The Ghost Train

I was so looking forward to settling down to a nice creaky English ghost story. I was very disappointed. There was no reason whatsoever to have the unwarranted intrusion of that so-called comedian Arthur Askey. A previous reviewer indicated that he stole every scene he was in but in actuality he ruined every scene. A big disappointment overall.

As the film goes on, Askey becomes highly annoying. Scenes without him are but a brief respite from his juvenile interruptions. Otherwise an interesting and suspenseful story.

The question of whether or not one likes this film version of "The Ghost Train" invariably depends on one thing and one thing alone: your reaction to the performance of Arthur Askey.

He tends to steal almost every scene he's in, and not always in a good way. Sometimes you wish he'd settle down or back off just a little, to allow the plot's many characters to feature and develop (which they do to some extent). But somehow everything keeps pointing back to Askey's Tommy Gander character.

Personally I like the film, and even like Askey to an extent. I always seem to plonk it into the vcr at those odd hours of the early morning when I can't sleep and really can't find the energy to watch anything else. There is something about watching old b/w movies in the quiet dark of pre-dawn that I find appealing....

This could've been an excellent "ghost story"; however, Arthur Askey's antics in the first 10 mins. of this film tend to ruin the film. (One wishes that they would've been edited out, as they have NOTHING to do with the film!).

Askey (who resembles a cross between Harold Lloyd, Kay Kyser, and Robert Woolsey) might have been funny in his day, but his brand of humor is ofttimes DISMAL by today's standards. On the bright side, it improves when they get to the train station. (His antics with an imaginary "dead body" are humorous at times).

However, the real "meat & potatoes" of this film is the haunted train station, and the legend of the "ghost train" that comes thru on dark nights! One wishes this part of the film would've been much longer.

The "ghost element" makes up for Askey, so see this film if u get a chance!

Curl up with this one on a dark and stormy night and prepare to be alternately amused, irritated and frightened. The creaky old plot about about a phantom train that's said to run through the lonely English countryside at dead of night may be implausible, but it's a lot of fun. There are some wonderful old cliches like "THE ACCIDENT" which the locals can remember but won't talk about. But primarily the movie's a vehicle for comedian Arthur Askey to showcase his particular brand of vaudeville style humour in between the scary bits. Askey's corny humor is not very trendy these days but if you just let it wash over you it can be fun. This is probably the best of Askey's movies.