User reviews

This is a comedy with many of the traditional Ealing attributes - whimsy, cheerfulness, small-versus-big storyline - but it has aged far better than many of its sister titles from Ealing. This is because the film was made in rural England just before it changed forever. It features beautiful locations (around Bath in Somerset) and a stereotypical village of characters which must have seemed very normal in 1953, but which hardly exist today. I have seen this film many many times, but I have never got bored by it. It has taken on a new power over the last twenty years and it has undoubtedly grown in popularity. Why? It is a portrait of a lost world, where people greeted each other in the street, where trains ran (on time) through villages, where cars did not rule every road. The Titfield Thunderbolt, of all films, predicted back in 1953 what would happen if we got rid of our railways - and look how tragically it has been proved right. Watch this film as a window on that lost world, but don't forget to laugh! It is a great little comedy: fast paced, energetically acted, beautifully shot by Douglas Slocombe and directed with brio by Charles Crichton. Recommended to all.

For what it's worth, here are my top 8 Ealing Comedies. Pole position was easy, thereafter was hard:

1) Kind Hearts and Coronets 2) The Lavender Hill Mob 3) Whisky Galore 4) The Titfield Thunderbolt 5) The Man in the White Suit 6) The Ladykillers 7) Passport to Pimlico 8) Hue and Cry

The Ealing comedies have never looked as wonderful as in 'The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953),' the first from the studio to be filmed in Technicolor. Cinematographer Douglas Slocombe captures the sheer magnificence of the British countryside, every frame alive with the vibrant colours of the hills, the trees and the skies. The film was directed by Charles Crichton, who had earlier achieved success with 'The Lavender Hill Mob (1951),' and was penned by T.E.B. Clarke, who also wrote the outrageously whimsical 'Passport to Pimlico (1949),' encapsulating the wit and optimism of the British sense of humour in a way that typifies why such classic comedy gems are still treasured more than fifty years later. The story was inspired by real events, when local volunteers restored and operated the narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway in Wales.

The residents of the small village of Titfield rely daily on trains to commute to work each day; so much so that the steam locomotive has become an icon of the town. However, when British Rail announces the intended closure of the service, the villagers are understandably devastated, and one resident, railway enthusiast Vicar Sam Weech (George Relph), decides to purchase the line and run it locally. Employing the funding of the wealthy and amiably-drunken Walter Valentine (Stanley Holloway), who is easily persuaded by the promise of an early-morning bar on the train, Sam and the other enthusiastic villagers convince the Ministry of Transport to offer them a one month trial, at the end of which their ability to run a train service will be determined. The only two men in town who don't approve of this daring venture are Pearce and Crump (Ewan Roberts and Jack MacGowran), the owners of a bus service, who plan to gain from the closure of the train service, and will try anything to prevent it from running again.

'The Titfield Thunderbolt' shares many of its themes with a lot of the other Ealing comedies, most namely the notion of a small community taking on the "Big Guys" {also found in 'Passport to Pimlico' and 'Whisky Galore!'} and the potentially destructive forces of industrial progress {see also 'The Man in the White Suit (1951)'}. The acting is fun and light-hearted, and each of the characters possesses their own eccentricities, which makes them all equally enjoyable to watch. Considering its nature as a comedy, I was surprised to find that the film has some genuine moments of suspense, scenes that would not have seemed out-of-place in a Hitchcock film. I found myself gripping the seat in the sequence where the train passengers must disembark to collect water for the heating engine (after the water-tank is cunningly sabotaged), and also where the weak coupling between the engine and the carriage threatens to snap. The frequent use of rear-projection, which is relatively effective throughout the film, also reminded me of the Master of Suspense. It's an interesting comparison, I think.

As THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT started, I was surprised to see that it was in colour - a first for the Ealing studio. It soon becomes apparent that story-wise this is very similar to the likes of PASSPORT TO PIMLICO, in showing the efforts of a small community in coming together and fighting back against government bureaucracy. The different is that the city confines of PIMLICO are swapped for something altogether more bucolic.

The story - about the privatisation of a railway line - is slight stuff and really an excuse for lots of larking about with trains, steam engines, buses, and the like. It's a little like THE RAILWAY CHILDREN in that respect. As is usual for an Ealing film, the cast is packed with celebrated character actors including the likes of Sid James, Naunton Wayne, Stanley Holloway, and a youthful Hugh Griffith. The humour is full of warmth and flows naturally, and the wit is evident in the sheer level of care taken with both script and production.

If you havn't watched this delightful piece of fun, just sit back and enjoy the ride. It's a great film. If you don't like railway locomotives, don't worry, there's so much more to it all than that. The story is a touch daft but very likeable, the characters are much the same as the story in that respect.The scenery is utterly gorgeous and the trains and buses take on a charming human aspect that makes this a kind of prototype, live-action THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE ! The comedy is typical of the Ealing studios at their very best.It's subtle, it's warm, it's wry and it's ironic.The script allows for suitably eccentric characterisation while remaining very British and amusingly restrained. However the premise of a village about to be cut off from it's railway lifeline is only too real. This film actually forecast the dreadfull effects of the Beeching railway massacre a decade later in Britain. Then, a whole century of incredible development in public transport was literally wiped out at the whim of the infamous government hit-man, Dr Beeching. A notorious character who slashed away the infrastructure so carefully created by men of vision as a sop to political morons unable to see beyond the bottom line of a balence sheet. At the time THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT was filmed the full effects of line closures on rural hamlets was still some way in the future and perhaps now, in hindsight,having seen the truth of it all, the film gains an ironic and touching element that it probably never had on release. I have heard that the film has only gained it's cult status in later years, and didn't actually do that well at the box office when released. Perhaps the story simply rings more truly now than it did then, or maybe it's simply the glorious look of rural 1950s England that has increased it's appeal over the decades? The central concept of the entire village pulling together - and paying - to keep the line open by running it themselves is sadly one quite alien to the rural England of the 21st century.Todays villages are part holiday-haven, part dormitary. The people who live their often can't find work nearby and many of the houses remain empty much of the time, used only as holiday cottages. The spirit of togetherness seen in the mythical Titfield has ebbed very quickly in the decades since the movie was made. I know, I have lived all my life in an area that suffered badly from 1960s railway-destruction! Back in the 1950s one could almost imagine the village spirit seen in the film, a peacetime spirit-of-the-blitz in fact. But not now. That adds yet more layers of whistful whimsy to the story, more concentration to the serious shot of nostalgea it supplies. Forget the petrol rationing and hardships of real life at the time,watch this film and you can't help wanting to live there! Charles Crighton's loving direction certainly makes the most of the rural locations in South Western England.Little vignettes of white horses frolicking if the fields and chaotic country stations suddenly taken over by runaway livestock give a honey tinted picture postcard vision of the English countryside. Pre-supermarkets and road-humps a more perfect place is hard to imagine. It's almost a visual cliche and yet I know the actual locations still exist today and look very much the same. There is still a railway running through the valley and a canal that still carries boats.Maybe the picture postcard is not quite so unbelievable as it might seem? Say what you like about the film from a technicians or drama critics point of view, it's simply wonderfull to sit through as a human being. Enjoy.

If taken as it was intended to be, this film is a charming and gentle comedy. A simple tale of village folk pulling together to prevent the closure of their railway service and preserve their way of life. A film made all the more enjoyable by the photography (and even sound), which captures an idyllic English countryside during what appears to be a perfect summer. However, watching it in early 2003, the film has unwittingly acquired deeper meanings. Not only does it pre-empt the fate that was to befall many local railways in England. But it also goes some way to portraying an England and its way of life that no longer exists. By this I not only refer to the pace of life that inevitably increases over the years, but also the community spirit of everyone pulling together for the common good. So watch this one afternoon and be charmed. To make it more interesting (and this is speaking as a 31 year old who grew up in a village where the railway had been removed a few years before I was born)take an opportunity to watch with older family members. Just make allowances for the wearing of some rose-tinted specs.

One of the lesser Ealing Studios comedies of the 50s that are fondly looked upon today as the quaint legacy of a bygone age, The Titfield Thunderbolt shares many of the characteristics of its more celebrated peers (Passport to Pimlico, etc) – especially in its story of everyday folk rallying against a dictatorial bureaucracy (in this case, British Rail, who close down the village's railway line) – without quite attaining their sublime heights. The reason is probably down to T.E.B. Clarke's script, which, relying as it does on comedy stereotypes that date all the way back to silent days, is disappointingly sketchy. We have the saintly vicar, the rascally poacher, the booze-loving lord, etc none of whom have any real back story to speak of. John Gregson is the notional male lead, but has very little to do, and is given no love interest, and so can't help but come across as bland.

And yet, despite all this, the film has charms that make spending an hour in its company not unpleasant. It has that aura of a gentler time now lost to us – and which, in all likelihood, never really existed – and seeing the familiar faces of Gregson, Sid James, Hugh Griffiths, Stanley Holloway and Naunton Wayne is always a pleasure. Funniest moments for me have to be the drunken joyride in a stolen train enjoyed by Holloway and Griffith through the streets of the sleeping village, and the site of dear old Edie Martin trying to get a train's furnace going by covering its hatch with a tea towel.

The first Ealing Comedy to be shot in colour which is very fitting as the film is set in the verdant English countryside of the early 50's. A gentle comedy celebrating the spirit of community in a small village, the plot actually anticipates the swingeing cuts by Lord Beeching some ten years later which did indeed see the closure of several small rural stations and rail routes the length of the country to the chagrin of many a train lover not to say train passenger of the day, a case almost of life imitating art.

And so the motley inhabitants of little Titfield, in response to news of the impending closure of their station, determine to convince the inspector of the Railway Board of the importance and profitability of their rail service to the public. Also railed (sorry!) against them is the boss of a local coach firm who stands to benefit if the railway is mothballed and who isn't above pulling some dirty tricks to get his own way.

I found the humour gentle and amusing, the best topical line being when one local cracks "If we make a profit, no doubt they'll nationalise us" although maybe the movie, like the train, was a little stop-start on its narrative journey plus I didn't like every village eccentric on show, especially Hugh Griffiths in another boozy turn, but it was lifted by the likes of Stanley Holloway, John Gregson and the young Sid James in an early role and, directed brightly and briskly by studio regular Charles Crichton, it came in on time and was on the whole a pleasurable trip to the country.

As you may gather from my signature i have railways in my blood,so it is practically inevitable that i love this movie.However it is more than a simple comedy about a village trying to save its railway branch line,though that would be good enough.It is also a picture of a time when a way of life was about to disappear with the railways,a time when people had good manners and treated each other with respect.A time also when to love your country didn"t open you to the charge of xenophobia.The cast are just fabulous with Hugh Griffith as Dan being the funniest,and a youngish Sid James [who always looked 55] before his Carry On heyday!The star is the countryside in beautiful Technicolour and funnily enough my favourite scene is a minor one; its where a girl in a summer dress is running down a hill to see the "Thunderbolt" go past! Now some good news; a couple of years ago i set out to walk the Limpley Stoke-Camerton line where the line was filmed,and was amazed to find how much was unchanged.Apart from the missing track,the cricket field [with the road viaduct behind] was exactly the same and at Monkton Combe [Titfield] the huge iron gateposts are still there.Anyone wanting to do the same should alight at Freshford station near Bath,walk through the lovely village past "Mr Valentines House" then to Limpley Stoke Station and follow the line from there.Like the film you"ll love it!

The Titfield Thunderbolt is one of the last among the famous comedies made by the Ealing Studios under the command of Sir Michael Balcon. It is as charming as the best of them, and as absurd as the best of them, but not as funny, the presence of a great cast of British comedians notwithstanding. The trouble was that, for the first time, the absurdity of the situation was not made believable. Writing, direction and acting were too self-conscious. Perhaps Alec Guinness was missing. Anyhow, the leitmotiv of Ealing: the small winning their wars against the big, was exquisitely portrayed, the Technicolor cinematography was a delight and the picture highly entertaining. It was always better an Ealing comedy from the second drawer than no Ealing comedy at all, or a first drawer comedy from any other provider.

It's almost impossible for me to write a review of substance for The Titfield Thunderbolt, such is the love and unadulterated joy I have had with it for nigh on 40 years now. It was one of those magical moments in childhood when me, an obvious train set owner, caught this colourful (it was Ealing Studios first colour film) picture and took it all in like it was magic in a box. Of course back then I had no idea about the thematics of the picture, I just loved the train and the quirky characters that were making me laugh. But now here in a more modern age the film holds up better than most of its Ealing contemporaries, those themes back in the day are a reality. Villages are desperately clinging onto their identities, money mad conglomerates think nothing of heritage and the voice of the common man. And worst of all, the community spirit, the "tho shall not pass us" mentality has gone and in its place is fear and sadness.

Aye, I wonder if T.E.B. Clarke had any idea when he sat down to write The Titfield Thunderbolt, that he was not just writing a quaint story about villagers rising up to save their own Branch Line Railway. But that it would also be a freeze frame of a golden age in Britain, a snap-shot of a transport industry that was still 10 years away from being torn apart. I love The Titfield Thunderbolt like a family member, I really do. I can watch it now and it takes me away from this big old world that has gotten itself in one big hurry and strife. I laugh, I even weep tears of joy and I even get angry at the villains in the piece. It's the power of cinema in its truest form when a little village, a small train and some plucky courage in the rolling countryside can instill such emotions in a human being. 10/10

Shot in Technicolor - still rather unusual for Ealing Studios - THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT returns to a familiar theme explored in earlier movies such as WHISKY GALORE! (1949) in which a tight-knit community triumphs over bureaucracy. In the earlier film the subject was Scotch whisky; in this film the focus of contention is the proposed closure of a rural branch line linking the small village of Titfield to a main junction. Not many commuters actually make use of it; but the line as a whole symbolizes a tradition which, for the villagers at least, should not be discontinued. If it were to close, then Titfield would be overrun with traffic instead.

Led by enterprising businessperson John Gregson, and supported by vicar George Relph and dipsomaniac landed gentleman Stanley Holloway, the village challenges the Ministry of Transport. Inevitably there are those who oppose their initiative, especially bus-owner Alec Pearce (Ewan Roberts) and his snake-like sidekick Crump (Jack MacGowran). Despite their best efforts to sabotage the railway, aided by disgruntled steamroller driver Hawkins (Sidney James), the line is saved, even though the locomotive pulling the train is the eponymous Titfield Thunderbolt, a late nineteenth century "Puffing Billy" with a maximum speed of twenty-five miles per hour.

Director Charles Crichton makes us aware that this is a wish- fulfillment film - at the end we see a shiny new steam locomotive pulling several coaches, an emblem of the present (and the future) of Britain's now-nationalized railway network. From now on locos like the Titfield Thunderbolt will be operated by groups of enthusiasts for tourism purposes (as is still the case today in many parts of the country).

Nonetheless the film remains an enjoyable experience to watch, notably for its evocation of an unchanging pastoral world (cinematography by Douglas Slocombe) and a clutch of memorable characterizations, including Naunton Wayne as a city lawyer who cannot make up his mind whether to support or oppose those wanting to keep the line open. In one memorable sequence he wakes up in the middle of the night with a start, convinced that he heard something untoward happening. He looks round and then goes to sleep with a terribly worried look on his face, as if feeling that he has not done his duty. However his fears are dispelled later on in the film, when Holloway tells him that he has done good work in helping the Ministry of Transport inspector to give a favorable report on the line. Wayne looks to the left of the camera and his features break into a big smile - perhaps for the first time, he understands that he has been of some use to his community.

Like most Ealing comedies, the action of THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT unfolds at a brisk pace, covering up the screenplay's basic logical implausibilities (why would the Ministry keep such an archaic branch line open anyway?). The film remains a pleasant experience to watch.

This was one of only two Ealing comedies to be made in colour, the other being "The Ladykillers" from two years later. Although railways play an important part in both, the two films are very different. "The Ladykillers" is an urban black comedy which was made in dull, muted colours but could equally well have been made in black and white. "The Titfield Thunderbolt", by contrast, is the sort of film that needs to be in colour. It is a joyful comedy, celebrating English rural life, and was shot against the background of beautiful, verdant West Country landscapes in late summer. (The wild flowers in the hedgerows suggest a date rather later than the June/early July when the story is ostensibly set). Appropriately for a film which opened in Coronation year, it has a notably patriotic tone.

The theory has been put forward that the Ealing comedies were intended as satires on "Attlee's Britain", the Britain which had come into being after the Labour victory in the 1945 general election. Although Churchill's Conservatives had returned to power by the time "The Titfield Thunderbolt" was made in 1953, I think that the theory still applies to it because the new government accepted many of the reforms made by its predecessor and did not attempt to reverse them. 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 leading lights in this campaign are the local Squire, whose great-grandfather originally built the line, and the eccentric local Vicar, who also acts as engine-driver. (A rascally local poacher is his fireman). The money for the enterprise is provided by a wealthy and hard-drinking landowner, Mr Valentine, whose main motivation is the idea that he can get a drink whenever he wants one. (In the 1950s the law imposed stringent closing-times on licensed premises, but licensing hours did not apply to bars on trains). The best performances come from Stanley Holloway (who also had important roles in "Passport to Pimlico" and "The Lavender Hill Mob") as Valentine, George Relph as the Vicar and Hugh Griffith as Dan the poacher. 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. The film's satire, however, is not directed just at the bureaucrats of British Rail and the Ministry of Transport. As in "The Man in the White Suit" there are also satirical digs at the trade unions, portrayed as being more concerned with their own narrow interest than with the wider public good, and at business. The local bus company welcome the closure of the railway, which they see as an opportunity to increase their own profits. Much of the humour in the film derives from the bus company's increasingly frantic efforts to sabotage the railway, and the attempts of the railway enthusiasts to fight back. After their only steam engine is put out of action, they decide that the only way of keeping the railway in operation is to steal a veteran locomotive (the "Thunderbolt" of the title) from the local museum.

"The Titfield Thunderbolt" was, at one time, often regarded as one of the weaker Ealing comedies. 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. Enthusiasm for steam trains was seen as mere sentimental nostalgia. 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. There is a growing desire for local, community-based solutions to local problems. A film which once seemed like a reactionary fantasy of a Merrie England which never existed now seems far-seeing. Contrary to what Beeching and Marples might have thought, public transport, including the railways, still has an important part to play in the twenty-first century. "The Titfield Thunderbolt" is not just one of the most amusing of the Ealing series. It might also turn out to be one of the most prophetic. 9/10

For my money this is the best and funniest of all the 'Ealing Comedies', it is so quintessentially post war British that it could not have been made by any other than Ealing Studios. The plot is simple - British Railways decide to close a local branch line and a group of villagers led by the local squire and vicar battle government red tape and the local bus company to run their own railway, eventually using an ancient locomotive (Thunderbolt) from the museum to pull their train. The character acting is superb as is the beautifully photographed scenery, but what makes this film stand by itself is that it does not rely on sex and violence (well only hammed up - such as the unforgettable joust between a railway locomotive and Sid James's steam roller)and no bad language. It is a reminder of a long departed much simpler and more idealistic age where its message of right would eventually overcome wrong, was almost believable. It is a very gentle film, an innocent film, and despite its age still manages to deliver a feel good factor of 10/10.

"The Titfield Thunderbolt" is about a village community that does not accept the closing down of the local train service. They decide to operate the train by themselves. For this they need a savety license. Their own amateurism and the resistance of a bus company smelling a monopoly are their main enemies in getting this license.

"The Titfield Thunderbolt" is typical Ealing, but it is not their best comedy. Films such as "Kind hearts and coronets" (1949, Robert Hamer) and "The ladykillers" (1955, Alexander Mackendrick) are clearly superior. Neither is the film the best one of director Charles Crichton, who made also "The Lavender Hill mob" (1951).

Typical Ealing is the porochial approacht, but this can be taken too far and then becomes old fashioned. Compared with the above mentioned titles "The Titfield Thunderbolt" is too well behaved and desperately in need of a spicy ellement.

"The Titfield Thunderbolt" will certainly be to the taste of lovers of '50s nostalgia. It has however also more recent connotations from the 21st century. The sympathy for initiatives by citizens themselves and the resistance against (the local influence) of decisions taken in far away headquarters has been on the rise since the financial crisis of 2008 and the decline of the neo liberal ideas.

It was many years ago that I saw the film as a youngster when the first time my old school ever let us out on a day trip. I don't love the whimsy or the humour but love the trains. It is so well done that most on locations and it looks good even now, especially the colour. I had forgotten that Jack MacGowran was in it with the wonderful coach and of course in many films including his Polanski ones with Cul-de-Sac and The Fearless Vampire Killers and then The Exorcist the year he died. It was also good to see Sid James who had a decent part for one of his early films. I loved the trains especially the famous, Lion, but It is the steam I really remember and it looked so good.

I'll tell you- when you finished seeing an Ealing comedy, you walked out of there with a little spring in your step. This one is a tale of the lovely English village of Titfield, and its close-knit residents who are suddenly faced with losing a piece of their history. The distant authorities have planned the imminent abandonment of their historic branch-line railway, which had been built by a forefather of the village rector. The community protests, but the die seems to have been cast, and the clash of wills intensifies. The "Thunderbolt" of the title is the railway's original locomotive, which is eventually pulled from its graceful museum retirement, fired up, and pressed back into service by the desperate villagers. Heady material, indeed. Now, this could have been a cardboard, slapstick farce.... but Ealing always did things right. We feel the residents' deep sense of impending community loss as they work together against time to stave off the forces of apathy and of mercenary gain aligned against them. That means, of course, we'll be sharing their final trump over all the bad guys and naysayers. (Come on, you knew they'd win.) Are there really places like Titfield out there? (Or Bedford Falls, or the other stick-together hometowns that Frank Capra would tell us of?) At least we can all become honorary citizens for an hour or two. And I've revisited Titfield many times. Highly recommended to all.

This delightful comedy would be a joy in black-and-white. In Technicolor it's a real treat. The vividly English landscapes are used imaginatively to augment the appeal of the trains themselves. Color is drawn upon inventively to set the moods for various scenes and to cast a wonderful spell of romance, of firmly delineated villains and purest-motived heroes in a classic tale of St George versus the dragon.

T.E.B. Clarke's wittily observed, richly characterized script offers a wonderfully unlikely St George in the local vicar. His squire is the young squire himself, his champion a friendly bishop. The dragons are the local bus proprietors. Very fitting. I love trains, hate buses. Any movie that toes this line is going to get 100% of my vote anyway.

But, additionally, the acting here is so winning, so endearing, so priceless. Not a single player is out of step. All have their opportunities — even Naunton Wayne (in a more or less straight role) and Sid James (as a heavy) — and all make the most of them. It's good to see George Relph (a noted actor on stage, Relph made only 14 movies between 1916 and 1959) in the leading role, though Stanley Holloway's fans may be a bit disappointed to find his contribution is comparatively small and lines up as more of a character part than that of a clown. Nonetheless, he does make the most of some delightfully amusing lines and bits of business and does share some glorious moments of inspired slapstick with Hugh Griffith (even if topped by Wensley Pithey's breathless recital of their collective misdemeanors).

Producer Michael Truman and director Charles Crichton have obviously made a considerable effort to cast Clarke's wonderful parade of village types with just the right players. Gabrielle Brune, hardly a household name (she made only 21 films between 1930 and 1972, mostly in very small roles) seems ideal as the local hostelry's sympathetic barmaid. Similarly, television actor John Rudling (who made only five films of which this is the third), delivers some of the script's most telling lines with exactly the right tone of brusque officiousness. Of course, people like Reginald Beckwith as the stumped union man and Michael Trubshawe as the "I was about to add" public servant play much their usual characters. But they do it so well and with such precision, who's complaining? Crichton's direction rates as beautifully paced and deftly assured as ever, whilst Slocombe's wondrous photography comes over so pleasingly you really need to see the movie three or four times to appreciate its richness. Auric's score is a crowd-pleaser too, whilst Seth Holt's editing seems as polished as spun gold.

Produced on an admirably lavish budget, The Titfield Thunderbolt can be summed up as one of the most brilliant, enduring gems of British comedy. A must for train buffs of course. But equally a superb entertainment for all of us who like to see individuals win against bureaucracy, underdogs defeat "progress".

Charming and quaint are words often associated with Ealing Comedies as well as having a streak of anti-establishment.

During the days of the nationalisation of the railways this is a film of a romantic bygone age but its less successful more known for its nostalgia than substance.

Some of the locals with the financial help from the squire who has been promised early morning booze on the train rally around to take over the local branch line which is being closed down by British Rail.

The local bus company is none too pleased and plotting to derail the project.

With all the skullduggery, some of the villagers try to convince the government inspector that the branch line should be run permanently by them.

There are times the locals appear from nowhere to keep the locomotive going but given Naunton Wayne the town clerk discovers that the bus company have been up to no good he does little to grass them up to the government inspector.

Its sporadic fun with enough local colour such as the enthusiastic vicar, the poaching engine stoker, boozy squire but the script never catches speed.

If you are, like myself, a fervent anglophile and a terminal railway enthusiast, 'Titfield Thunderbolt' is the film you've spent your whole life seeking for in vain. That charming tale of a village's fight to keep its railway line active celebrates British countryside, trains and traditional values in a quite irresistible way, enhanced by a great cast and a superb technicolor. Despite being not among best-ranked Ealing comedies, 'Titfield Thunderbolt' still is a great feel-good movie, one you're glad to see on rainy or spleen days.

The Titfield Thunderbolt is not Ealing Studios' best work, nor does it try to be. It is essentially a charming and entertaining film that does let off a warm glow. Yes, even if the tone is patronising occasionally and some of the characterisations a tad sketchy, the story while on the slight side is always entertaining with enough charm to suffice. The cinematography, scenery, costumes and especially the trains are a delight to look at as well, and Georges Auric's score is jaunty and memorable. The satire in general entertains, the script has its quotable parts, the film is very well directed and the film moves along briskly. The performances are also polished with Stanley Holloway especially shining in the lead. Overall, even if the studio were starting to run out of steam, The Titfield Thunderbolt still makes for pleasurable viewing. 8/10 Bethany Cox

At the time of it's release in 1953, as one of the last of the well loved genre of Ealing comedies, The Titfield Thunderbolt was considered one of the weaker Ealing films. Time has treated the film well, and this picture of a lost England is now among the treasured possessions of the British Film industry on a par with many of it's more famous stalemates such as Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Lavender Hill Mob. The film tells the story of a village railway line threatened with closure and taken over by the villagers, a classic David and Goliath story so loved by English filmmakers. It has a strong cast headed by Stanley Holloway as the village entrepreneur, John Gregson as the village squire and George Relph as the vicar, with superb supporting performances from Hugh Griffith, Naunton Wayne, Sidney James and Godfrey Tearle. With a sharp script by TEB `Tibby' Clarke and superbly well paced direction from Charles Crichton which does not flag, or let up for one minute. It contains some excellent set pieces such as drunkards Holloway and Griffith stealing a steam engine, the duel between James on a steamroller and a locomotive and the public bar scene with the `villains' mirroring a western film showing in the background. There are also some superb one liners, Relph questioning the faith of men in Canterbury in failing to keep open an amateur railway and the realisation and horror of discovering that the privatised railway is making a profit and could be in danger of being nationalised again. All in all, an excellent portrayal of a long lost rural England where life centred around the village pub, village church and the village squire, an England where the Englishman could indulge his passion for railways.