Despite the artistic and financial constraints of working at Twickenham Studios Bernard Vorhaus was determined to make an entertaining little picture out of this albeit with not the most talented bunch of actors. It's not a classic but it's a really fun watch.
Not unlike FRIDAY 13TH made a couple of years earlier, this 'disaster about to happen' story enlivens its drama by focussing on the individual little stories of the unfortunate passengers, making them real people on this train bound for its final destination. That earlier film was however made by a proper studio, had a proper script, proper actors and of course the ultimate dream girl, gorgeous Jessie Matthews. This however, made with a budget that Gaumont-British would probably spend just on Miss Matthews' tea and biscuits has something special - the amazing Bernard Vorhaus. This director with an array of imaginative camerawork and clever editing, which gets faster and faster with some scenes lasting just a few seconds towards the end, creates a real sense of tension and genuine concern for those passengers whom you've quickly come to know and actually care for. It's a remarkable demonstration of talent.
Like those early Warner Brothers films where every millimetre of expensive celluloid had to be used to tell the story rather than any of that background of mood building nonsense! Vorhaus build's the characters and packs the life stories of about five groups of people into this even before the action starts. It's an impressive achievement and although this type of story has subsequently been done dozens of times better, this is still pretty enjoyable.
This film has a no-nonsense approach but somehow it's also a quite whimsical. It shares that subtle subversive dark humour that was common in a lot of English films from the thirties. For example even as the runaway train is hurtling towards disaster, as it rushes past a group of people waiting on a platform, it blows off someone's toupee which lands on the face of a bemused woman. It is full of little endearing moments like this whilst not detracting from the overall building tension.
Unlike the few 'classics' that Twickenham made, this is really of interest only to those of you who want a little taste of what life might have been like in 1936. If that's you, you might enjoy this.
