Railway footage in feature films and television...

[swampy]

It's noticeable that the only wagons in the train are GWR opens, so the GWR obviously took pains not to show wagons from other companies, having provided the filming facilities.  Similar to retouching/censoring foreign company initials in publicity photos.  There's one in "LYR wagons V1" where a LNWR open has been changed to carry the initials "L Y R".

 

Was the unusual white vertical handrail next to the loco in photo 6 added to help actors to stand on the wagon brake as part of the plot?

 

Pete  

[Coach bogie]

I like the additional handrail fitted to the first and last opens, so the actor has something to pull himself up on.

 

I wonder if it was removed afterwards or kept it until scrapping.

 

Mike Wiltshire

[jetmorgan]

53 minutes ago, Ben B said:

Is the pit-head scene an indoor, recreated set?  Something about the lighting would seem to suggest so.  If it's the case, they've done a pretty elaborate build.

I'm pretty sure it is a studio recreation, as you say there is something about the lighting and also the cramped look of the set. But it is very well detailed and if it weren't for that look it would be a real one.

[figworthy]

12 hours ago, Andy Kirkham said:

There's no sign of urban or industrial development in the valley with the 4575. I wonder if it could be the Wye valley between Chepstow and Monmouth.

 

You can tell that the industrial loco is a Peckett by the short horizontal handrail low down on the tank side.

 

IMDB may be of help :

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031828/locations?ref_=ttfc_sa_4

 

Suggests that Silverdale Colliery, Neath and the Rhondda were used, but that might not be exhaustive.

 

Adrian

[Rugd1022]

Cadbury's Milk Tray ad from 1969, I think this was Gary Myer's first one before the more familiar colour ads he appeared in from 1970 onwards... I wonder where on the Southern Region it was filmed....?

 

 

[Pacific231G]

On 02/12/2020 at 12:07, jetmorgan said:

I'm pretty sure it is a studio recreation, as you say there is something about the lighting and also the cramped look of the set. But it is very well detailed and if it weren't for that look it would be a real one.

It's definitely a studio interior but that would be well within the capabilities of Ealing Studios. Filming a real pit head would probably have been a gret deal harder and at least one of the sound stages at Ealing had a pit they could have used for the cages to descend into.

[doilum]

On 01/12/2020 at 20:36, jetmorgan said:

Another Talking Pics TV film on a while ago "The Proud Valley" starring Paul Robeson set in a mining town in south Wales. Opening scenes have a small prairie on a coal train and Paul Robeson hitching a lift. There are also a couple of scenes of an industrial saddle tank at the coal mine a studio scene of the pit head and coal tubs. A bit of inspiration for coal pit modellers

Excellent post. All I need for Christmas is someone to come up with a similar find for " The Hills of Heaven"!

[P Hewson]

Sat watching Going Straight..Electrixs on West Coast re mid 1970s

[Butler Henderson]

One film that has not been mentioned, shown on C5 on Christmas Day, is Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Austerity Errol Lonsdale on the LMR Hollywater loop disfigured with an extra tall chimney and a copper dome and its LMR lettering changed to GWR with a lining surround. The coaches equally were changed to GWR  lettering. Pictures on this web page  whose author obviously did not realise the blue livery was that of the LMR. Does usefully describe the mainline location that features later in the film as Ilmer on the GC/GW Joint.

[talisman56]

Watching 'Battle of the Bulge' last night - interesting that the line that the train attempting to deliver the 155mm guns goes from a non-electrified line to an electrified line halfway through the [sped up] journey and then back to non-electrified line for the denouement in the tunnel...

 

[Andy Kirkham]

Smashing Time - a Swinging Sixties period piece - was on (where else?) Talking Pictures the other day. Quite charming if you can endure the lengthy slapstick episodes.

 

Lynn Redgrave and Rita Tushingham come to seek their fortunes in London:

 

Approaching St Pancras

 

But stepping off at Marylebone

 

Later Rita is snapped tied to the tracks by fashion photographer Michael York

 

Edited December 28, 2020 by Andy Kirkham

[sir douglas]

In an advert today for "Roald & Beatrix" there are 2 short shots of L92 Pannier, so was it filmed on the South Devon?

 

 

a movie was on the other day which i was only in the room for a few minutes, it was maybe 1980's of a big pointed-roof station like St Pancras?

 

just found it, Shirley Valentine 1989, and it was St Pancras

[Paul.Uni]

30 minutes ago, sir douglas said:

In an advert today for "Roald & Beatrix" there are 2 short shots of L92 Pannier, so was it filmed on the South Devon?

Gwili Railway. It moved there for the season before Covid shut down the line.

[D826]

11 hours ago, Paul.Uni said:

Gwili Railway. It moved there for the season before Covid shut down the line.

L92, livery not quite right -(tongue firmly in cheek).

 

Not enough of the very special LT patina - a sort of dusky, oily black kind of weathering....see the book Red Panniers., Dad, Ray Wood drove them, and was shed foreman at LT Neasden Steam Shed.

 

Some cracking shots of pway trains in that book, including one with an open wagon for Watford Tip with its load on fire, being taken to be doused under the water column at Croxley or Watford Met, I forget which.  Some good photos of Dad in there too.

 

I managed to suppress criticising the blue moquette and luggage racks in what was clearly post war BR rolling stock at the end of the film Dunkirk on Boxing day evening.  The family were enjoying it, but that interior shot had me inwardly shaking my head !

 

Cheers Matt W

Edited December 29, 2020 by D826
English !

[steve1]

Comedian Sara Pascoe in Georgia. (Note the "steering wheel" comment.)

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p091vzfr

 

steve

[lmsforever]

Group of us went to cinema to see the new Dunkirk we all agreed the John Mills origonal  was a far better film we spent the evening spotting the errors and general rubbish portrayal .Never mind we had an excellent talk at our U3A military history group all about the retreat including about the rail network in France used by our boys.

[sncf231e]

On 26/07/2020 at 23:17, Andy Kirkham said:

On Talking Pictures I've just been watching the enchanting Audrey Hepburn/Fred Astaire movie Funny Face of 1957.

 

About halfway through, Astaire (a fashion photographer) shoots Hepburn against a background of Marc de Caso's 232 U1 adorned with a Fleche d'Or headboard

 

Top marks to Stanley Donen for getting  the most stylish locomotive  on the whole of the SNCF.

 

 

I made a video re-enacting this in the garden:

 

Regards

Fred

[Ben B]

On 31/12/2020 at 21:51, lmsforever said:

Group of us went to cinema to see the new Dunkirk we all agreed the John Mills origonal  was a far better film we spent the evening spotting the errors and general rubbish portrayal .Never mind we had an excellent talk at our U3A military history group all about the retreat including about the rail network in France used by our boys.

 

I think a big problem was filming at the real Dunkirk, which looks too modern... I think the single-take, epic tracking shot in Attonement (shot in the UK in the North-East) did a better job of capturing the atmosphere of the old photographs I've seen of the real place.

 

Thing is, Nolan was so dedicated to capturing the film with practical effects and real locations that he shot at the actual Dunkirk, and had aircraft and warships rebuilt and modified to better represent the real thing, so why didn't he do the same with the prominently featured train? Could he not find the budget to ship a couple of vintage carriages to Swanage for the filming? 

[KeithMacdonald]

On 27/10/2020 at 22:53, jools1959 said:

I know someone will shoot me down but the Burt Lancaster film “The Train” is really quite good for a Hollywood film, not just as a film but continuity as well.

 

The full film is now showing on BBC iPlayer

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000f1v9/the-train

[lmsforever]

Watched it again very good film  true to what it was like in France then but Burt Lancaster a bit over the top every now and then.Enjoyable and I like to watch when shown  my other half thinks I am sad but I dont care ! One point when La Beche pushes him off the footplate he doesnt show any injuries after hitting the ground rather heavily but thats films.

[Dr Gerbil-Fritters]

13 hours ago, lmsforever said:

One point when La Beche pushes him off the footplate he doesnt show any injuries after hitting the ground rather heavily but thats films.

 

Nope, That's Burt Lancaster, former circus acrobat and did all his own stunts...

[Aire Head]

20 hours ago, lmsforever said:

One point when La Beche pushes him off the footplate he doesnt show any injuries after hitting the ground rather heavily but thats films.

 

Burt Lancaster did all his own stunts.

 

Notably when he is limping at the end of the film he isn't faking and had genuinely hurt himself.

[ejstubbs]

1 hour ago, Aire Head said:

Notably when he is limping at the end of the film he isn't faking and had genuinely hurt himself.

 

According to IMDB, the injury wasn't caused by a stunt (he did indeed perform his own) but, rather ironically, he'd aggravated an old injury by stepping into a hole while playing golf on a day off shooting.

[Aire Head]

10 minutes ago, ejstubbs said:

 

According to IMDB, the injury wasn't caused by a stunt (he did indeed perform his own) but, rather ironically, he'd aggravated an old injury by stepping into a hole while playing golf on a day off shooting.

 

Fair enough!

[Ben B]

13 hours ago, Aire Head said:

 

Fair enough!

I believe that's why there's the scene where he gets clipped by gunfire on the footbridge over the river, after bailing off the train before the derailment.