The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)
Directed by Charles Crichton

Film Review

The last of three collaborations between director Charles Crichton and screenwriter T.E.B. Clarke, The Titfield Thunderbolt has fared less well with the passing of time than their previous films - Hue and Cry (1947) and The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) - but it remains a charming piece of whimsy that serves as an ironic elegy to a mythical public spirited England that never was and never could be.  The first Ealing comedy to have been shot in colour, the film makes good use of its leafy rural setting (mostly in verdant Somerset) but lacks the eccentricity and subversive edge that most characterise the classic Ealing comedy.

The film's commentary on changes in post-war British society is curiously muted and more than a little caricatured, although its central theme (the rights of individuals to govern their own affairs in the face of steam-roller opposition from the state and big business) still has a powerful resonance.  A moderate commercial success, the film was inspired by the restoration of the Talyllyn Railway in Wales by a group of dedicated railway enthusiasts in the early 1950.  A colourful cast of likeable British character actors (Naunton Wayne, Sid James, John Gregson), headed by a typically ebullient Stanley Holloway, makes up for the lacklustre script, although the real stars of the film are the steam-driven locomotives, in particular the 1830s museum piece of the film's title, which was apparently built only nine years after George Stephenson's Rocket.  The Titfield Thunderbolt hardly rates as a classic but it makes perfect viewing for a wet weekend afternoon viewing.

Film Synopsis

It is a black day when British Rail announces the closure of an unprofitable branch line connecting the village of Titfield with the town of Mallingford.  Realising how important the line is to preserving the unique character of their village, the local squire Gordon Chesterford and railway enthusiast Reverend Sam Weech resolve to take over the running of the railway line, with the willing support of the villagers.  The wealthy Walter Valentine agrees to provide the necessary capital, providing there is a bar on the train that can serve him his morning tipple.  Not everyone is in favour of the villagers' attempt to save the branch line.  Bus owners Alec Pearce and Vernon Crump stand to profit from the line's closure and decide to indulge in a spot of sabotage, just before the trial inspection by the Ministry of Transport...