One Step Beyond (TV Series) Night of April 14th (1959) User Reviews

"The Titanic can't sink. Everyone knows that."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 21 January 2015]

We've all heard stories of people who had premonitions of impending catastrophe, generally unheeded by those intended to be warned of coming danger. A lot of these stories involve plane crashes, earthquakes or some such event, with the person having the vision sometimes being a part of the event, but not always. This episode of 'One Step Beyond' deals with the April 14th, 1912 sinking of The Titanic, at the time the world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner, and by all accounts, impossible to sink. Now of course, we know better.

The approach taken here is interesting because it involves both a passenger on the ill fated Titanic and others at considerable distance removed who all sense an impending disaster about to happen. Oddly, an impression of cold water is felt by a few; a New York City illustrator was compelled to paint the scene of a sinking ship by an unnatural force that guided his hand until completion. A Canadian Methodist minister for some reason abruptly changed a psalm for his congregation to sing seeking protection from a peril at sea.

Series host John Newland also offers intriguing information about the novel 'Futility' written fourteen years earlier by writer Morgan Robinson. A work of fiction, Robinson imagined an immense ship approximating the dimensions of The Titanic, sailing on it's maiden voyage with about three thousand passengers which is struck by an iceberg and sinks. Adding to the bizarre mystery of this strangely prophetic story, Robinson named his ship 'The Titan'.

Say what you will about events like these, but there are just too many stories like this that can't be brushed off as mere coincidence. Who can explain what gossamer thread exists between the world of reality and the supernatural? It's a primary reason why shows like 'One Step Beyond' remain popular a half century after they originally aired.

Titanic

[AaronCapenBanner · 7/10 · 13 April 2015]

Second episode of the series is an interesting tale of psychic dreams and unavoidable fate, as Barbara Lord plays Grace, a woman in April 1912 with recurrent nightmares of drowning in icy dark waters at sea. Patrick Macnee plays Eric Farley, who informs her that their honeymoon will be taken on the maiden voyage of the "unsinkable" Titanic - which fills her with dread, though does not postpone the trip, which of course ends in disaster... Intriguing episode has a fine cast and direction, even if it is of course predictable, though the added inclusion of two other characters with similar dreams is a welcome addition to the plot.

Simple tale

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 9 May 2021]

A simple tale about a woman plagued by nightmares in which she's drowned; all goes well but then she finds out she's due to travel on the maiden voyage of the Titanic. All very ordinary, although the period settings don't convince; nice to see Patrick Macnee in support.

A Tragedy Foretold?

[theowinthrop · 9/10 · 1 September 2006]

I liked this particular episode of ONE STEP BEYOND because it happened to be based (unlike some of the others that had historical deaths or disasters involved) on material I had actually been aware of - indeed that most students of the Titanic Disaster were fully aware of ever since the classic study by Walter Lord, A NIGHT TO REMEMBER, came out in 1955.

Lord's Preface to his book told a story that is true. In 1898 a young writer named Morgan Robertson came up with an idea for a novel about the construction of the greatest ship in the world - a mighty luxury liner for the rich and powerful. It was supposed to be unsinkable. It was over 800 feet long, and could carry up to 3,000 passengers. It was launched and set sail for America in April, and on it's maiden voyage hit an iceberg and sank. The ship's named (due to it's size) was the "Titan". The novel is FUTILITY, OR THE WRECK OF THE TITAN. Robertson's book was not a major best seller - indeed it was forgotten until the sinking of the Titanic brought it back to everyone's attention.

This most famous coincidence of the Titanic Disaster was mentioned at the tail end of the half hour ONE STEP BEYOND episode, when John Newland showed the small novel in the library of the London home he was standing in. There have been attempts to explain Robertson's remarkable series of guesses, the best being done by science and math writer/popularizer Martin Gardiner, who wrote a book about the Titanic and the supernatural. Gardiner concluded that discussions in the newspapers and magazines of the possibility of such super-ship constructions in the 1890s probably influenced Robertson to write his book and to make some logical guesses about the size and passenger potential of these crafts, and of the hubris that would lead to disaster.

Others, as Gardiner pointed out, made similar predictions. One was the newspaper editor and crusader William T. Stead, who wrote a piece in 1893 about a dream he had where he was drowned in the sinking of a large ocean liner. Stead's story was possibly meant to stimulate necessary changes in the antiquated safety regulations of the British Board of Trade, but if so it did not have enough effect to be useful to the passengers (ironically including the unlucky Stead) in 1912.

The episode follows a young couple, Patrick Macnee and Barbara Lord, who are going on their honeymoon on the TITANIC (similar to the unfortunate couple in the play and movie CAVALCADE), and how Ms Lord has a premonition of drowning before she knows that they are booked on the cruise. Others on board have ill-feelings, and later we see people on the mainland do too (in one telling moment, an artist gets up in the middle of the night, and draws a picture of the shipwreck). In the end Lord is put into a lifeboat, but Macnee (we are informed) is lost.

The episode was (despite our prior knowledge of the historic fate of the ship and most of it's passengers and crew) quite exciting - and met the highest standards of this fine series. I don't know if people have e.s.p. or second sight or whatever that gives them an edge in guessing what is going to happen. But for thirty minutes (as always) I suspended my disbelief and accepted the events as true and as mysteriously odd as ever. It was always hard not to like this series, even if you are a skeptic.

A decent story, but, very predictable!

[b_kite · 5/10 · 21 October 2016]

The second episode of "One Step Beyond" starts as young English woman Grace Montgomery (Barbara Lord) begins having nightmares of drowning in the ocean, she is however surprised when her husband Eric Farley (the great Patrick Macnee) announces that he has planned a honeymoon trip for the two of them aboard the Titanic!.

This one is pretty predictable from start to finish, and everything that I thought was going to happen pretty much did! The ending much like the first story feels rather forced and abrupt, this one however i think may be worse tho. It was nice to see a young Patrick Macnee here who would go on to appear in a billion other things.

The closing narrative by John Newland features him explaining about a book written in 1898, which was about a huge ship pretty much just like the Titanic which hit an ice berg and sank, that ship in the book was called the Titan. As another reviewer stated One has to wonder why this story wasn't used instead of the one they choose.

A Nightmare to Remember

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 28 June 2009]

In 1912 London, beautiful Barbara Lord (as Grace Montgomery) has a terrifying nightmare about drowning. Shaken to the rim, Ms. Lord tells mother Isobel Elsom about her dream, which the older woman dismisses. The dreams of watery death continue, and Ms. Elsom informs Lord's fiancé, Patrick Macnee (as Eric Farley) about her daughter's fear of drowning. Happily, Mr. Macnee helps Lord overcome her hysteria, and they sail to America… on the unsinkable 'Titanic'... About what you'd expect, more or less, with an interesting cast.

**** Night of April 14th (1/27/59) John Newland ~ Patrick Macnee, Barbara Lord, Isobel Elsom

Too predictable.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 23 December 2012]

This episode of "One Step Beyond" is rather poor because it is quite predictable. It begins with a woman having some strange dreams--dreams of drowning on a ship. Now, as the show has told us that this is set in 1912, a reasonably astute viewer will no doubt immediately think that she is dreaming about what will happen on the Titanic later that year. And, unfortunately, that's exactly what happens--and so there is no sense of surprise or a twist ending. It didn't impress me in the least. And, oddly, in the epilogue the host talked about another BIG coincidence concerning a book that seemed to predict the Titanic sinking two decades earlier--now THAT would have made for a much more interesting show!

Strange Signals from the Icefield

[Goingbegging · 5/10 · 15 September 2021]

This video is about premonitions of the sinking of the Titanic. As with all the stories in One Step Beyond, it is adapted (and therefore distorted) from real-life incidents, so we can't test its accuracy. That is unfortunate, because no event in history has ever tempted so many people to fabricate colourful accounts of their part in a popular legend - after the event, of course.

But one account certainly passes the test. An Englishman called Middleton, booked on the maiden voyage, dreamed of a shipwreck two nights running, and cancelled his passage. The present version, possibly referencing Middleton, gives us the poignant story of a honeymoon bride (the lovely Barbara Lord) having a similar dream, also two nights running, and having to be calmed-down by her groom, the soon-to-be-famous Patrick Macnee.

From there, the plot does not really move forward until the sudden farewell, when he has to watch her being lowered into the lifeboat, so some other, less convincing stories have to be bolted on to fill-up the 25-minute ration. Only one of these might count as a tested case.

An obscure little novel published a few years ahead of the event appeared to forecast the sinking in remarkable detail. Although the dimensions of the vessel and the passenger capacity might be easy to guess at, and the name Titan not too surprising for a great flagship, the collision with the iceberg itself remains the most startling prediction, since it was virtually unheard-of for a ship to be sunk in this way.

In among the generally lacklustre dialogue, we hear the word 'unsinkable', for which the White Star Line has been unfairly blamed through the years. This could actually be traced back to just one reporter who judged (wrongly) that the new bulkhead-design had rendered the ship "virtually unsinkable". But the word still hung in the air afterwards, to be pointed back accusingly at the management of the line.

Finally, I'm glad that the editors did not include the word 'Titanic' in the title, as it has been used too often to make up a catchpenny phrase. 'Night of April 14th' is much more subtle, while still putting out a suitable masonic-type signal to flag-down dedicated Titanic buffs.

Night of April 14th

[Prismark10 · 5/10 · 1 March 2022]

Grace Montgomery is a young English woman who is due to marry dashing Eric Farley (Patrick Macnee.)

Grace has been having nightmares about drowning, maybe while on her honeymoon.

Her mother reassures Grace that she is unlikely to drown while she holidays in Switzerland with her new husband.

Only for Eric to suddenly announce that they will honeymoon in New York. They will travel over there in a new ship called the Titanic.

On the ship, Grace's nightmares continue. Several other passengers have similar concerns.

There is no sudden twist here. The Titanic sinks, Eric dies but not before telling his bride that next time, he will take her nightmares more seriously.

It would had been better if Grace had some reason not to get on the Titanic in the first place and then realise just what a narrow escape she and her husband had.

Presenter John Newland seems happier to connect a book written in 1898. It was called 'Futility: The Wreck of the Titan' which has some similarities to the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.