Terror on a Train (1953) User Reviews

I like trains!

[timdotm · 7/10 · 9 November 2001]

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...

Ford saves the day

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 14 August 2005]

One of the studios that had dual claim on Glenn Ford's services sent him to Great Britain to head the cast in this thriller. A saboteur played by Victor Maddern has planted an explosive device in a freight train that is carrying a load of sea mines. The police discover there's a bomb on the train and divert on to a siding in a suburb and evacuate the surrounding area. And they send for Glenn Ford to find and disarm the device.

Set at the height of the Cold War, Terror on a Train has assumed a new relevance for today given what just happened in London. I'm sure some purist do-gooders will be horrified at the thought of handcuffing Victor Maddern to the train he's sabotaged, but personally I rather like the concept.

Glenn Ford as a demolition expert was said to be Canadian which was a usual device to justify American stars playing in British films or in a British setting in American films. Except in this case Ford was really Canadian. Like it said in the movie, Ford was in fact born in a small town in Quebec although his family did move to America when he was a lad.

Nicely paced, edge of your seat movie with a trick ending. I think film fans of today would appreciate it now.

Decent example of a tautly-made suspense thriller

[JamesHitchcock · 6/10 · 24 July 2017]

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

Sheesh, It Was Not A One Star Film!

[verbusen · 7/10 · 27 July 2007]

Some people have rated this a one star, too each his own, but they probably have not seen many movies to think this is that low. A simple straightforward thriller. I really enjoyed this film. If you don't like older, lower budget films than this wont be your cup of tea, so to speak, but I do like them and being made by MGM it had quality all over it. I would have thought that in post war London they would have had no trouble finding hundreds of bomb disposal people than to use one Canadian though! I was also saying to myself, how is he going to search that whole train by himself? In reality they probably would have had dozens of war vets searching that train, but that wouldn't have been much fun, now would it? I liked that it wasn't the Glenn Ford show, there was the patrolman searching for the terrorist, and the sergeant who was with the Detective and so forth, even the Royal Navy pitched in with an early helicopter, so it was a good group effort. A reason why I also enjoyed this movie was the banter among the characters like the scene when the switch man tells the train conductor that he needs to dump off his load in a siding and the conductor is reluctant to do it, that seemed real, I really liked that. Well if your watching Turner Classic movies in the middle east (like me) and are tired of the limited movies they usually show, it's worth a watch from start to finish. 7 of 10, Ford was pretty good! Oh and if you want a true one star film check out Beast Of Yucca Flats, thats a real "worse film ever made"!

Some Very Tense Moments

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 25 January 2008]

Enjoyed this 1953 film starring Glenn Ford, (Major Peter Lyncort) and his wife Janine Lyncort, (Ann Vernon). This film starts off with the production of many Sea Mines being manufactured in a factory during war time in England and placed on a great number of flat bed freight cars and covered up with canvas coverings. As these mines are in the freight yard a man is discovered leaving under one of these mines and hits a railroad policemen and escapes. The railroad police notify the local police and state officials and they try to stop this train before it explodes and destroys an entire town. The authorities discover there is a man named Major Peter Lyncort who is a U.S. Army bomb expert and they contact him to see if he can dismantle any bomb that might be placed on the Sea Mine train. There is a family problem developing between Major Lyncort and his wife Janine Lyncort, (Ann Vernon) who wants to leave her husband because she finds him very boring and is unhappy with her marriage. There is some very tense moments in this film and there is also some very funny humor with a very old English gentlemen named Old Charlie, (Herbert Walton) who loves trains and just so happens to want to ride on the train load of mines, which makes for some great English humor. Great film and very entertaining.

The Home Streatch is the longest part of the track

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 19 August 2005]

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.

solid B-thriller

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 2 July 2019]

A terrorist plants a bomb on a train transporting sea mines to Portsmouth. A policeman uncovers the plot but the terrorist gets away. Canadian Royal Engineers bomb disposal Peter Lyncort (Glenn Ford) is recruited. The train is redirected to an isolated line but it turns out to be next to a residential area. The police searches for the bomber while the area is evacuated.

Once the train stops, the kinetic energy of the movie becomes more static. Peter's domestic troubles aren't that compelling. Glenn Ford is still great as the steady lead. This is all about the tension. There is some fine moments of tension but it doesn't get that high. Honestly, the highest intensity comes when the train gets stopped by the railyard master. This is solid B-movie thriller.

Looks great...and that's about it

[ashew · 3/10 · 23 October 2006]

This is exactly the type of film that frustrates me the most. Great cast, great director, great story potential, then they ruin it all with a screenplay that goes nowhere...and says nothing while going there! There is no depth here whatsoever. No depth of characters, no depth of plot, no depth of surprise, suspense, or common sense. We know what's happening, we are told how they plan to fix the problem, they fix the problem, throw a surprise at us near the end that fails to generate any suspense, then they end the film abruptly. Wasted opportunity.

On the plus side, Glenn Ford leads a cast of UK (and one French) actors who are all fantastic, doing an incredibly impressive job with the one-dimensional writing they were given. One of the absolute favorites is Herbert Walton as "Old Charlie", who provides some wonderful bits of humor and warmth to a dark and serious film. I also thought the film had a great look to it...all shadows and fog...very film noir in feel.

Even though the actors do the best they can and the directing is enjoyable, it still just isn't enough for me to recommend spending the time to view the film. There are far better Glenn Ford movies out there: The Big Heat, Gilda, Affair in Trinidad, etc.

Good British thriller

[Mattias · 6/10 · 20 January 2000]

An enjoyable British thriller from the 1950s with an excellent supporting cast makes this well worth watching. But was it necessary to get an actor all the way from Hollywood? Glenn Ford always played himself, perhaps there could have been idea to have a more anonymous actor in the lead? The love story between Ford and Anne Vernon is unnecessary and does not add anything to the story.

Take a tense ride on a rolling time bomb.

[michaelRokeefe · 4/10 · 22 September 2000]

When I first saw this movie, it was titled TERROR ON A TRAIN and was the back half of a double feature. Glenn Ford, an armament expert is called on to defuse a hidden bomb on a train loaded with high explosives. The tension is slow and steady; and this black & white film runs only about an hour and twelve minutes. All these years later on TV; the tension and drama has lost most of its impact. This is still a good movie as far as early 50s standards go.

Along with Ford are Anne Vernon and Maurice Denham. The villain/saboteur is played by Victor Maddern.

Are you curious?

[davidesteiner · 9/10 · 19 August 2010]

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.

suspense with G Ford

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 8 August 2019]

"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.

Minor British thriller stirs up a modest amount of suspense...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 24 January 2008]

It's really hard to see what GLENN FORD saw in the role of a man who is an expert at detonating explosives because his role in TIME BOMB (or TERROR ON A TRAIN--U.S. title), is one that any halfway decent actor could do blindfolded. Why did he go to England to appear in this insignificant little post-war film that hangs its plot on one simple theme--a bomb planted on a train with all passengers out of danger.

A sub-plot has his worried wife (with whom he argues incessantly), seeking a reunion and returning home to find him gone--whereby she spends the rest of the film fretting over his safety.

Wisely, the film runs only an hour and twelve minutes. Unfortunately even at that brief length, it runs out of steam before it's halfway through and what should be the final excitement of the closing scenes amounts to little more than a thud.

Very tepid thriller directed by Ted Tetzlaff who shows none of the skill he had when he had a good script (THE WINDOW--1949). Should have been much more suspenseful and looks like the sort of film that was intended to play the lower half of double bills.

The humorous element of a demented old man repeating over and over again that "he loves trains" and can't stay away from them--even when they contain explosives--gets a bit tiresome.

too many unanswered questions- like motive?

[moggy-4 · 6/10 · 7 November 2001]

nice little suspense film about Ford looking for time bomb planted by a saboteur on an open rail car full of explosives, and they don't know what time it's set to explode. Nice plot idea, but a few quibbles- like what was the saboteur's motive? We are told nothing about him. And wouldn't they transport the explosives in a SEALED rail car, maybe even with guards??? And though all I know of defusing bombs comes from films and tv, isn't it done by a bomb **Squad**, not one man? ( who seems to have no official position) Was the British Army out of town?

Lack of tension creates boring thriller.

[mark.waltz · 4/10 · 20 August 2013]

When the best thing about a thriller where a cargo train with a bomb on it is a cute old man obsessed with trains, you know you're on an engine which is going in the wrong direction. Long moments of silence while bomb expert Glenn Ford tries to defuse it dominates the film. Then, there's the distracting subplot of Ford's marital issues which further slows things down. If this was a passenger train like 1977's The Cassandra Crossing, the tension would be more intense. Anne Vernon as Ford's wife gives a truly hammy performance that takes the emotion away from the marital issues. As for the villain, the final confrontation is so cartoonish that the conclusion after 72 minutes seems comical.

Too much wife too little bomb

[HEFILM · 5/10 · 24 October 2015]

A film that spends more time with the domestic problems of a bomb defuser and his wife than it does with bomb defusing can't be all good. It's not all bad either and makes up for being slim on material by being rather short. There is one excellent shot/sequence panning from the parked train ready to explode to the nearby graveyard and then to a nearby pub full of unsuspecting people singing "Show me the way to go home." It's too bad the movie doesn't have more of this type of thing. The film loses suspense by constantly cutting away from the bomb search to routine domestic scenes of the wife bitching and moaning while trying to catch a train out of town. This whole French wife complaining earns little audience interest or sympathy these days. I guess at the time that whole aspect was for women in the audience where today they tend to make this kind of film for guys and leave the women out of it entirely or have them only as victims. Though in this case that might have been better--it just spends so little time with the whole race against time aspect of the story. The resolution to the wife thing is lame though the resolution to the bomb aspect is satisfying. A director more interested in bombs and the detail of the race against time, and a script with a lot less clichéd domestic melodrama would have helped. All pro level production, photography and acting helps but can't overcome the shortcomings and almost non-characterization of the principal characters. Ford doesn't appear until almost 15 minutes into the film. More music would help as well.

"I like trains!"

[theowinthrop · 9/10 · 9 April 2008]

If there is any reason to see this little suspense film, it is the appearance of Old Charlie (Herbert C. Walton), an old codger who is entering senility but has an endearing habit of loving trains. And there is this nice big one parked behind the church near his home that only one fellow seems to be on. Unfortunately Old Charlie doesn't realize the train is going to explode about seven o'clock - a time-bomb is on the train, and as the cargo of the train is a set of old navy mines, it can level the town or city it is in.

The nearest city is Birmingham, England (where some of my ancestors came from), but the authorities, acting on the telephoned threat of the saboteur (Victor Maddern) have acted fast enough to get the train side tracked to a relatively less populated area. Even so, the scenes of the townspeople being transported away by bus makes one realize how really complex evacuations can be. Just change this film's weapon from a booby trapped train to a dirty bomb threat and one can see it's still very valid.

As I watch TIME BOMB I realize that it bears comparison to a contemporary British film, SEVEN DAYS TO NOON, made about 1950. That film was about a pacifist nuclear scientist who plants an atomic bomb in London to force Britain to disarm it's nuclear arsenal. Again it too had massive urban evacuations (in Britain's capital). And like this the threat is eventually overcome.

The difference here is that sheer chance causes the threat in SEVEN DAYS TO NOON to collapse. Here it is due to the really dangerous work of bomb deactivation expert Major Peter Lyncourt (Glenn Ford, playing a Canadian here). Lyncourt is suffering from marital problems with his French wife Janine (Anne Vernon), who walks out on him in despair at the rut their marriage seems to be in (she hates Birmingham). He is approached by Scotland Yard (Maurice Denham as Inspector Wanlow) to assist in disarming the train before the bomb explodes the cars at about seven in the following morning. Lyncourt agrees to this, and most of the film follows the slow attempt of the Major in going through one car after another after another and through each of the mines to find the triggering mechanism that will cause the explosion.

At the same time, we watch Janine fending off a masher at a coffee shop while waiting for the train, and finally heading home to find her husband missing. Only gradually does she figure out where Peter has gone off to.

One final thread is the search for the saboteur. Constable Charles Baron (John Horsley) had a brief struggle with the saboteur but was knocked out. However he knows what he looks like, and he figures the saboteur will probably go to a spot to see the explosion. So he is waiting from one train to another for the saboteur to show up...and keeps being disappointed.

The finale pulls all the threads together, including good old Charlie. At the end he is allowed to enjoy his train. God bless him. A nice little thriller, it is not a major work in Glenn Ford's career, but it certainly keeps one interested to the end.

odd little film

[blanche-2 · 5/10 · 25 November 2006]

"Terror on a Train" or "Time Bomb" is a black and white British film made in 1953. The entire budget seemingly went to pay Glenn Ford's salary, and one wonders why he's in it at all. The story concerns a bomb planted on a train; the Ford character is called in to find it. The secondary story, completely unnecessary, is about his unhappy home life.

This film could have been much more interesting, atmospheric, and suspenseful. Unfortunately, it isn't. The handsome Ford has nothing to do - a chimpanzee could have played the part. Did he need the money or was this to fulfill a contractual obligation? The ending is somewhat suspenseful but raises a question about the Ford character's expertise. I won't spoil it in case you want to see the film, but surely you can find something better to do with your time.

Runs Out of Steam Immediately

[LeonLouisRicci · 4/10 · 4 May 2013]

Plodding and virtually plot less this mundane Movie is a static presentation that tries very little to be exciting. It's a lethargic little Film exploiting the bomb in Britain anxiety that the People there surely didn't need any reminder to bring back those nightmares of just a few years back.

It is not bad, just runs out of steam almost immediately. Once the bomb "expert" climbs aboard the Train things really screech to a halt. The Wifely back story seems oddly coupled here and is about as dull as their Marriage. The most interesting thing is the Saboteur and the hunt for Him and his motivation are non-existent.

There is a bit of Comedy relief featuring a codger, "I like Trains". That line is repeated ad nauseum and is somewhat condescending. It doesn't liven things up. Overall, this is not a complete failure and has some rather good Cinematography. The locations are damp and dismal and that describes this completely.

"Bomb" is the word for this one.

[bob-1070 · 2/10 · 1 November 2006]

This British film is truly awful, and it's hard to believe that Glenn Ford is in it, although he pretty much sleepwalks through it. The idea of a bomb on a train sounds good...but it turns out this train ends up parked for the majority of the film! No action, no movement, just a static train. The area where the train is parked is evacuated, so it's not like there's any danger to anyone either. In fact, this film could be used in a film class to show how NOT to make a suspense film. True suspense is generated by letting the audience know things that the characters don't, a fact apparently unknown to the director. SPOILER: the train actually has two bombs on it, but we are led to believe there is only one. After the first bomb is defused, it feels as if there is no longer a reason to watch the film any more. But at the last minute, the villain, who has no apparent motivation for his actions, reveals there are two. Nor are we certain WHEN the bombs will go off, so we don't even have a classic "ticking bomb" tension sequence. A good 10 minutes or more are spent watching Glenn Ford's French wife thinking about leaving him, and then wondering where he is . She's such an annoying character that we don't care whether she reconciles with him, so when she does, there's nothing emotional about it. Most of the other characters are fairly devoid of personality, and none have any problems or issues. It's only 72 minutes, but it feels long because it's tedious and dull. Don't waste your time.

Good old 50's black & white , highly watchable for the names in the cast and also the post war locations

[Pauly47 · 8/10 · 20 January 2005]

I think that this is a very under rated 50's film with terrific cast. Yes, of course the film seems dated by today's standards. And the very "obvious" solution to the explosive problems is completely ignored.. Park it somewhere in the uninhabited countryside. But just have a look at the full list of credits. Some wonderful names there from this era. Some at the start of illustrious careers. Laurence Naismith, Sam Kydd, Maurice Denham, Arthur Mullard, Bill Fraser etc etc. Many of them uncredited in the film.I have another interest in this movie, I am quite certain that my grandfather was hired to drive the locomotive in the train sequences.

There really aren't any twists and turns or other surprises

[bensonmum2 · 5/10 · 25 August 2017]

A terrorist plants a bomb on a train carrying military explosives. Officials call in an ex-Army bomb disposal expert, Peter Lyncort (Glenn Ford), to help with the situation. The first hurdle is locating the bomb. The train is carry several cars, each loaded with ten or so mines. Lyncort's got his work cut out for him just finding the device. To make matters worse, the bomb is outfitted with a timing detonator. If he can't find it in time - BOOM!

Overall, Terror on a Train was a disappointing experience. My rating would seem to indicate that I found the movie about average, but that rating is a little misleading. The plot here is horribly dull. There really aren't any twists and turns or other surprises to make things interesting. It's all presented in an incredibly linear fashion. There's a bomb, there's a bomb disposal expert, Lyncort looks for the bomb - that's about it. All the extra plot bits involving Lyncort's wife are so unnecessary to the film. These scenes felt like little more than padding. And at less than 75 minutes in length, you must not have much of a plot if you need filler.

What I liked and what elevated Terror on a Train's rating from being below average was the English countryside slice-of-life. I love this stuff. Sure, it felt like more filler, but it was enjoyable filler. The policeman making tea in the evacuated pub, the senile old man wanting to see the train, the old woman being evacuated from the hospital, the interesting 1950s era locations - that's what I enjoyed.

strange film

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 5 December 2015]

It is rather difficult to know exactly where this film fits.At 72 minutes long it is clearly either a B feature or a co feature,except for the fact that it stars Glenn Ford,and not the usual fading American star.One can only assume that he was making this solely for contractual reasons.He doesn't appear for the first 15 minutes and his first scenes are with Anne Vernon in a rather dull domestic dispute.The film itself makes little sense.We have to accept that we are not going to be told the motives for placing the bomb.However the idea that an officer would be called in to handle such a job is to say the least fanciful.It would normally be handled by the army bomb disposal squad.Nice to see a lot of familiar faces though.

Defused from the beginning

[andrewsarchus · 1/10 · 11 December 2006]

Truly awful film made by cinematographer-turned-director Ted Tetzlaff. Decent enough looking film but for a time-bomb movie totally devoid of any tension whatsoever. Ford, as someone put it here, sleepwalks though this one with his characteristic smirk. There are some details thrown around- Canadian ex-army or RAF, defused bombs in the war, his wife is leaving him- but none of these back stories add up to much. The bomber himself is a complete mystery. Why is he trying to blow up this shipment of mines? For that matter, what time period are we talking about here? WWII or postwar?? I assumed the latter which makes bomber's motive even more salient. Generally, though, just a horrible film. There are plenty of good time-bomb flicks to skip this one. Watch any episode of "Danger UXB" for a more exciting time, at about the same running time.

Crackerjack Thriller -- Neat and Compact, But With Lots of Moving Part

[reprtr · 9/10 · 3 July 2019]

I first saw this movie on July 2, 2019, and I was riveted to my seat from the opening sequence. Director Ted Tetzlaff, working in the UK with Glenn Ford (whose presence was the raison d'etre for the movie as an MGM British production), never lets up the tension from the opening confrontation between a uniformed police constable (John Horsley) and a seeming vagrant (Victor Maddern) in a railway yard. The script and story, by Kem Bennett, interweave several stories that end up interlocking, and watching it the other morning, I had to wonder if Arthur Hailey didn't see this movie on original release, because the interaction of human elements and suspense seem to point the way very much to books such as Airport (and yes, I know that Hailey had lots of inspirations along the way). Glenn Ford's marital difficulties with unhappy wife Anne Vernon are given just the right amount of play, when one takes into account her role in the subsequent plot, and his low-key acting is perfectly balanced by the presence of Maurice Denham as the coolly efficient (but quietly scared-to-death) police official in charge on the ground. And then there are the wonderful little uniquely British touches, such as Herbert C. Walton's performance as Charlie, a man who likes trains. There is only one plot flaw and a slight structural flaw in the run-up to the double-barreled finale, but I won't go into those here, as they're not that serious and talking about them would spoil the movie. This is one that I heartily wish were available as a mechanically manufactured DVD, rather than a Warner Archives DVD-R, because it rates the better treatment.