The Titfield Thunderbolt
| The Titfield Thunderbolt | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Charles Crichton |
| Produced by | Michael Truman |
| Written by | T.E.B. Clarke |
| Starring | Stanley Holloway George Relph Naunton Wayne John Gregson Hugh Griffith Gabrielle Brune Sid James |
| Music by | Georges Auric |
| Cinematography | Douglas Slocombe |
| Editing by | Seth Holt |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors (UK) Universal (USA) |
| Release date(s) | March 1953 |
| Running time | 84 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Titfield Thunderbolt is a 1953 British comedy film about a group of villagers trying to prevent British Railways from closing the fictional Titfield branch line. The film was written by T.E.B. Clarke and was inspired by the restoration of the narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway in Wales, the world's first heritage railway run by volunteers.
It starred Stanley Holloway, George Relph and John Gregson, and was directed by Charles Crichton. Michael Truman was the producer. The film was produced by Ealing Studios. It was the first Ealing comedy shot in Technicolor and one of the first colour comedies made in the UK.
There was considerable inspiration from the book Railway Adventure by established railway book author L. T. C. Rolt, published in 1952. Rolt had acted as honorary manager for the volunteer enthusiasts running the Talyllyn Railway for the two years 1951-2. A number of scenes in the film, such as the emergency re-supply of water to the locomotive by buckets from an adjacent stream, or passengers being asked to assist in pushing the carriages, were taken from this book.
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[edit] Plot
The residents of the rural village of Titfield rely on the railway branch line to commute to work and transport their produce to market. So they are shocked when the government announces that the line is to be closed. Particularly hard hit is railway enthusiast Vicar Sam Weech (George Relph); he comes up with the idea to run it locally. He and Squire Gordon Chesterford (John Gregson) persuade wealthy Walter Valentine (Stanley Holloway) to provide the financial backing by telling him they can legally operate a bar while the train is running – he will not have to wait all morning for the local pub to open.
The branch line supporters are bitterly opposed by bus operators Alec Pearce (Ewan Roberts) and Vernon Crump (Jack MacGowran), but, with the help of the town clerk George Blakeworth (Naunton Wayne), the supporters persuade the Ministry of Transport to grant them a month's trial period, with an inspection at the end of the trial. Retired railwayman Dan Taylor (Hugh Griffith) joins the venture.
On the maiden run, Crump and Pearce try to block a crossing, first with their lorry and then with a passing steam roller operated by Harry Hawkins (Sid James), but the steam locomotive (GWR 1401) is too powerful and pushes them off the track. The next day, Crump and Pearce persuade an irate Hawkins to shoot holes in the water tower, but the passengers form a bucket brigade and refill the engine from a nearby stream using buckets from the nearby farm. Crump appears to admit defeat and proposes a merger, but is turned down.
The night before the inspection, Hawkins, Crump and Pearce use the steamroller to tow the unguarded engine and coach down the gradient. The runaway engine runs off the track where the three men have removed a rail. However, with the assistance of Blakeworth, Weech raids the local museum for the antique, but still-working "Thunderbolt" locomotive. They also commandeer Dan Taylor's home (an old railway carriage body), which is hastily strapped to a flat wagon, and they are back in business.
When Valentine and Taylor are arrested after drunkenly trying to "borrow" another engine (driving it off the line and along the road through Mallingford), Weech is left without a fireman. Fortunately, the vicar's friend and fellow railway devotee, Ollie Matthews (Godfrey Tearle), the Bishop of Welchester, is visiting and is hurriedly drafted in to assist. They also have to improvise a means of connecting the engine to the rest of the train.
When the weak coupling fails during a braking test, Thunderbolt carries on by itself. However, several villagers manage to push the carriage to meet up again with the Thunderbolt, with the Ministry inspector (John Rudling) none the wiser. Joan Hampton (Gabrielle Brune) has to promise to marry Hawkins to get him to lend them the chain from his roller's steering mechanism to replace the broken coupling.
The train carries on to Mallingford past crowds of cheering people, and finally reaches its destination nearly ten minutes late. The villagers worry that this will prove their downfall, but it turns out that if they had been just a bit faster, they would have exceeded the speed limit for light railways. Instead, the line passes inspection, clearing the way for the Light Railway Order to be granted.
[edit] Cast
- Stanley Holloway as Walter Valentine
- George Relph as Vicar Sam Weech
- Naunton Wayne as George Blakeworth
- John Gregson as Squire Gordon Chesterford
- Godfrey Tearle as Ollie Matthews, the Bishop of Welchester
- Hugh Griffith as Dan Taylor
- Gabrielle Brune as Joan Hampton
- Sid James as Harry Hawkins
- Reginald Beckwith as Coggett
- Edie Martin as Emily
- Michael Trubshawe as Ruddock
- Jack MacGowran as Vernon Crump
- Ewan Roberts as Alec Pearce
- Herbert C. Walton as Seth
- John Rudling as Clegg
- Nancy O'Neil as Mrs. Blakeworth
- Campbell Singer as Police Sergeant
- Frank Atkinson as Station Sergeant
- Wensley Pithey as A Policeman
Driver Ted Burbidge, fireman Frank Green and guard Harold Alford were not actors: they were British Railways employees from the Westbury depot, provided to operate the train on location. Charles Crichton spoke with them on location and realised they "looked and sounded the part", so they were given speaking roles and duly credited.
Locomotive number 1401 was hired by the producers, along with another of the same type which also had a number 1401 attached. The two were provided on location facing in opposite directions, so the film crew could shoot in any direction with a locomotive always facing forward.
[edit] Production
Shooting was largely carried out near Bath, England, on the recently closed Bristol and North Somerset Railway branch line along the Cam Brook valley between Camerton and Limpley Stoke, formerly part of the Great Western Railway. Titfield station was in reality Monkton Combe station, whilst Titfield village was nearby Freshford, with other scenes being shot at the disused Dunkerton colliery. Mallingford station in the closing scene was Bristol Temple Meads. The opening scene shows Midford Viaduct on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway, where the branch passed under the viaduct. The scene featuring Sid James' character's traction engine, and the Squire's attempts to overtake it, was filmed in Carlingcott.
The Liverpool and Manchester Railway locomotive Lion starred as the Thunderbolt, repainted in a colourful red and green livery to suit the Technicolor cameras. In filming the scene in which the Thunderbolt is "rear-ended" by the uncoupled train, the locomotive's tender sustained some actual damage, which remains visible beneath the buffer beam to this day.
The scene where the Thunderbolt is removed at night from its museum was done with a full-size wooden prop.
It was released first onto VHS in 1998, and then on DVD in 2004.
[edit] The steam roller
The steam roller used was still in commercial service at the time of filming, and was not sold for preservation until some years later. After six years off the road for a full restoration, the roller returned to steam in 2006, and was in action as part of the road-making demonstration at the Great Dorset Steam Fair that year.
[edit] Trivia
- T.E.B. Clarke was a neighbour in East Grinstead of Richard Beeching, then Director of ICI, at the time of writing and filming. Beeching's 1963 report The Re-shaping of British Railways resulted in the closure of many branch lines like the one portrayed in the film.
[edit] External links
- The Titfield Thunderbolt at the Internet Movie Database
- The Titfield Thunderbolt Filming Locations
- http://www.lionlocomotive.org.uk/ LION, an interesting 'Old Locomotive', probably best known as taking a starring part in the film 'Titfield Thunderbolt'
[edit] Further reading
- Fosker, Oliver (2008-11-01). The Titfield Thunderbolt ~ Now & Then. Up Main Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9561041-0-6.
- Castens, Simon (2002-07-22). On the Trail of The Titfield Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt Books. ISBN 0-9538771-0-8.
- Huntley, John (1969). Railways In The Cinema. Ian Allan. pp. 76–79. ISBN 0711001154.
- Mitchell, Vic; Keith Smith (June 1996). Frome to Bristol including the Camerton Branch and the "Titfield Thunderbolt". Middleton Press. ISBN 1-873793-77-4.
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