O Trem Desgovernado

I saw this movie when it first aired, 33 years ago. Eek! But still it sticks in my mind. I hated the GRAND HOTEL or, if you prefer, TOWERING INFERNO trope of having various folks in various personal crises (the disaffected long-married couple & al.; now that I think of it, GRAND HOTEL may be the only movie of this type I think ever worked, SHIP OF FOOLS included), but the runaway-train problem itself, and how it's solved, still sticks in my mind.

I know it's probably no better than a time-wasting movie, but the ending is a glorious, happy surprise. And Ben Johnson does his patented underacting to bring a smooth, calm centre to what would otherwise be a hysterical disaster movie.

I was pleased to note (thanks, IMDb!) that the screenwriter for this non-epic also wrote one of my favourite recent movies, THE FORGOTTEN.

I'm an avid railroad fan, and for all of its inadequacies, I feel that this movie still rates as excellent. I first saw this as a child, and have been searching for it for over fifteen years. I was lucky enough to find someone on Ebay that has a 35mm copy of it and does sell videos of it, so for all the true fans of this movie, check out Ebay.

As for the technical end of it, the plot is probably something that could not happen, at least in the magnitude depicted here. ALL diesel locomotives have something called a TRACTION BRAKE, which, like the reversal of an airliners engines to slow an aircraft, does essentially the same thing. The traction brake reverses electrical polarity to the motors, causing them to act AGAINST forward motion. This is comparable to downshifting an automobile transmission into first or low gear when descending steep hills. By itself, the traction brake could not have stopped the train, but the locomotive could have slowed the train down to a less than fatal speed. Also, a helper locomotive added to the rear of a train would probably not have the power to stop a train travelling 70+ mph by itself. It would need the assistance of the air brake throughout the train to accomplish that - which was useless in the movie plot, and even if it weren't, there's no way the air hoses could be connected on a moving train.

Despite these flaws, the movie is very entertaining, and at 70 minutes, it is like a sweet and satisfying snack, compared to a 120 minute main course.

A passenger train in the snow is a runaway.

I am a 1970s disaster movie-lover, my childhood was in that period, and I am now very surprised to find a movie of this genre now today in 2016 (on YouTube)! Why has this movie been kept on the shelf away from TV re-runs and DVD??? How dare they!

Well anyway, the review. This movie is all about interesting people like Vera Miles, Martin Milner and others. Don't expect any lavish special effects or anything like that, in fact some scenes are very obviously filmed in a studio. You will not even get a decent musical score. This is all about people and suspense, and done is a very pleasing way!

Find this TV movie on YouTube, I hope they don't take it down!

I've now seen this film twice on television over the years and there is nothing wrong with it. For a TV movie I think it is quite good and it whiles away a pleasant couple of hours. I would love to get it on DVD.

In an out of control train hurtling back down the mountain at 70mph, Ben Johnson doesn't bat an eyelid, and gets off the train at the station as if it is all in a days work!

In a comparison with "Unstoppable" which I have just seen and which is apparently being tipped to win an Oscar (why! how?) I know which of the two films I prefer!

The Runaway Train, as a TV movie, was made on a shoestring in comparison with films made for the big screen by the movie moguls in the large studios. Special effects were virtually non-existent in this film, where as today CGI effects are on tap and can produce anything the produced or director wish.

This might have been one of the likable Ben Johnson's more smaller films in his illustrious career, but it certainly wasn't his worst.

Channel 5 decided to give this a showing yesterday - I remembered enjoying it as a B Movie in my youth and decided to record it. Ummmmm. Could I really have enjoyed something so corny and predictable. Ben Murphy plays Kid Curry but without the Cowboy Hat. Ben Johnson drives the train and shows absolutely no cause for concern that his train, carry 200+ passengers, is about to leave the rails at Jackson City and cause massive carnage. A completely unrealistic movie albeit with some good scenery. As satisfying as an episode of Love Boat.