The Last Signals is an independent short film about the sinking of the Titanic, released the same year as the 100th anniversary of the sinking.
Written, directed and produced by Thomas Lynskey, the film delves into the story of the sinking of the ship from the point of view of its Marconi Wireless Operators. Harold Sydney Bride, the Junior Operator, and John George Phillips the Senior Operator.
Plot[]
Harold Bride, Titanic's Junior Telegraph Operator, sits in a café with a friend, in late April of 1912. He looks back on the sinking of the Titanic and wonders why it all happened, and why fate put him on that ship, and that he was disgusted about what happened that night.
On April 2nd, he boarded the ship in Belfast, Ireland, where he is accompanied by Boxhall to the Marconi Room and meets his supervisor John Phillips. They then go through the Titanic’s sea trials. And the voyage goes by well and the two of them take turns operating the telegraph as they become closer friends. Bride icing Phillips for his 25th birthday even. Then on April 13th however, the telegraph machinery would malfunction and break down, Phillips then had to fall behind on his sleep and spend the night repairing it. On the 14th, the ship hits an iceberg and begins sinking. Phillips stays at the telegraph sending out distress signals while Bride is rushing about the ship keeping track of the sinking and keeping the crew informed of Phillips' progress to bring any nearby ships in for assistance. The stress moves in on him, and by the time the water has crept into the wireless room, Phillips is a shell. Bride in despair tries to look out for him, pushing him out of the Officer’s Quarters before it floods. In the mass of confusion on deck, Phillips makes a run for the stern as the ship begins to make its final plunge. Bride and Lightoller lift the collapsible raft and Bride gets himself pinned by it as the Titanic sinks under water. He frees himself by swimming underwater, seeing Moody trapped within the ship before resurfacing. Then he would find the upturned collapsible raft that pinned him, adrift in the ocean. He and a seaman try to climb aboard, but they would be attacked by a fireman and the seaman would be presumably killed by an oar. Bride however manages to climb aboard and by dawn, the lifeboats are seen rowing towards the steamship Carpathia after it had arrived to pick up the remaining Titanic survivors. Bride, upon climbing out of a lifeboat and onto the Carpathia, turns and sees the corpse of Phillips, then falls unconscious. He wakes up in the makeshift hospital where he is treated and later taken to the Marconi Room where he sees Cottam. Back in the café, Bride's friend tells him that his fate on that ship was to save the lives of the passengers. All of whom may haven’t been rescued without the distress calls sent by the two operators that night. As Bride looks out towards the sea. Eternal Father, Strong to save plays and the film ends.
Cast[]
- John George Phillips, played by Thomas Lynskey,
- Harold Sydney Bride, played by Jacob Swing,
- Captain Edward John Smith, played by Richard Myers,
- Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller, played by Edward Schneider,
- Fourth Officer Joseph Groves Boxhall, played by Jeffery Warmkessel,
- Sixth Officer James Paul Moody, played by Andrew Leland,
- Harold Thomas Cottam, played by Robert Bagdon,
- Third Officer Herbert John Pitman, played by Thomas Lynskey Sr.,
- Gugleilmo Marconi, played by Friedrich Haas,
- Female Passenger, played by Amanda Faroese,
- Engineroom Worker, played by Richard Recklau,
- Irish Engineer, played by Taylor Gibson,
- Marconi Engineer 1, played by Eugene Levitsky,
- Marconi Engineer 2, played by Max Wittcoff,
- Hallway Crewman 1, played by Daniel Ridge,
- Hallway Crewman 2, played by Patrick Lynskey,
- Collapsible B Fireman 1, played by Bill Reick,
- Collapsible B Fireman 2, played by Nicholas Sellers,
- Carpathia Hospital Worker 1, played by Steven Kell,
- Carpathia Hospital Worker 2, played by Emma Forman.
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