It feels like yesterday that Titanic landed in cinemas and changed the film industry forever. But it wasn’t yesterday. It was 24 years ago. The realisation makes us feel pretty old, but that doesn’t stop us sitting down for a regular nostalgic viewing of the epic romance set on the doomed ship. We’ve seen it so many times that we can recite every line, but there are titbits we weren’t aware of. So, when we found out that a comic scene starring Kathy Bates was left on the cutting room floor, we were intrigued.
You’ll definitely be familiar with the narrative. Rose, a rich young woman, boards an unsinkable ship that promises to take her to America and a life of constraint. She is betrothed to Cal, a cruel but rich heir, and her mother repeatedly warns her that the fortune of the entire family rests on her shoulders. And yet, she finds herself falling for Jack, an independent and penniless artist who is on the ship after winning his ticket in a poker game. The scene is set for a beautiful love story set to a Celine Dion soundtrack. But obviously things start to go south when the boat is struck by a massive iceberg.
If you cast your mind back, you’ll remember that Rose and Jack are smooching on the deck at the time, while the men in the crow’s nest watch on voyeuristically. But during this scene, we originally cut to Kathy Bates, who plays the Unsinkable Molly Brown, a real-life woman who really was on the ship and survived.
‘Hey sonny!’ Molly exclaims to a waiter as she ponders her drink. ‘How about a little ice?’ At that moment, the iceberg floats behind her, unnoticed.
It’s a funny moment out of context, but we can definitely see why it was cut. It is a moment of levity at an inappropriate time. We’re all for comic relief, but it definitely feels off considering that we know more than a thousand people are about to drown.
Still, it’s not the worst thing James Cameron has ever committed to film. When’s Avatar 2 out again?
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