Review: The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)

[prunesquallor]

Got another Ealing comedy from Netflix, The Titfield Thunderbolt. This one is very much in the pattern of Passport to Pimlico: plucky community of English eccentrics is thrust into an extraordinary situation.

In this case, the local passenger rail is being closed down and some of the inhabitants of the titular town decide to try running it themselves (the nationalization of railroad companies only applying to those in existence at the time the Act was passed, not to any created afterwards - this is loosely based on the actual story of the world's first heritage railway line). Of course they face various obstacles: owners of the local bus line commit intensifying acts of sabotage against them, and they have to pass a safety inspection by the Ministry of Transportation in order to get their permanent license.

In contrast to Passport, which was very loosely plotted, this one is very tightly constructed. Various incidents which I initially thought were digressions actually turned out to be necessary to properly set up the final scenes. Very little fat at all.

Although I've never been bitten by the rail enthusiast bug, the movie was successful in conveying to me what the appeal was for the characters.

Thumbs up to a pleasant little movie.

Tidbits: This was the first Ealing comedy in color (eh, colour), and Stanley Holloway is back, this time as a rich local who invests in the new company and is one of those 'hilarious drunks' you frequently see in older movies. Sigh.