The Last Journey

Despite the artistic and financial constraints of working at Twickenham Studios Bernard Vorhaus was determined to make an entertaining little picture out of this albeit with not the most talented bunch of actors. It's not a classic but it's a really fun watch.

Not unlike FRIDAY 13TH made a couple of years earlier, this 'disaster about to happen' story enlivens its drama by focussing on the individual little stories of the unfortunate passengers, making them real people on this train bound for its final destination. That earlier film was however made by a proper studio, had a proper script, proper actors and of course the ultimate dream girl, gorgeous Jessie Matthews. This however, made with a budget that Gaumont-British would probably spend just on Miss Matthews' tea and biscuits has something special - the amazing Bernard Vorhaus. This director with an array of imaginative camerawork and clever editing, which gets faster and faster with some scenes lasting just a few seconds towards the end, creates a real sense of tension and genuine concern for those passengers whom you've quickly come to know and actually care for. It's a remarkable demonstration of talent.

Like those early Warner Brothers films where every millimetre of expensive celluloid had to be used to tell the story rather than any of that background of mood building nonsense! Vorhaus build's the characters and packs the life stories of about five groups of people into this even before the action starts. It's an impressive achievement and although this type of story has subsequently been done dozens of times better, this is still pretty enjoyable.

This film has a no-nonsense approach but somehow it's also a quite whimsical. It shares that subtle subversive dark humour that was common in a lot of English films from the thirties. For example even as the runaway train is hurtling towards disaster, as it rushes past a group of people waiting on a platform, it blows off someone's toupee which lands on the face of a bemused woman. It is full of little endearing moments like this whilst not detracting from the overall building tension.

Unlike the few 'classics' that Twickenham made, this is really of interest only to those of you who want a little taste of what life might have been like in 1936. If that's you, you might enjoy this.

In the spring of 1986 I enjoyed the pleasure of sitting in a large audience on London's South Bank thoroughly lapping up this Twickenham quickie dynamically directed by Bernard Vorhaus who was actually there to introduce the film.

Vorhaus singled out for praise the unique Sydney Fairebrother, his one major regret being making a passenger's stutter a source of humour; while Elliot Makeham is cast spectacularly against type as a "dirty little rat" in a bowler.

Although only an hour long, The Last Journey is a very gripping vintage British thriller.

A train driver, just about to undertake his last job before retiring discovers his fireman is having an affair with his wife, so he takes a gun and threatens him with it and he forces him to keep putting coal into the fire to make the loco go faster. As a result, the train misses all its stops and arrives at its destination early. One of the passengers manages to get the driver to slow down. There is a rather motley collection of passengers on board including a newly married couple on honeymoon, a pair of crooks, a woman who tells everyone not to drink alcohol, a couple with some very lively children, a Frenchman and a lone boy.

Despite its low budget and age, I enjoyed watching this movie. It is available in the UK on VHS as a double feature with The Ghost Camera.

A must for all vintage movie fans and also rail enthusiasts. Excellent.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

On his last few days employed as an engine driver on an express train before he retires, Bob (Julien Mitchell) is not exactly looking forward to retirement and suspects his wife (Olga Lindo) of having an affair with a friend and colleague and plots his revenge, putting the lives of his passengers and everyone else in danger.

An interesting, if at times questionable action melodrama that leads to an exciting lengthy climax.

I caught this on Talking Pictures TV in the UK and was blown away by how good this low-budget thriller (£27,000 reportedly) turned out to be.

Yes, there's some ham acting typical of the era, and railway buffs quibble that safety devices on trains even then would have stopped the plot in its tracks, but the humour stands up well in the 21st century and I'll watch anything that features Godfrey Tearle.

The crowning glory, though, was the pace of the editing as the denouement approached. I was leaning forward in my seat, totally involved and gripped.

Hats off, then, to editor Lister Laurance. The astonishing thing is that he was only 23 when he cut this film.

Recommended.