Just to add another “train in movies” suggestion for all you DVD renters out there. Just released on DVD is a British film called “Millions”
This is about 2 brothers who spend there time hanging out in a “Fort” built next to the train tracks in the country side, until one day a group of train robbers toss their booty off the train they were robbingand it lands in their fort, They think its a gift from heaven and start spending it! at least until the crooks show up…
Very funny movie!![:D] 4 stars
The funniest movie with a train in it has got to be “YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN” oops! I mean “Fronkensteen.”
IGOR: “Do you also say Froderick?”
FRANENSTEIN: “No. Frederick.”
IGOR: “Then why isn’t it Froderick Fronkensteen?”
FRANKENSTEIN: “It isn’t. It’s Frederick Fronkensteen.”
IGOR: “I see.”
FRANKENSTEIN: “You must be Igor.”
IGOR: “No, it’s pronounced I-gor.”
FRANKENSTEIN: “But, they told me it was Igor.”
IGOR: “Well, they were wrong then weren’t they?”
AND ON THE TRAIN:
WOMAN: “Harry, he was at it again.”
HARRY: “So what do you want me to do about it?”
WOMAN: “Every day!”
HARRY: “Let him! Let him!”
CONDUCTOR: “New York next! Everybody out for New York!”
FRAU: “Hans, er nacht un schoen weider.”
HANS: “Was lichsten sie mich tun?”
FRAU: “Jeden tag!”
HANS: “Lasse sei ihn. Lasse sei ihn!”
SCHAFFNER: “Transylvania nachst! Nenne aufsteigen fur Transylvania! Transylvania nachst! Nenne aufsteigen fur Transylvania!”
FRANKESNTEIN: “Pardon me, boy. Is this the Transylvania station?”
BOY: “Ja! Ja! Track 29. Oh, can I give you a shine?”
FRANKENSTEIN: “Uh… no, thanks.”
Now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got a date to go “roll ze hay!”
“Robbery” (1967) starring Stanley Baker is the film you mean I think.
The loco was a Class 40 as far as I remember (common diesel power on the line from London Euston station in 1963 when the original robbery took place - the equivalent of 30-40 million pounds in today’s money was stolen from a mail train). See http://www.cfps.co.uk/photogalleries.htm - but in 1963 the loco would have been painted BR green.
Yes, there are some portions of the movie that do feature trains, but they are brief. Near the start of the film, there is a scene that takes place on a miniature train ride at a park (at night, when the train is not running). Later, there is a brief scene of Danny DeVito operating a postwar Lionel train set on the front porch of his house. Toward the end of the film, the characters end up on an Amtrak train, of which we see only a couple of very quick shots of the exterior. It consists of an EMD switcher (running cab forward) and three passenger cars. The movie itself is a spoof of Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951).
Not a train move itself, but the opening title sequence to “Get Carter” starring Michael Caine has footage of a journey along the East Coast Main Line from London King’s Cross to Newcastle shot in 1970, when Deltics ruled the line and there were still many semaphore signals on the route. Those were the days!
I Saw Part of "Polar Express"New Year’s Eve At The Galaxy Drive In Theatre in Ennis,Texas.(on The Espee’s DALSA Line.)Mainly,My Wife and I Saw “XMas With The Kranks"and"Spanglish”.But Since It’s A Three Screener,I Saw Parts of “The Incredibles”;“Fat Albert”;"Lemony Snicket"and “Polar Express”.FYI:Ennis,Texas Is Another Great Place For The Railfan In Texas.Plenty of Action On The Former Espee “DALSA Line”,Plus The Former Espee Derot Is A Museum With A Katy Caboose In Front.Plenty of Non Rail Activities As Well.The Galaxy Drive In;Ennis Speedway;Plus Quite A Bit Of Other Stuff To Do.
And these two, along with the PBS series “Shining Time Station,” will probably be responsible for introducing a lot of youngsters to railfanning and model railroading [:)]
Technically,It’s Not British Railroading,But Since Ireland Is Geographically Part of The British Isles,Don’t Forget About John Wayne and John Ford’s 1952 Classic “The Quiet Man”.Great Scenes of Irish Railways Equipment.Plus The Great Fight Between The Duke and Victor McLaughlin!!
I agree with chad thomas.
Tough Guys is a really great movie filled with action, humor, and lots more!!!
If your a Southern Pacific Daylight Fan U NEED 2 C THIS MOVIE!!!
C U ALL L8TER!!!
[:)][8D][:D][|)][:P][;)][X-)][%-)][(-D][swg][:)]
Andersonville – 1996 – Dir. John Frankenheimer (The Train, Grand Prix) – I had forgotten all about this made-for-TV film until I saw it in the cheap bin at Wall Marts. And surprisingly it’s loaded with extras for being so cheap. I haven’t seen this movie since it originally aired on TNT 9 years ago. The sequences with the train were done 3 ways (if this is gonna spoil the movie magic for you I suggest you stop reading now!):
a stationary ‘fake’ train made of all wood. this was the part where it shows the actors getting on, riding, and getting off the train.
computer generated images – train pulling up Confederate water stop to pick up POWs; other various long shots
scale models – various long shots, scenery shots
That’s all according to the audio commentaries. They combined all these elements to create a beautiful and very convincing scene, probably some of the best special effects with trains in a movie that I know of. Incidentally then name on the loco tender reads “South Western Railroad.”
It reminded me of another Civil War film:
Shenandoah – 1965 – Jimmy Stewart – There’s a scene where Stewart stops a Union prisoner train to free it’s cargo and maybe find his captured son.
AztecEagle mentions The Quite Man and Scottish railroads, which reminded me of another movie with a Scottirain in it: Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius. In there are some sequences of either a Scottish or Britirain. (Some of the movie was filmed in Scotland.) Incidentally, this train had me confused throughout over half the movie. It starts out in Scotland and flashes back and forth a great deal. The actors seemed to have confused the Scottish accent with the American Southern accent. So, me, having no knowledge of golf or it’s history, was confused thinking the whole movie was taking place in Scotland because later they use the Scotti***rain for scenes that are supposed to be set in Georgia and the name
Maybe not the best movie, and not really a feature movie but does anybody remember the old movie serials of the 1930s? No, I wasn’t around then [;)] but before the TV channel AMC about 10 years ago (before it changed it’s programming and format) ran a great deal of old movies and the old movie serials and cartoons, trailers, etc (like TCM today).
I happened to tape one of the old Batman serials and in this one particular episode the bad guys had developed a certain remote control device that could control trains, planes, and automobiles. It’s laughable today but their ‘demonstration’ of the evil device showed them controling a O-scale model train on a table in their secret lair. Later there are other scenes where Batman and Robin have to chase and hope onto a steam powered freight train controled by this remote device.
If nothing else it’s good old fashioned entertainment with some vintage steam frieght action.
“Switchback” with Danny Glover was pretty good. The worst scene I ever saw was in “Under Siege 2” when the two trains collided and the locomotive smashed through the cars chasing Seagal to the back of the train. Only in Hollywood.
G’day, Y’all,
Has anyone seen “Train de Vie” or “Train of Life”? It is a French film with English sub-titles and is about a village of French Jews who buy and super detail a wreck of a French pacific to look like a German POW train. Then the tailors and shoemakers make German uniforms and some of the Jews forced to wear them and pretend to be herding the other Jews to a concentration camp while in actuality, they are heading to Russia. The train is in almost the whole movie.
Also, in the Movie Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, a train is shown bearing down on the car in which the children are locked. Look quick and you’ll notice that the “engine” is a Lionel.
Don’t bother with Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day. Starring R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe and Henry Gibson, it is a b&w stinker about a Chinese grandson of a Central Pacific track layer who buys the Yosemite Valley Railroad and tries to run it. His movie “father” won’t help him and neither should the viewer see it. The movie shows more of the San Francisco street cars, on which the Chinese youth works, than YVRR trains. However, if you want it, search for Choices, Inc. on the net.
Jock Ellis
Cumming, GA US of A