Titfield Express
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Titfield Express |
| Original title | The Titfield Thunderbolt |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1953 |
| length | 83 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 6 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Charles Crichton |
| script | TEB Clarke |
| production | Michael Truman |
| music | Georges Auric |
| camera | Douglas Slocombe |
| cut | Seth Holt |
| occupation | |
| |
Titfield-Express is a British comedy film, shot in 1952, about some persistent, quirky small-town English who fight with a fighting spirit and a sense of tradition to keep their old-fashioned local railroad going. Directed by Charles Crichton , a Stanley Holloway- led cast will play well-known British supporting actors.
action
The small town of Titfield is in the sleepy part of rural England. People here love their contemplative way of life, detached from the hustle and bustle of the big city, and their traditions, and one of these traditions is now seriously endangered by the modern age in the form of superordinate authority arbitrariness: Since it is no longer worthwhile, a branch line of the railway through the sparsely populated nowhere To lead southern England, it has been decided to shut down the same. But then one did not expect the resistance of the Titfielder! They do think that the “Titfield Express”, as the tourist train is called in all seriousness, shows its daily benefits, as it brings one or the other passenger to his workplace and enables the region's vegetables and fruit to be delivered in good time the market. The local man of God, Vicar Sam Weech, is an enthusiastic train friend and wants to really show it to “those up there”, the responsible railway authority. So he organized a resistance to the preservation of this small railway line and suggests that the Titfielder should take care of the maintenance of the line from now on. Together with the powerful landlord of the place, Gordon Chesterford, and the wealthy Walter Valentine, who is supposed to finance their planned action and who is lured with the promise that he will find a bar with a license to serve alcohol on the train, the company can start.
Of course, the idea does not meet with enthusiasm among everyone in the area. The two bus operators Alec Pearce and Vernon Crump in particular see their business prospects dwindling if, contrary to expectations, the little train does not go away. The vicar and his supporters, however, get a promise from the transport authority, which gives them one month to operate the railway line on their own responsibility before sending in a state appraisal. Former railroad worker Dan Taylor knows how to operate such a steam locomotive and takes the side of rail enthusiasts. During the maiden voyage under Titfielder's leadership, Crump and Pearce begin their disruptive fire by first blocking a traffic crossing with a truck and then with a steamroller. But the ancient locomotive still has enough steam in the boiler and quickly pushes both vehicles off the rails.
The next day, Crump and Pearce convince the angry steamroller owner Hawkins to shoot holes in the water tower, which supplies the steam locomotive with the urgently needed water, in order to bring the little train to a standstill. But again the community of rail advocates rescues the Titfield Express, in which they put a chain of buckets on their feet and draw the required water from the nearby river. The month is almost over and the government inspection is due the next day. But Hawkins, Crump and Pearce are far from giving up and sabotage the project with the steamroller, so that the train gets off track and the locomotive is ruined. George Blakeworth is accidentally suspected of this act of sabotage and is temporarily arrested.
Dan Taylor and Walter Valentine get drunk in the face of this mishap, which ruined the locomotive engine, and come up with the splendid idea of secretly "borrowing" a replacement engine from Mallingford Hof. Staggering more than driving straight ahead, the two of them rattle their vehicle into a large oak tree during their illegal venture and are arrested for theft. Without a machine locomotive, Vikar Weech sees only one way to find a functioning locomotive in the shortest possible time: he briefly steals the time-honored Thunderbolt , an antique locomotive from the early 19th century, from the museum. They also take over Dan Taylor's house, an old car body that is quickly converted into a wagon. Finally, the improvisation is completed by the procurement of a brake car, which the train driver urgently needs.
Since Taylor's drunken thief trip, Vicar Weech has been left without the much-needed stoker. The Bishop of Welchester, of all people, offers salvation, like his subordinate, the vicar, a staunch railroad fan. Pierce and Crump notice from the street how the "borrowed" Thunderbolt is being made ready for use. While they drive along in amazement, the two of them do not notice that they are driving their bus towards the police van that is about to take Taylor and Valentine to the nearest prison. A rear-end collision occurs promptly. Pierce loses his nerve and then confesses to the police that he was complicit in the destruction of the first steam locomotive. The two culprits are then arrested as well. The Thunderbolt is ready to leave when the police, remembering their wrecked van, asks them to take the four arrested persons to Mallingford. The appraiser sent by the ministry refuses to include the delay caused by the incidents with the transport of the prisoners in his calculation.
Vicar Weech and Squire Chesterford have their hands full getting the Thunderbolt up and running because something always goes wrong. Finally, the connecting part between the locomotive and the trailers also breaks. Only the ancient railroad is ready to go, while the trailers are left behind. Some Titfielder then tried hard to push the uncoupled wagons afterwards. In order to save what can be saved, the titfielder Joan Hampton even promises the steamroller saboteur Harry Hawkins that she will marry him if he contributes to the success of the Thunderbolt mission and lends her the steel chain from his roller control to take the Titfield Express with him to reunite his followers. The Thunderbolt finally reached Mallingford train station ten minutes late, painstakingly linked into a unit with the auxiliary construction. The villagers believe all is lost, but it turns out that if the locomotive had driven faster it would have exceeded the speed limit for such a branch line. The state inspector is satisfied and the rail route to and from Titfield is approved under the Light Railways Act .
Production notes
The Titfield Express was built in 1952 near Bath ( Somerset ) and Woodstock (Oxfordshire) . The first performance of the film was in March 1953, in Germany this "railway quirk" could be seen for the first time on April 28, 1961.
The film structures were designed by CP Norman. Michael Balcon was the line producer. Paul Beeson was the cameraman on the second unit team.
For the veteran stage and film actor Sir Godfrey Tearle , who played the Bishop of Welchester here, this was the last film role. He died three months after the premiere.
The Thunderbolt in the movie is actually called the LMR 57 Lion and was a very early steam locomotive entered service in 1838.
Reviews
“With a gleaming brass hood, the locomotive 'Titfield Thunderbolt', which has long been handed over to the museum, is steaming through the green hills of southern England, with a priest as a train driver and a bishop as a stoker. The struggle of stubborn small townspeople to maintain their local railroad culminates in this bizarre picture. Financial difficulties are overcome by the establishment of a bar car, and a steamroller hired by motorized competitors is knocked down by the locomotive in a duel. The director and screenwriter have undemandingly used a tried and tested standard English recipe: Conservative whimsy triumphs over all too practical progressive thinking. "
"Exuberant Ealing comedy (...) Magically photographed by Douglas Slocombe."
“Underrated at the time of its performance in the wave of other Ealing comedies, it now appears as one of the best of them, as does his flawless color photography showing an England that is no more. The script has speed, the whole thing is polished up and the action escalates to a final frenzy. "
"A comedy about Anglo-Saxon perseverance, full of witty self-irony and amiable, quirky joke."
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 2: C - F. John Paddy Carstairs - Peter Fritz. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 202.
- ^ Titfield Express in the Lexicon of International Films
Web links
- Titfield-Express in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Complete film review in the New York Times (English)