Train of Events

A novel piece of early post war British film noir with four concurrent plots - some better than others. A very young Leslie Phillips in a non comedy role and other strong actors including Peter Finch and Jack Warner. Fascinating for railway enthusiasts and a reminder of how dirty and run down the environment was in those days. Well shot and the special effects can be excused!

Ealing Studios portmanteau drama that starts with a train crash, then follows four separate stories, showing the backstories of some of the passengers, the events that led to them being on the train, and the aftermath of the crash. Some big names of the day (Jack Warner, Susan Shaw, Miles Malleson, John Gregson, Valerie Hobson, Michael Hordern, and 'introducing' a very young Peter Finch). Several directors and writers involved, including Basil Dearden (who had a hand in both). Made over 70 years ago, but it stands up well. 7/10.

The film starts with a train crash and then spends its bulk describing 4 separate situations that leads to various characters being on board the doomed train. We then return to the crash and see its aftermath.

Sounds better than it is. The film starts impressively with the force and speed of the train filmed very dramatically. This is far and away the best part of the film and provides a very powerful opening. As we meet the characters, the film gets boring and sadly, that awful unfunny British humour rears its ugly head in a couple of scenes. Trying to endear the audience to old guys by getting them to imitate a chicken or a goldfish just isn't funny to me.

Aside from the naff comedy, the cast aren't very good. This is because either the characters are weak, such as Joan Dowling (Ella), to the point where we don't care about her fate, or else they are just difficult to like. A case in point is pretty much everyone else apart from Valerie Hobson (Stella).

Pianist Irina Baronova (Irina) and composer John Clements (Raymond) are painfully embarrassing and it's all a bit of an anti-climax when so many of this dull ensemble actually survive what looks like a crash that should have resulted in many more fatalities. Oh well, better luck next time! The film scores for the excellent beginning and a confrontational scene between husband and wife Peter Finch (Philip) and Mary Morris (Louise). If the film had concentrated on developing this story in a dramatic fashion, I would be talking about a much better film. But even this little vignette is ruined by absurdity as demonstrated by what Peter Finch decides to pack in his luggage. In his LUGGAGE! To take with him! Dumb film.

This is a not very widely known portmanteau film from 1949, in which four disparate stories are told, each culminating in the protagonists boarding a train to Liverpool, their stories becoming ever more enmeshed, only this train is headed for disaster.

I largely agree with Robert Temple's review (although there are spoilers and it is John Clements who plays the composer, not Gregson).

In contrast to many of the other reviews I found something rather good in all four stories, be it drama, witty dialogue, or humour. I thought it was all rather well done actually. For me, the standout performance was probably that of Peter Finch, who looked gaunt and utterly riven throughout.

In addition to the intriguing structure of the film -which has surely acted as an example to later directors- this film has interest today because it shows many street scenes in London and various scenes shot on the railways; who would have thought the age of steam would be over about fifteen years after this?

Anyway whilst some of the facets of this film will be lost on some folk, overall I thought it a pretty good effort, deserving to be better known and more widely appreciated than it is. Eight out of ten from me.

Compenium films such as these were very popular in the late forties.Naturally their success rides and falls on the quality of the story.Alas in this case only one of the stories is worth telling.The Valerie Hobson/John Clements story is truly awful.Jack Warners domestic problems seem more like an episode of the Huggetts.The ex German POW story has some promise but becomes repetitive.The Peter Finch/Mary Morris story is quite good but is undermined by the somewhat ridiculous proposition that a murderer would cart the dead body of his wife around in a theatrical basket.The fact that there is a good cast,and a strong band of writers and directors make it all the more disappointing.The most interesting aspect of the film is the considerable location work,which includes a view of the late lamented Euston arch.