Produced in 1981, this rare program is adapted from John Maxtone-Graham's comprehensive and seminal work on the history and anecdotal stories of ocean liner travel, The Only Way to Cross of 1972. It was lost media for many years until now!
Filmed aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's "Norway" (fr. the Trans-Atlantic French Liner "France" of 1962), a converted ocean liner and then a cruise liner, John takes us through the essentials of the ocean liner era, from the 1840s through to the early 1970s, utilizing several examples and points to inform the viewer on board the ship. This historical and promotional video was available at the time for purchase on board and was aired on board in four parts. The contents are not owned by me and are here under educational purposes.
The France, itself, having undergone another massive overhaul in the late 1980s, was finally withdrawn from service in 2003 after a tragic engine room explosion, officially sold in 2005, and was scrapped overseas by 2008. John Maxtone-Graham, who wrote several other best-selling books on liners including the SS United States and the Queen Mary 2 and who helped to bring life to a truly bygone, eventful and critical epoch in human history, passed away in 2015 at the age of 85.
