly not the last, by
several million. He had such fine hands, artists'
hands, but strong too... roughened by work. I
remember their touch even now.
CUT TO:
The bow sweeps under us, and the CAMERA CLIMBS toward the foremast and the tiny half-cylinder of the crow's nest, which grows as we push in on lookouts Fleet and Lee. They are stamping their feet and swinging their arms, trying to keep warm in the 22 knot freezing wind, which whips the vapor of their breath away behind.
FLEET
You can smell ice, you know, when it's near.
LEE
Bollocks.
FLEET
Well I can.
CUT TO:
Without hearing the words over the roar of the furnaces, we see stokers telling TWO STEWARDS which way Rose and Jack went. The stewards move off toward the forward holds.
CUT TO:
Cal stands at the open safe. He stares at the drawing of Rose and his face clenches with fury. He reads the note again: "DARLING, NOW YOU CAN KEEP US BOTH LOCKED IN YOUR SAFE. ROSE"
Lovejoy, standing behind him, looks over his shoulder at the drawing. Cal crumples Rose's note, then takes the drawing in both hands as if to rip it in half. He tenses to do it, then stops himself.
CAL
I have a better idea.
CUT TO:
The two stewards enter. They have electric torches and play the beams around the hold. They spot the Renault with its fogged up rear window and approach it slowly.
FROM INSIDE we see the torch light up Rose's passionate handprint, still there on the fogged up glass. One steward whips open the door.
STEWARD
Got yer!
REVERSE: the back seat is empty.
CUT TO:
Rose and Jack, fully dressed, come through a crew door onto deck. They can barely stand. they are laughing so hard.
UP ABOVE THEM, IN THE CROW'S NEST, lookout Fleet hears the disturbance below and looks around and back down to the well deck, where he can see two figures embracing.
Jack and Rose stand in each others arms. Their breath clouds around them in the now freezing air, but they don't even feel the cold.
ROSE
When this ship docks, I'm getting off with you.
JACK
This is crazy.
ROSE
I know. It doesn't make any sense. That's why I
trust it.
Jack pulls her to him and kisses her fiercely.
FLEET
Cor... look at that, would ya.
LEE
They're a bloody sight warmer than we are.
FLEET
Well if that's what it takes for us two to get warm, I'd
rather not, if it's all the same.
They both have a good laugh at that one.
It is Fleet whose expression falls first. Glancing forward again,
he does a double take. The color drains out of his face.
FLEET'S POV: a massive iceberg right in their path, 500 yards out.
FLEET
Bugger me!!!
Fleet reaches past Lee and rings
the lookout bell three times, then grabs the telephone, calling the
bridge. He waits precious seconds for it to be picked up, never taking
his eyes off the black mass ahead.
FLEET
Pick up, ya bastard.
CUT TO:
Inside the enclosed wheelhouse, SIXTH OFFICER MOODY walks unhurriedly to the telephone, picking it up.
FLEET(V.O.)
Is someone there?
MOODY
Yes. What did you see?
FLEET
Iceberg right ahead!
MOODY
Thankyou.
(hangs up, calls to Murdoch)
Iceberg right ahead!
Murdoch sees it and rushes to the engine
room telegraph. While signaling "FULL SPEED ASTERN" he yells to Quartermaster
Hichens, who is at the wheel.
MURDOCH
Hard a' starboard.
MOODY
(standing behind Hichens)
Hard 'a starboard. The helm is hard
over, sir.
BELL
Full astern! FULL ASTERN!!
The engineers and greasers scramble like
madmen to close steam valves and start braking the mighty
propeller shafts, big as Sequoias, to a stop.
BARRETT
Shut all dampers! Shut 'em!!
MURDOCH'S jaw clenches as the bow turns with agonizing slowness. He holds his breath as the horrible physics play out.
KRUUUNCH!! The ship hits the berg on it's starboard bow.
MURDOCH
Hard 'a port!
Judging the berg to be amidships, he is trying to clear the stern.
BARRETT
Go Lads! Go! Go!
He dives through into
Boiler Room 5 just before the door rumbles down with a CLANG.
He feels the shudder run through the ship. And we see it in his face. Too much of his soul is in this great ship for him not to feel its mortal wound.
MOLLY
Hey, can I get some ice here, please?
Silently, a moving wall of ice fills the
windows behind her. She doesn't see it. It disappears astern.
FLEET
Oy, mate... that was a close shave.
LEE
Smell ice can you? Bleedin' Christ!
CUT TO:
CLOSE ON MURDOCH. The alarm bells still clatter mindlessly, seeming to reflect his inner state. He is in shock, unable to get a grip on what just happened. He just ran the biggest ship in history into an iceberg on it's maiden voyage.
MURDOCH
(stiffly, to Moody)
Note the time. Enter it in the log.
Captain Smith rushes out of his cabin onto the bridge, tucking in his shirt.
SMITH
What was that, Mr. Murdoch?
MURDOCH
An iceberg, sir. I put her hard 'a starboard and run
the engines full astern, but it was too close. I tried to
port around it, but she hit.. and I--
SMITH
Close the emergency doors.
MURDOCH
The doors are closed.
Together they rush out onto the starboard
wing, and Murdoch points. Smith looks into the darkness
aft, then wheels around to FOURTH OFFICER BOXHALL.
SMITH
Find the carpenter and get him to sound the ship.