Terrore sul treno

It's very interesting that the average of (at this writing) 241 votes is 6 out of ten. But there are almost no 6 ratings. People seem to either like it very much or hate it.

I first saw this in a theater in 1953 and I thought it well done, suspenseful and entertaining. Tetzlaff and Ford made me believe in the life or death aspect of the script, and in retrospect the film in black and white added to the atmosphere. I have since seen it once or twice on television and it's now a period piece about things that no longer exist, but the suspense and terrorism themes are as topical as ever; we read about defusing bombs almost every day and we wait for news of the next IED's death toll.

If one looks beyond the period trappings, the fundamental qualities of life, survival and ultimately death are examined and exemplified with some care. Given a suspension of disbelief, this movie can be both entertaining and illuminating. I suspect viewers will continue to either like it very much or dislike it very much. That diversity should make those who've not seen it curious.

"Terror on a Train" starts with a bomber (Victor Maddern) fighting it out with the british railway police, after planting a bomb and trying to escape the rail yard. Maurice Denham is "Warrilow", railway supervisor, who calls in Lyncort (Glenn Ford) to check it out. Ford had made a whole bunch of films since his crowning achievement GILDA in 1946. Good suspense thriller. Directed by Ted Tetzlaff, son of race-car driver slash stuntman Teddy Tetzlaff. had also directed Notorious and Talk of the Town, both awesome films, with Cary Grant. and Tetzlaff was oscar nominated for Talk of the Town.

When first made, this film was known in Britain as "Time Bomb", but in the US it was released under the title "Terror on a Train", and is sometimes referred to by that title when shown on British television today. The story is a fairly simple one. A terrorist has placed a time bomb on board a trainload of naval mines, being transported between the factory in Birmingham and the Royal Navy Yard at Portsmouth. (We do not learn very much about the terrorist or his motivation, although he appears to be a lone individual not working as part of an organised group). The police become aware of the plot and stop the train in a siding. Major Peter Lyncort, a Canadian-born wartime bomb disposal expert now working for a Birmingham firm, is called in to deal with the situation while the police organise the evacuation of neighbouring residential areas. There is also a subplot dealing with the relationship between Lyncort and his French wife Janine who, tired of her dull life as the wife of a Birmingham businessman, is threatening to leave him.

Rather oddly, given that he is described as a native of French-speaking Quebec, Lyncort is unable to speak his wife's language. I suspect, however, that the decision to make Lyncort a Canadian was taken at the last minute when the Canadian-born Hollywood star Glenn Ford was drafted in to play the part. During this period, Hollywood actors were often cast in British films to increase their appeal to the North American market, another example being "The Purple Plain", starring Gregory Peck as a character who was British in H E Bates's original novel but Canadian in the film.

I don't think that the Lyncort/Janine sub-plot adds much to the story, but it may have been included because, even with it, the film has a short running time, less than an hour and a half. Without it the film may well have been too short to be shown in cinemas, even as a second feature. It does not appear to have been a box-office success when released in 1953, but has since garnered some appreciation among film buffs. With the exception of Herbert C. Walton as "Old Charlie", a childish, possibly mentally handicapped, old man with a fascination for trains who refuses to be evacuated despite the pleadings of the police, none of the cast really stand out. Ford, who could be excellent in American films noirs, seems rather wasted as Lyncort.

The direction by Ted Tetzlaff, however, is good, and there is a sense of ever-mounting tension as Lyncort tries to find and defuse the bomb. I would not classify this is film noir- genuine noir generally involved a deeper level of characterisation and a greater degree of moral ambiguity- but it includes some noir characteristics such as attractive expressionist black-and-white photography of the night-time city. Despite the low budget, this is a very decent example of a tautly-made suspense thriller. 6/10

I found this movie fairly enjoyable -- A good escape. It does not have a sophisticated plot, but it is nonetheless captivating. I particularly liked the imagery and the feel of the movie, the "cold, damp England at night" look. As a railroad enthusiast, I really liked the early sequences involving the steam-powered freight.

Glenn Ford is a favorite and did well. Despite his lack of lines, I thoroughly enjoyed "Old Charlie" (Herbert C. Walton). I suspect that is what I will be like at his age...

Post-war thriller set in the English cities of Birhimgham & Portsmouth with a rail a shipment of hundreds of one ton deep sea mines about to explode.

After British Constable Charles Barron, John Horsley, got into a scuffle outside the Birhingham train station with what was at first thought to be a local hobo, Victor Maddern, it was later found at the rail yard a suitcase of full detonators and and bomb making components. Realizing that the person at the train yard was up to no good the police keep the train from going to it destination the Navel Yard at Porthmoth to prevent a major disaster when it gets there.

The film "Terror on a Train" goes into high gear with the local Birhingham authorities getting in contact with foamer US Army bomb specialist Peter Lyncort, Gleen Ford, who's in town vacationing with his wife Janie, Anne Vernon. Peter seemed to be Happy when he got the news from the city's security chief Jim Warrilow, Maurice Denham,since Janie had just walked out on him after their tenth fight in just one month. This would in some way get his mind off his personal problems and give him a chance to save the world, or at least the city of Birmingham.

The police set a trap for the saboteur, who planned and set up the entire nightmare, by stationing police at the Porthsmouth railway station knowing that he, the saboteur, will be there to see the fruits of his labors like an arsonist who stays at the scene of his crime, and to most cases helps in trying to put out the fire.

Spotted by Constable Barron the suspect is quickly apprehended and flown, by helicopter, back to Birmingham to help Peter and his now assistant Warrilow find and disarm the explosive charge hidden in one of the hundreds of underwater mines.

Tense and effective the movie has a somewhat surprise ending when you already thought that the danger was over. Glenn Ford is cool as a cucumber throughout the entire film even putting up with old and nutty Charlie, Herbert C. Walton,who obsessed with trains to the point where he almost gets himself killed.In his trying to get on the dangerous bomb ladened train and distracting both Lyncort & Warrilow from doing their job in preventing the bomb from exploding and taking them, together with Charlie, and the entire city of Bermingham out with it.

During this whole time, while her husband Peter was out risking his life, Janine is completely unaware of what's going on. Coming home to make up with Peter, this would be the 11th time in the last thirty days, after their latest spat Janie finds the hotel room deserted at 3AM in the morning and goes on the phone calling all the hospitals in town fearing that Peter met up with some accident.

It was fitting that at the end of the movie Janie finding out what was really going on with her husband. Thank God he wasn't out painting the town red with another women and that he was at the railway yards disarming a booby trapped one ton undersea mine; Janie by pure chance made it there just in time for the movies grand and explosive finally.