Bruce Ismay
No single figure in the Titanic disaster is as polarizing as this man. Bruce Ismay, the president of the White Star Line in 1912. There are many people today who say he is a terrible coward, and just as many who will defend him. In the film, he was portrayed by english character actor Jonathan Hyde. Now, I mostly want to focus in on the scenes where he's particpating in actually histroical stuff, not everything, like the scenes he has with Jack and Rose and did not happen in real life. They portray him in most of these scene as a well educated boastful man, which he seemed to be in real life. What most people didn't know, is that mentally he was a ticking time bomb. He was emotionally repressed and insecure, and all this plus the aftermath of the Titanic's sinking, lead to a long miserable life. Now, a little more background on the man. Joesph Bruce Ismay was born on December 12, 1862 in Crosby, England. His father was Thomas Ismay, who purchased the bankrupt White Star Line in 1868, and turned it into one of the top ship companies in the world in that time. Young Bruce was born into the industry, and when his father died in 1899, he took over as chairman. Bruce Ismay made it his thing to be present on every White Star Line ship's madien voyages. Which was where he found himself onboard the Titanic.
Now with the movie scenes
The big scene I want to talk about, is the infamous scene where Bruce Ismay persaudes Captain Smith to lite the last four boilers, so that the ship can go full speed ahead and make records. Did this happen? Most likely yes, but not in the context that the film portrays. The Titanic had three boilers that weren't lit, and were never lit. The Titanic while "going full speed ahead", actually wasn't going it's full speed. Also, the Titanic wasn't built for speed. The White Star Line's top competiors were Cunard Line and their two big ships, the Lusitania and the Mauretania. These ships were very fast for their time, in fact the Mauretania actually held the fastest crossing record until 1929. But while these liners were fast, they were lacking in luxury when compared to the White Star Line. The White Line's apparach was luxury > speed. Their ships were slower but more grand. And since the ships were slower, likely, they weren't able to break speed records.
But where did this story orginate from? Well, first class passenger Elizabeth Lines said that in the first class reception room, she overheard Smith and Ismay talking about the boiler, and Ismay apparently said something agonst the lines of:"Wouldn't it be nice if we arrived in New York a day early?" When I read this, I don't think Ismay was serious. Ismay was proably just boastfull about the Titanic's achievements, and most likely was just joking and wasn't serious. But why do people still portrayed him as a villain? We'll get to that later.
In the film, this all leads to the Titanic hitting the iceberg on the night of April 14th, 1912. He's seen out and about after the Titanic hits the iceberg. In real life, he was doing just that. He went down below decks and talked to chief engineer Joseph Bell. Ismay asked Bell if he thought that the ship was in danger, but Bell told him that in his opinion, the ship was fine, and that the pumps would do their job to keep the ship alfoat. He is with Smith, Andrews, and the other officers in thr chart room as Andrews explains the full damage. Again, there was no proof that that actually happened. What actually happened, is that Ismay went up to the bridge, and Smith informed him of the situation. I couldn't imagine what this would've been like for Ismay to hear. He knew that there were not enough lifeboats for everyone onboard, and that most of the passengers would die.
During the evacuation of the ship, Ismay did his best to help in the lowering of the lifeboats. At first though, he was more of a hinderence than a help. As portrayed in a deleated scene in the film, one point early on, he went into a panic, and attempting to lower away a boat quickly by tugging on the lifeboat davit ropes. Ismay was pulled away by yelled at by Fifth Officer Henry Lowe. This event did happen, and in my opinion should've been kept in the film, as it shows that there was more to this guy. Something that was not shown in the film, is that Ismay actually got several people who were intially unsure of whether they wanted to go into the lifeboats, inot the lifeboats. Ismay, did his best to help out.
Something about Ismay that makes him stand out from the other people that are discussed on this site, is that Ismay infamously survived. As almost exactly as depicted in the film, at about 2:00 am on the starboard side, Ismay was present as collaspable lifeboat c was being lowered. As seen in the film, Ismay encouraged and asstisted several people into the boat. Then, just before Officer Murdoch order the boat be lowered away, Ismay climbed inside the boat, immediatley regreating it as it is lowered away. Now Ismay faced a lot of backlash for the rest of his life over this action. But let's set a few things clear. First off, Officer Murdoch was incharge of lowering this boat. Murdoch allowed men into the boats he lowered, so is it really wrong that he allowed Ismay into the boat? Ismay also left on what was the second to last lifeboat launched from the Titanic. He stayed onboard for most of the evacutaton and left on the last possible way for him to survive. I think he earned his survival, and it wasn't the treatment he got wasn't fair at all.
There's two more scenes with Ismay that showcase his guilt. The first one features him turning his back from the Titanic as it sinks. According to Ismay, he did this exactly. He couldn't bear to see any of it, and I can't say I blame him. The second one was one that was deleated. It shows him boarding the Carpathia, while surrounded by survivors who've lost their family. And he just looks awful. It's a very accurate depiction of what he must've experienced.
The film tries to balance out Ismay, but with the big "speed up the ship" scene, he comes off as more responsible for the ship sinking than anything. The real reason why Bruce Ismay is almost always depicted like this, is because a few years before 1912, he made enimes of William Randolf Hearst, american newpaper tycon and one of the most powerful men in America. When the Titanic sank, Hearst did everything in his power to shame Ismay's name. His made mention of how Ismay survived while 1,500 people died, and how he sped up the ship to make records. Ismay was ultimatley found not guilty of any real blame, he spent the rest of his life in the shadow of the Titanic. In 1913, he resigned from his postion in the company, never mentioning the Titanic, but it was no doubt on his mind. He did stay active in the business world, working for the Liverpool & London Steamship Protection & Indeminty Association Limited, an insuracne company that paid for the insurance to the family members of the Titanic victims. He spent much of his life as a recluse. The only time where he seems to have broken his silence on the Titanic, was in December of 1936, when his grandsons asked him if he had ever been shipwrecked. Ismay only responded with, "Yes, I was once in a ship which was believed to to be unskinkable." He died on October 17th, 1937. ismay deserved no blamed, but as a result of Hearst, every portrayal of him including the 1997 film, portrays him as a villain pretty much. Hopefully one day a better representation of him will be made.