Train Of Events
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''Train of Events'' is a 1949 British
portmanteau film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film or a portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of three or more shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme, premise ...
made by
Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...
, directed by Sidney Cole,
Charles Crichton Charles Ainslie Crichton (6 August 1910 – 14 September 1999) was an English film director and film editor, editor. Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he became best known for directing many comedies produced at Ealing Studios and had a 40-yea ...
and
Basil Dearden Basil Dearden (born Basil Clive Dear; 1 January 1911 – 23 March 1971) was an English film director. Early life Dearden was born as Basil Clive Dear at 5 Woodfield Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex to Charles James Dear, a steel manufacturer, and the ...
and starring Jack Warner,
Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia at the age of ten and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudevi ...
and Valerie Hobson. The film premiered on 18 August 1949 at the Gaumont Haymarket in London. In the film, as a train is heading for a crash into a stalled petrol tanker at a level crossing, four different stories are told in flashback.


Plot

A
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
-bound train departs from Euston station in London in the period immediately after World War II. After dark, the train is travelling north at speed when a lantern being waved by the trackside is seen by the driver. He applies the brakes but a road tanker stalled across a
level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...
is looming up just ahead. Plainly, there is not enough room to stop but, just as the collision is about to occur, there is a fade-out succeeded by a view of the locomotive sheds at Euston three days earlier. Personal stories of passengers are then told in flashbacks which make up the "train of events" of the title. The first story, "The Actor", is about Philip who has a dark secret. He has been visited by his estranged wife and we learn that she has been unfaithful while he was in the Army. She jeers at him and he is roused to revenge, strangling her while a gramophone plays '' These Foolish Things''. The theatre party to which he belongs is on the train, en route to Canada. Also on board is a costume hamper containing the body of his wife. He is hoping to get rid of it on the transatlantic crossing but detectives have been tracking him and are on the train. The second story, "The Prisoner-of-War", is about Richard and Ella. He is a prisoner of war on the run who does not wish to return to Germany. They have hitherto endured a miserable secret life in assorted seedy lodgings and Ella is hoping they can start again abroad. However, she has stolen money from her landlady to pay her fare and there is only enough for one of them to emigrate. Selflessly, she intends it be him. The third story, "The Composer", is about composer Raymond Hillary who is travelling to a performance with his star pianist, the temperamental Irina, and other musicians. Although married he has had a string of dalliances, Irina being the latest. The fourth story, "The Engine Driver", is centred on engine driver Jim Hardcastle. He is facing his own crisis: he is a candidate for a management job at the locomotive sheds. Getting the job would take him off the footplate and allow him to work office hours, the heartfelt wish of his wife Emily. However, to cover for his daughter's future husband who was accidentally knocked out when Jim and his mate were trying to stop him resigning, then put into a fish wagon to come round which was hitched to a loco that ends up in Macclesfield, Jim covers for him by working his shift and, if this were to come to light, it could cost him the promotion. The film returns to the train, roaring through the night. Again we see the light by the track and the tanker just ahead, but this time also the collision. The derailed and damaged train lies in ruins. Jim Hardcastle groggily recovers consciousness in a pile of coal from the overturned tender, as shocked passengers wander about. One of them is Richard, but his Ella is badly injured and on a stretcher; she dies before she can be taken away and Richard runs from the scene and the attending police, unaware of the steamship ticket in Ella's handbag, which blows away. Philip seems unhurt and makes a dash for freedom, but as he tries to evade the detectives he runs dangerously close to the wreckage and an unstable coach collapses upon him. Irina and Raymond are only bruised and their music company is able to continue, albeit in bandages. There is a happy ending for driver Jim. The final scene shows him waving goodbye to his wife as he prepares to cycle across to the locomotive sheds on the first day of his new job.


Cast

"The Engine Driver" (directed by Sidney Cole) * Jack Warner as Jim Hardcastle * Gladys Henson as Mrs. Hardcastle *
Susan Shaw Susan Shaw (29 August 192927 November 1978; born Patricia Gwendoline Sloots) was an English actress. Early life Shaw was born Patricia Gwendoline Sloots on 29 August 1929 in West Norwood, London, to Edward John Sloots and Lillian Rose Lewis. S ...
as Doris Hardcastle *
Patric Doonan Patric Doonan (George William Doonan) (18 April 1926 in Derby, Derbyshire – 10 March 1958 in London) was a British stage and screen actor. He was the son of comedian George Vincent Doonan and Doris Mary (Nee Endsor) he was the brother of f ...
as Ron Stacey * Philip Dale as Hardcastle's fireman *
Miles Malleson William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969) was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career, he also appeared in cameo roles ...
as Johnson, the timekeeper *
Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. He appeared in the '' Carry On'' ...
as Stacey's fireman * Percy Walsh as District Superintendent * Will Ambro as Lancashire railwayman "The Prisoner-of-War" (directed by
Basil Dearden Basil Dearden (born Basil Clive Dear; 1 January 1911 – 23 March 1971) was an English film director. Early life Dearden was born as Basil Clive Dear at 5 Woodfield Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex to Charles James Dear, a steel manufacturer, and the ...
) * Joan Dowling as Ella * Laurence Payne as Richard * Olga Lindo as Mrs. Bailey * Denis Webb as clerk at shipping office "The Composer" (directed by
Charles Crichton Charles Ainslie Crichton (6 August 1910 – 14 September 1999) was an English film director and film editor, editor. Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he became best known for directing many comedies produced at Ealing Studios and had a 40-yea ...
) * Valerie Hobson as Stella * John Clements as Raymond Hillary * Irina Baronova as Irina Norozova *
John Gregson Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles. Gregson w ...
as Malcolm Murray-Bruce * Gwen Cherrell as Charmian * Jacqueline Byrne as television announcer * Neil Arden as the compere * Thelma Grigg as the harpist "The Actor" (directed by
Basil Dearden Basil Dearden (born Basil Clive Dear; 1 January 1911 – 23 March 1971) was an English film director. Early life Dearden was born as Basil Clive Dear at 5 Woodfield Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex to Charles James Dear, a steel manufacturer, and the ...
) *
Peter Finch Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch (28 September 191614 January 1977) was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio. Born in London, he emigrated to Australia at the age of ten and was raised in Sydney, where he worked in vaudevi ...
as Philip Mason * Mary Morris as Louise *
Laurence Naismith Laurence Naismith (born Lawrence Johnson; 14 December 1908 – 5 June 1992) was an English actor. He made numerous film and television appearances, including starring roles in the musical films '' Scrooge'' (1970) and the children's ghost fil ...
as Joe Hunt * Doris Yorke as Mrs. Hunt *
Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern (3 October 19112 May 1995) was an English actor. He is best known for his Shakespearean roles, especially King Lear. He often appeared in film, rising from a bit part actor to leading roles; by the time of his death ...
as first plain clothes man * Charles Morgan as second plain clothes man * Mark Dignam as Bolingbroke * Guy Verney as the producer * Philip Ashley as actor *
Bryan Coleman Bryan Coleman (29 January 1911 – 4 July 2005) was a British film actor and television actor. In 1954 he appeared in William Douglas Home's comedy '' The Manor of Northstead'' in the West End. Selected filmography * '' Conquest of the Air'' ...
as actor * Henry Hewitt as actor * Lyndon Brook as actor


Production

Jack Warner was permanently injured while making this film. He had insisted on learning how a steam engine is driven to get his posture right, but slipped on a patch of oil and fell into a locomotive turntable pit and injured his back. As a result, he had a slight limp which remained with him ever afterwards and became noticeably worse as he aged. A quirk of the film is that one of the digits on the smokebox number plate of a locomotive featured in one of the early scenes is painted out (presumably to avoid worrying passengers who might fear that it really would be involved in an accident), but is still clearly readable because the numbers themselves were made from raised metal. The locomotives used in the film included two LMS Class 3F "Jinty" 0-6-0Ts Nos. 47327 and 47675, and
LMS Royal Scot Class The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in e ...
No. 46126 ''Royal Army Service Corps'', though at the time this film was being made, it was in its rebuilt condition from 1943. One of these engines 47327 survives and is based on the
Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...
in Butterley.


Critical reception

''
The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...
'' wrote: "This new 'portmanteau' film from Ealing Studios – stories of three separate groups of people travelling on an express from Euston to Liverpool – is far less successful than their earlier ''
Dead of Night ''Dead of Night'' is a 1945 British supernatural horror anthology film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, and Robert Hamer. It stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers, Sally Ann Howes, and Michael Redgrave. Produ ...
'' 945 The episodes are loosely held together by a fourth story, which presents scenes in the life of an engine driver (Jack Warner), his wife and family, cut-to-pattern semi- Huggett cockneys. Moods are dutifully varied – melodrama of a hysterical young actor who strangles his unfaithful wife, ritzy comedy of a philandering composer-conductor unable to choose between his wife and a concert pianist, tragedy of an orphaned girl in love with an escaped German P.o.W. – but the dialogue and characterisation lack feeling, wit and authenticity. While the comedy sequence is merely a facetious attempt at the sophisticated manner, the other two are novelettes, stagily conceived and handled. Once all the characters are aboard the train, a crash provides the inevitable climax and arbitrary solutions. There are three directors, stiff, bloodless, highly conscientious, their styles indistinguishable except for Dearden's pronounced use of melodramatic angles. One performance, that of Mary Morris as the actor's wife, gives a momentary breath of life to a disappointingly artificial film." ''
Kine Weekly ''Kinematograph Weekly'', popularly known as ''Kine Weekly'', was a trade paper catering to the British film industry between 1889 and 1971. Etymology The word Kinematograph was derived from the Greek ' Kinumai ', (to move, to be in motion, to ...
'' wrote: "Composite melodrama, hinging on a railway crash. It's made up of four complete stories and each, extremely well acted, staged and directed, subtly heightens the other without becoming detached from the main thread. Amusing, moving, heart-warming and thrilling, the veritable library of popular fiction carries wide appeal. ... The magazine type of film is seldom a commercial success, but one of the few exceptions was Ealing's ''Dead of Night.'' This, from the same stable, shapes like another. By skilfully intertwining its four stories it enables comedy, drama and tragedy to travel hand in hand without loss of continuity. Each episode is good of its kind and all, whether serious or satirical, have the popular touch. The direction, like the acting, is uniformly good, but if we had to single out a director for special mention it would be Sidney Cole for his showmanlike handling of the train crash sequences. Of the more intimate scenes, the death of Ella is a little gem. Smart and natural dialogue is another of the film's many conspicuous attributes." ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' said: "The contrivance at best is clumsy, and there are not any inherent virtues in ''Train of Events'' to compensate for the inevitable distraction and division of attention." ''The
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
Guide to Films'' gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "As the night express from Euston to Liverpool is about to career off the rails, the movie also lurches into flashback, showing why various passengers were making the fated journey. There's the engine driver; a philandering orchestra conductor; an actor who's killed his wife; and a girl in love with an escaped German PoW. This portmanteau effort is inevitably uneven, though the cast of stalwarts is worth watching." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Not one of the better British portmanteau films."
Leslie Halliwell Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Fi ...
said: "A rather mechanical entertainment, proficiently made."


References


External links

*
''Train of Events''
a
ReelStreets
{{Michael Balcon 1949 films British anthology films 1949 drama films Films directed by Basil Dearden Films directed by Charles Crichton Rail transport films British drama films Ealing Studios films Films set in London Films with screenplays by Basil Dearden British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films