All navigational details of this film-conversations, incidents and general data-are taken verbatim from the published reports of inquiries held in 1912 by the Congress of the United States and the British Board of Trade.
Many of the sets (including the ship model) were reused for several other films after this such as Dangerous Crossing and in particular the dining room, cabins, grand staircase, lounge, radio room, boat deck, promenade deck and the deck chairs. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes used the ship model (remodified), the dining room walls, the lounge, the promenade deck, and the deck chairs again. A Blueprint for Murder the ship model (remodified), the dining room, promenade deck and deck chairs were all reused again. Then finally in Woman's World, which also starred Clifton Webb only the dining room walls were used. The ship model is displayed at the Marine Museum of Fall River in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Some of the original Titanic survivors were invited to a tear-filled special screening of the film in New York.
The character of Maude Young, portrayed in this motion picture by Thelma Ritter, was obviously based upon Mrs. J.J. "Unsinkable Molly" Brown of Denver, Colorado. Even though the actual names of some of the other passengers were used in the film, Mrs. Brown's was not. It has been suggested that there was some dispute between 20th Century Fox and the Brown estate over the use of Molly Brown's character. Therefore, Molly Brown of the Denver, Colorado gold silver mining fortune became, for this motion picture, Maude Young of Montana lead mining.
The filming of the disaster had a powerful effect on Barbara Stanwyck, who recalled: "The night we were making the scene of the dying ship in the outdoor tank at Twentieth, it was bitter cold. I was 47 feet up in the air in a lifeboat swinging on the davits. The water below was agitated into a heavy rolling mass and it was thick with other lifeboats full of woman and children. I looked down and thought: If one of these ropes snaps now, it's good-by for you. Then I looked up at the faces lined along the rail - those left behind to die with the ship. I thought of the men and women who had been through this thing in our time. We were re-creating an actual tragedy and I burst into tears. I shook with great racking sobs and couldn't stop."
The poem that Julia recites to Gifford is "When I Aas One-and-Twenty", number XIII by A.E. Housman from his book A Shropshire Lad.
This was Edmund Purdom's theatrical film debut in an uncredited part as Second Officer Lightroller.
To ensure authenticity, the producers recruited a former captain of the Queen Elizabeth as a technical consultant, and no background music was played during the feature film-the only music heard was that of the musicians aboard the ship.
Working titles for this film were "Nearer My God to Thee" and "Passenger List."