Love on a Branch Line

The house location is Oxburgh Hall, Kings Lynn. Norfolk.

bittersweet comedy as railroad bureaucrat stumbles upon love in rural English village. menage a how many? Maloney strikes just the right note as the befuddled hero. wonderful supporting cast. wry, endearing, understated British comedy.

Evocation of an England that existed more in legend and imagination that reality, this is listed as drama and comedy whereas it is a romance foremost. The best books and films derive from a solid story and this one draws me back to watch it every year or so, all four episodes flowing along with ease. Farce, comedy, improbability, fun, sex and personal evolution of our hero delivered by an almost faultless cast, script and production. Maria Aitken surely deserves a special mention for delivering the perfect presence of the lady of the manor. No 'spoilers' from me, just watch this. Pretty sure easily available for streaming and downloading from the usual places, enjoy.

A truly English escapist romantic comedy, in which a disillusioned civil servant finds love, tranquillity and the return of his sense of self, whilst on a special assignment to a small government "research" establishment at a country estate in the rural East Anglia (part of eastern England) of the 1950s. The fascination of a part of the English psyche then and now with the past (especially railways and agricultural machinery) is well caught, as is the need for the "rural idyll".

This version of Arcadia is a marvellous adaptation of a book by John Hadfield, with the entire cast being accurate in the portrayal of the atmosphere required. A genuine delight.

Charming quintessentially English period (1957) drama. A little risqué at times but all acceptably within context.

Excellent performance from a top notch cast, especially Leslie Phillips who, as ever, played the Lord of the Manor is his inimitable style.

Each 50 minutes episode flashed by. A very absorbing watch.

I must have missed this first time around back in 1994. I downloaded this from YouTube. The quality isn't brilliant, but perfectly watchable.