the Titanic had the iceberg. This first lifeboat was only half full, an oversight compounding the problem of so few boats in the first place. All lifeboats were under orders to take women and children only. At 2:05am the last lifeboat was lowered. At 2:20am the Titanic disappeared from view under the icy waters of the Atlantic. It was not until 4:10am that the first lifeboat was picked up by the ship Carpathia which had answered the distress call and had sailed as fast as she could to the rescue. Of the 2,206 people aboard the ship, only 703 were saved (the published figures vary). These, therefore are the basic facts on which the director James Cameron could make his film.3