The Railway Children

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN is the most famous film to have been based on a book by the great Victorian author Edith Nesbit, a woman who was equally happy writing ghost stories and stories for children. This 1905-set story see a trio of children with an unhappy background going to live in a run-down house in Yorkshire. They befriend a local station master and most of their adventures are centred around a local railway line and station. The attention to detail is spot on and there's instant nostalgia from the depiction of a long-forgotten world.

Lionel Jeffries was an expert at his craft and this was obviously a labour of love for him, given that he served as both writer and director. And THE RAILWAY CHILDREN is a classic for a reason: it's a pure feel-good film that manages to create a cheerful, joyous atmosphere without ever coming across as twee or schmaltzy. Jenny Agutter and the other children are the focus of the story, but it's Bernard Cribbins as the lovable Perks who really steals all of the scenes in which he appears.

What I particularly liked about this story is that it isn't sugar coated. Injustice, illness, and injury all play a big part here, and it's noticeable how all the best children's films deal with adult themes alongside the kiddie stuff. One scene, involving an injured boy on the line, is more than reminiscent of a public safety film from the 1970s. Overall THE RAILWAY CHILDREN is pure feel-good entertainment and a film it would be tough for anybody to dislike.

...apparently Bernard Cribbins ad libbed nearly all of his lines. If you can sit through the 'Daddy! Oh my daddy" bit without blubbing then you really need to get in touch with your inner child (trust me. I'm a 41 year old bloke).

This almost perfect cinematic rendition of Edith Nesbit's popular children's novel follows the lives of Roberta (Bobbie), Phyllis, and Peter, and their mother, after their father is unfairly accused of treason and sent to prison. They go to live in an almost uninhabitable house in the country which stands near a railway line – mum writes stories to make enough money for food and candles, while the children spend much of their time around the railway station and, specifically, waving to one particular train to 'send their love to father'.

Always an involving and clever novel, the characters are here brought to life under the perceptive direction of Lionel Jeffries (better known as a fine character actor). Jenny Agutter plays Bobbie, while Sally Thomsett and Gary Warren are her sister and brother. Their mother is Dinah Sheridan, while the other memorable characters are played by Bernard Cribbins (Perks the railway-man) and William Mervyn (the old gentleman on the train).

'The Railway Children' is gentle entertainment from another age, but does its job beautifully. As we watch Bobbie grow up with the worries of an absent parent jostling against her own needs both to be alone and to have fun, we can only rejoice when events come together at the close of the picture. Throughout we have a sense of time and place – be it from the steam trains, the university paper chase, or the red flannelette petticoats worn by the girls (and used to avert disaster!).

Other reviewers covered everything great, about this movie. I saw it once, on broadcast TV, even before the advent of video tape,, and always wanted to own it. In the ensuing forty seven years,,, for some reason, it has NEVER been available in America; Region 2 - England - only. The Big Questions is -- WHY?? Why doesn't a multi-national outfit like Amazon, have an American format for this DVD? WHY???

The Railway Children was on TV again this weekend, and I had forgotten how good it was.

If I have a criticism, it is that the episodic structure sometimes shows a little too clearly, there being little narrative flow from sequence to sequence. The charm and beauty of the film are such that this matters very little, however.

I won't revisit the comments of others, other than to add my vote for the final scene on the platform as being possibly the single most emotional scene in the history of British cinema: as a cynical old git passing through middle age rather too quickly I, too, find I cannot even think of that moment without being hit with a severe case of "I've got something in my eye." In fact, it's not just something in my eye, it moves things around inside me, too, with that beautiful happy pain we sometimes feel.

And Jenny Agutter was exquisitely beautiful in this film, standing with one foot in childhood and one in young womanhood, and bringing qualities of both to her portrayal of a girl having to grow up rather too quickly.

Plus a quick plaudit for Bernard Cribbins. Regarded mostly as a lightweight actor, he deftly created a Perks of great humanity.