The Ghost Train

With mostly gags and very little plot, this is an entertaining film overall but hardly a brilliant one. It improves a great deal after the one-hour mark though when the horror finally starts to seep through. The thriller and comedy elements of the film only work about half the time themselves, however there are still some amusing bits and the plot is reasonably intriguing. It is easy to see that the film was intended to be a showcase for Arthur Askey's talents. He does show talent here, but it can be questioned as to whether his comic antics could have been put to better use. On the positive side, the characters are relatively interesting, and those beginning credits are great. The film makes an interesting companion piece to 'Rome Express', also directed by Walter Forde, and also set on a train. This film is the weaker of the two but it is a slightly different approach to friendships between strangers on trains. It is worth a look in the end. If not a great film, it is a fairly enjoyable ride.

The question of whether or not one likes this film version of "The Ghost Train" invariably depends on one thing and one thing alone: your reaction to the performance of Arthur Askey.

He tends to steal almost every scene he's in, and not always in a good way. Sometimes you wish he'd settle down or back off just a little, to allow the plot's many characters to feature and develop (which they do to some extent). But somehow everything keeps pointing back to Askey's Tommy Gander character.

Personally I like the film, and even like Askey to an extent. I always seem to plonk it into the vcr at those odd hours of the early morning when I can't sleep and really can't find the energy to watch anything else. There is something about watching old b/w movies in the quiet dark of pre-dawn that I find appealing....

If this film is anything it is an Arthur Askey showpiece. 90% of this film belongs to Askey and his style of comedy. That is not necessarily a bad thing but he really distracts from the reason most of us are watching the film to being with - A Ghost Train. At the time this was filmed the audiences may have gone to watch this for Askey's comedy but I think today most of us are watching this for a comedy-horror/thriller and not so much for Askey.

It's a mildly entertaining film from the start but really the only part to watch roughly the last 25 minutes - then you'll actually get to The Ghost Train part of the show. As stated earlier, the rest of the film is the comedy of Askey.

4/10

Ghost Train is a fine and entertaining film, typical of the better British comedy chillers of the 1930s and 40s. The antics of comedian Arthur Askey are not as funny as they once apparently were, but this can be overcome by viewing him as a period piece or a curiosity.

For a low-budget wartime production, Ghost Train is atmospheric, effective, and it provides some genuine suspense. Great fun for a dark (and, yes, stormy) night. Lighten up, take off the critic's hat, and enjoy.

This could've been an excellent "ghost story"; however, Arthur Askey's antics in the first 10 mins. of this film tend to ruin the film. (One wishes that they would've been edited out, as they have NOTHING to do with the film!).

Askey (who resembles a cross between Harold Lloyd, Kay Kyser, and Robert Woolsey) might have been funny in his day, but his brand of humor is ofttimes DISMAL by today's standards. On the bright side, it improves when they get to the train station. (His antics with an imaginary "dead body" are humorous at times).

However, the real "meat & potatoes" of this film is the haunted train station, and the legend of the "ghost train" that comes thru on dark nights! One wishes this part of the film would've been much longer.

The "ghost element" makes up for Askey, so see this film if u get a chance!