An Anglo-American co-production SOS Titanic is a costly 150-minute reenactment of the infamous sea disaster of 1912 Heading the cast is David Janssen as millionaire John Jacob Astor who went down with the Titanic & Cloris Leachman as raucous Denver dowager Molly Brown who didn't (for the record Leachman had previously played Brown on a 1957 episode of the TV anthology Telephone Time) Third-billed is Susan Saint James as fictional passenger Leigh Goodwin who carries most of the dramatic load Written by Hallmark Hall of Fame veteran James Costigan the made-for-television SOS Titanic premiered September 23 1979 In subsequent network & syndicated showings the film was pared down to 102 minutes