The Runaway Bus

The Runaway Bus
Petula Clark and Frankie Howerd in The Runaway Bus
Directed by	Val Guest
Written by	Val Guest
Starring	Frankie Howerd Margaret Rutherford Petula Clark
Music by	Ronald Binge
Cinematography	Stanley Pavey
Editing by	Douglas Myers
Studio	Southall Studios
Release date(s)	16 February 1954
Running time	78 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Runaway Bus is a 1954 British comedy film produced, written, and directed by Val Guest. It stars Frankie Howerd, Margaret Rutherford and Petula Clark.

Plot

Heavy fog wreaks havoc among air travelers throughout England. When outspoken Cynthia Beeston (a forceful proponent of "Positive Thought" played by Margaret Rutherford) insists on being taken from London Airport to Blackbushe Airport, where she might be able to fly to Dublin, harassed airline employees find emergency relief coach 13 and reserve driver Percy Lamb (so hapless he cannot find his way around the airport, much less the roads; played by Frankie Howerd) to transport her, mild-mannered Henry Waterman (Toke Townley), pulp-thriller addict Janie Grey (Belinda Lee) and Ernest Schroeder (George Coulouris). To satisfy a regulation, stewardess "Nikki" Nicholls (Petula Clark) is assigned to shepherd them. Rounding out the party is airline first officer Peter Jones (Terence Alexander), who hitches a ride. Unbeknownst to most of them, robbers have stolen £200,000 worth of gold bullion from the airport bonded store and hidden the proceeds in the boot of the coach.

Two of the crooks are caught; under questioning by Inspector Henley (John Horsley), one breaks down and admits the gold was stowed on the coach and that the mysterious and notorious "Banker" is the mastermind. Henley informs Percy by radio, but the fog is so thick, Percy has no idea where he is. In mid-call, Peter pokes what feels like a gun into Percy's back and tells him to keep driving. They wind up at a deserted booby-trapped village used by the Army for training.

When Schroeder finds a Sten gun, Peter grabs it. Schroeder then informs him that it does not work, and produces a pistol of his own. After a scuffle, it turns out that Peter is working for airport security, while Schroeder is a policeman. Miss Beeston - the Banker - ends up with the gun, and her henchman Henry tries to start the coach. Percy saves the day, having removed the rotor from the engine, and knocking the pistol out of Miss Beeston's hand with a stone.

Background and production

Val Guest had first met Frankie Howerd backstage in his dressing room at the London Palladium where Howerd was topping the bill in a long running variety show. Guest says that Howerd was reluctant at first to make a film - "Films? Oho, that's a dangerous game. Get your name up there outside a cinema and if they don't go in its all your fault! Thank you but no thank you!"^{[citation needed]} Howerd finally agreed, but made three demands. Firstly, Guest had to write a comedy-thriller, so that if the comedy part didn't work, the thriller part might. Second, he didn't want his name first above the title. And finally, he wanted his favourite comedy actress Margaret Rutherford to be in it.

Cast

• Frankie Howerd as Percy Lamb
• Petula Clark as Lee "Nikki" Nichols
• Margaret Rutherford as Cynthia Beeston
• George Coulouris as Ernest Shroeder
• Toke Townley as Henry Waterman
• Terence Alexander as Peter Jones
• Belinda Lee as Janie Grey
• John Horsley as Inspector Henley
• Anthony Oliver as Duty official
• Stringer Davis as Transport officer
• Michael Gwynn as Transport dispatcher
• Reginald Beckwith as Telephone man
• Marianne Stone as Travel girl
• Lionel Murton as American traveller
• Lisa Gastoni as Receptionist (as Liza Gastone)
• Richard Beynon as Transport officer
• Sam Kydd as Airport security officer
• Cyril Conway as 1st crook
• Arthur Lovegrove as 2nd crook
• Alastair Hunter as Detective Spencer

External links

• The Runaway Bus at the Internet Movie Database