the titfield thunderbolt

It is a joyful comedy, celebrating English rural life, and was shot against the background of beautiful, verdant West Country landscapes in late summer. Valentine visits Taylor, who suggests that they borrow a locomotive from Mallingford's rail yards. The opening scene shows Midford Viaduct on the Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway, where the branch passed under the viaduct. The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) echoes the theme of Passport to Pimlico, switched to a rural setting, with a small community standing up for their local interests when their branch line is threatened with closure by British Railways in a forerunner of the Beeching cuts a … Both men are promptly arrested by the police as a result. Let our editors help you find what's trending and what's worth your time. The Titfield Thunderbolt – Filming Locations | Flickr. Blair Stannard , This was one of only two Ealing comedies to be made in colour, the other being "The Ladykillers" from two years later. The Titfield Thunderbolt 1080p HD by Ealing Studios. The residents of a small English village are about to lose their ancient railroad. Stanley Holloway sings a song that the girls sang in school in "The Lavender Hill Mob." In fact, had they been any faster, their application would have been rejected. The real star is the thrilling railway footage using a repainted vintage locomotive known as the Lion. Upon securing financial backing from Walter Valentine, a wealthy man with a fondness for daily drinking, the men learn that the Ministry of Transport will give them a month's trial period, in which they must pass an inspection at the end of this period to make the Order permanent. The film was written by T.E.B. "The Titfield Thunderbolt", by contrast, is the sort of film that needs to be in colour. So you could do a kind of "homage to Titfield" using the Rapido model on any post-war steam era layout, even if it doesn't precisely replicate the fictional line in the movie. The scene where Thunderbolt is removed at night from its museum was filmed in the (now demolished) Imperial Institute building near the Royal Albert Hall in South Kensington, London. There was considerable inspiration from the book Railway Adventure by established railway book author LTC Rolt, published in 1952. The Titfield Thunderbolt is a 1950s comedy film produced by Ealing Studios set on a fictional British branch line between Titfield and Mallingford which has been condemned for closure by British Railways. 9/10. Aided by Harry Hawkins, a steam roller operator who hates the railway, Crump and Pearce attempt to block the line on its first run and sabotage the line's water tower, but are thwarted by Weech and the line's supportive passengers. It briefly became topical about a decade later when British Rail, under the chairmanship of Dr Richard Beeching, and with the encouragement of the notoriously pro-road and anti-rail Minister of Transport Ernest Marples, closed many branch lines across the country, but following the "Beeching Axe" and the growth of the "car economy" in the sixties and seventies, it began to look outdated. Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians. Shooting was largely carried out near Bath, Somerset, on the Camerton branch of the Bristol and North Somerset Railway, along the Cam Brook valley between Camerton and Limpley Stoke. Today, however, the film looks very different in the light of modern concerns about global warming, congestion and the loss of countryside to the motorway network. stanley holloway was pretty damn funny as … Rather hard to find in HD in the wild not living in the UK so you can't exactly buy it digitally off iTunes or pop it in a Blu-ray player if your from any other country. Publication date 1953 Topics Titfield Thunderbolt Language English. Those familiar with the "Carry On" films will recognise Sid James as a steamroller driver.Like two other Ealing comedies, "Whisky Galore" and "Passport to Pimlico", this one deals with the theme of a small, close-knit community taking on the forces of bureaucracy. Audience Reviews for The Titfield Thunderbolt Nov 15, 2007 amusing old english movie about a transport dispute. The fictitious ‘Titfield-Mallingford’ branch line was a seven-mile stretch of track between Limpley Stoke and Camerton. [8] The earlier scene of No. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Interestingly Film Collectors generally have no interest in football but love railway films. John Gregson had never driven a car before making this film. It teaches him how to take advantage of people. After Chesterford refuses to accept a merger offer from them, Crump and Pearce hire Hawkins to help them derail the line's steam locomotive and only passenger car, the night before the line's inspection. One of the things that Attlee's government had done was to nationalise the railways, and the plot of the film revolves around an attempt by the new, nationalised British Railways to close a branch line between the (fictional) towns of Titfield and Mallingford.A group of local people campaign to prevent the railway from being closed, and, when it becomes clear that BR will not listen to local opinion, decide to take over the line and operate it themselves. The Titfield Thunderbolt is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Stanley Holloway, Naunton Wayne, George Relph and John Gregson. When a rival bus company sabotages the newly acquired train prior to an official inspection, the villagers resurrect the line’s first locomotive, Thunderbolt, and, against great odds, obtain permission to keep their line open. Scottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship. The story line is well known of this classic Ealing Comedy. Michael Truman was the producer. Blakeworth, the village's solicitor, is mistakenly arrested for this, despite trying to stop the attempt, while the villagers become disheartened that their line will now close without any rolling stock and a working locomotive. While Weech is helped by Chesterford and retired track layer Dan Taylor in running the train, volunteers from the village help to operate the station. One of the advantages of modelling the Thunderbolt is that, although it's an Era 1 loco, the film is set in Era 4 (ie, the present day at the time of its release). The name "Titfield" is an amalgamation of the villages of Limpsfield and Titsey in Surrey, near Clarke's home at Oxted.[4]. The Titfield Thunderbolt Rapido Trains UK to is delighted to announce The Titfield Thunderbolt models. The play tells the story of a band of enthusiastic amateurs battling to retain their village's railway line despite Government red tape and the rivalry of the dastardly omnibus owner. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Titfield railway station was in reality Monkton Combe railway station, whilst Titfield village was nearby Freshford, with other scenes being shot at the disused Dunkerton Colliery. An American businessman in Scotland is conned into shipping a valuable load of cargo to a Scottish island via a coal powered boat. Search for "The Titfield Thunderbolt" on Amazon.com, Title: Clarke and was inspired by the restoration of the narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway in Wales, the world’s first heritage railway run by volunteers. Residents of a part of London declare independence when they discover an old treaty. Written by The scene featuring Sid James's character's traction engine, and the Squire's attempts to overtake it, was filmed in Carlingcott. [8] Lion is one of the earliest British locomotives, built only nine years after Stephenson's Rocket and running under its own power in the film. The train departs late because the police demand transport to Mallingford for them and the arrested men. Rapido Trains UK is to produce FIVE new 1:76 scale models inspired by The Titfield Thunderbolt. He begins to put the lessons into operation. The Titfield Thunderbolt '[12] Charles Barr in Ealing Studios felt that the film did not identify with audiences who for instance in Passport to Pimlico were yearning for the end of rationing; 'There is no grasp of a living community, or of the relevance of the train to people's daily needs.' The residents of a small English village are about to lose their ancient railroad. The credited driver, fireman and guard were not actors, they were British Railways employees from Westbury depot and were originally to be uncredited extras. They decide to rescue it by running it themselves, in competition with the local bus company. Weech (George Relph) on the footplate passing Monkton Combe. [1], The British Film Institute's Monthly Film Bulletin for April 1953 found the script disconcertingly short on wit, and some of its invention seems forced. The 'locomotive' was a wooden mock-up mounted on a lorry chassis: the rubber tyres can (just) be spotted between the locomotive's driving wheels. (The wild flowers in the hedgerows suggest a date rather later than the June/early July when the story is ostensibly set). '[10], The film has become compared unfavourably with other Ealing comedies. '[11] George Perry in his history of the Ealing Studios, Forever Ealing, pointed out that like Whisky Galore and Passport to Pimlico the film 'adopted the theme of the small group pitted against and universally triumphing over the superior odds of a more powerful opponent.' Image:Titfield Thunderbolt poster.jpg is being used on this article. A film which once seemed like a reactionary fantasy of a Merrie England which never existed now seems far-seeing. By Ealing Studios to Pimlico '' a replacement locomotive is 'stolen ' filmed. Certainly makes the most prophetic the branch had closed to all traffic on February... Become compared unfavourably with other Ealing comedies be available in time to celebrate the 70th anniversary of most. 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