Chief Officer Wilde - Film Portrayals
1953 Titanic
Actor Charles B. Fitzsimons appears as Chief Officer Wilde,
although his appearance is uncredited.
1958 A Night to Remember
Howard Lang as Chief Officer Wilde in the 1958 film
"A Night to Remember"
In the 1958 film A Night to Remember, he is portrayed by Howard Lang. He is first seen giving out the guns to the other officers. Wilde is last seen telling a crewmember to allow the women and children in the third class onto the deck. However the men push past the stewards and Wilde and rush up to the boat deck with the women and children. His death is not shown in the film.
Howard Lang as Chief Officer Wilde is seen
handing out guns to the other officers.
1979 S.O.S. Titanic
Standing next to Smith, Tony Caunter as Chief Officer Wilde in the 1979 "S.O.S. Titanic."
In a deleted scene, Tony Caunter as Chief Officer Wilde,
writing a letter to his sister, in the 1979 "S.O.S. Titanic."
1997 Titanic
Mark Lindsay Chapman as Chief Officer Wilde in James Cameron's 1997 film "Titanic"
Chief Officer Wilde responding to Murdoch's suicide as portrayed in the film.
Mark Lindsay Chapman as Chief Officer Wilde in
James Cameron's 1997 film.
James Cameron's 1997 Titanic film was one of the first to show the chief officer in some detail, even if much of it was fiction. Henry Wilde was portrayed by actor Mark Lindsay Chapman. He is seen struggling with the collapsible lifeboats near the flooding bridge and shouting "No Will!" when Murdoch is shown committing suicide. After the sinking, he was seen again, clinging to a broken deck chair in the freezing water, using a loud whistle to call the boats. He dies shortly after from hypothermia. After his death, Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) takes his whistle and summons help from a nearby boat.
ITV 2012 Mini-series
Will Keen (right) plays Chief Officer Wilde in the 2012 mini-series.
Referencing the ITV Julian Fellowes series then to be released in April 2012, Wilde's grandson Chris Bayliss expressed his desire for the filmmakers to 'get their facts right': "There is no reliable account of my grandfather's final days so I'm looking forward as to seeing how accurate this TV programme is."
However according to author Paul Lee on his website, the ITV series was certainly anything but accurate. It incorrectly depicts Wilde on the bridge at the same time as Murdoch when he would have been off-duty; as delivering the message that the Carpathia was 4 hours away when in reality it was junior wireless operator Harold Bride who relayed the message; says that the sea is "like a mill pond" when these were the words of Lightoller; is shown giving instructions to a steward to lock down the cabins when he really would have been in bed at the time of the impact. (Paul Lee, The Goofs of Julian Fellowes's Titanic, source)
