Running time: 85 minutes
Language: English
During World War 2 a train heading for Truro is suddenly stopped. Someone has pulled the emergency stop cord and the train stops in the middle of nowhere. The passengers spot a funny looking man on the tracks. It turns out that he was the one, who pulled the cord - he dropped his hat out of the window and stopped the whole train to get it back. When he returns with the hat conductor is angry and wants to fine him, but the passenger, Tommy Gander, the comedian on the way to start a tour in the vaudeville halls, manages not only to avoid the fine, but also he meets an attractive blonde in one of the compartments. Unfortunately for him another passenger, Teddy Deakin, is trying to chat her up and soon her husband, ex-boxer Richard Winthrop, shows up scares them both away. The unplanned stop turns out to be a bigger problem than the passengers thought - when train arrives to small station Fal Vale Junction in Cornwall they have to switch to another train that will take them to Truro, but as they are informed by the stationmaster the train they were about to embark has already left and because of Gander the were too late to catch it. Now they have to wait for next one, which will arrive in... 9 hours. Since it is already very late they have no other option than wait on Fal Vale, especially since it begins to rain. The stationmaster, Saul Hodgkin, opposes stating they are not allowed to stay on the station during the night, but the passengers ignore him. Hodgkin hints the railway rules are not the only reason they should leave - the station is haunted. Years ago accident took place on the nearby railroad bridge and since then few people saw a ghost train traveling through Fal Vale and all of them later died in mysterious circumstances...
British film based on popular play written by Arnold Ridley (most famous for his Dad’s Army performance as Private Godfrey) mixed elements of mystery, comedy and thriller. Almost whole story takes place on small train station in Cornwall, where 8 passengers are forced to spend the night during a storm and strange things begin to happen. It is great, old-fashioned film that is still joy to watch. There are many train motifs in the film, although only small part takes place aboard the train, while most of the time the main characters are locked in small train station.
Our rating
7.2
/ 10
Film value
9
/ 10
Train scenes
4
/ 5
Adventure
3
/ 5
Scenery
2
/ 5
 |
as Tommy Gander
as Teddy Deakin
as Miss Bourne
as Jackie Winthrop
as R.G. Winthrop
as Doctor Sterling
as Saul Hodgkin
as Edna
as Herbert
as Price
as Julia Price
as Ben Isaacs
Arnold Ridley, the author |
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