Runaway Railway (1966) User Reviews

Matilda

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 24 March 2021]

It was only a matter of time before the Children's Film Foundation turned it's attention to locomotives and the emphasis here is on thrills, spills and slapstick (including a presumably unscripted collision between Ronnie Barker's head and a lamp the makers kept in), thus prompting a warning by Talking Pictures about attempting the stunts depicted in this film.

Shot on attractively wintry locations with a harmonica score evoking 'Genevieve' and a climax reenecting that of 'Oh! Mr Porter'. Between battling daleks tousle-haired tyke Roberta Tovey (who Launder & Gilliatt sure missed a trick by never casting her as a St. Trinian's first former) tangles with pompous bowler-hatted railway official Hugh Lloyd wielding Dr Beeching's axe; followed by the usual pair of crooks with Ronnie Barker's McCann to Sidney Tafler's Goldberg.

Anyone interested in steam trains should watch this.

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 14 May 2021]

Good CFF film set on the railways. A branch line is closed down,the train is going for scrap. Children want to save it and crooks use them to steal a mail waggon. Good cast though the railway scenes at the climax go on a bit too long.

Amusing railway chase

[mgodwin-2 · 6/10 · 12 July 2021]

Ronnie Barker is the best attraction as baddie Sydney Tafler's tough guy sidekick in this chase between the threatened branch line loco Matilda and the mail train which the crooks have a cunning plan to hi-jack. Shot on the Longmoor Military Railway just like the Great St Trinian's Train Robbery, with similar speeded-up chase sequences. The plot with children trying to save a branch line by selling it to a rich lord felt a bit half-hearted...

Enjoyable Little CFF Film

[nigel_hawkes · 7/10 · 29 October 2022]

Another enjoyable CFF film courtesy of UK's Talking Pictures channel.

As others have commented, this is shades of St. Trinian's with "Oh Mr. Porter" against a backdrop of the Great Train Robbery with Dr. Beeching's Axe looming.

An attractive collection of kids (with the obligatory redundant parents) play with some well-known character actors-of the two rogues Sidney Tafler seems to be enjoying himself whilst Ronnie Barker looks a bit uncomfortable, but maybe he'd had his fill of knocking his head on things and getting thoroughly wet falling in ditches, ponds etc!

The script is quite witty-e.g. (between the kids)-"You trod on my face you fat lump"-with the response "Fat lot of difference that'll make"! The music also is appropriately witty. Nice B&W photography.

Possibly the extended trains' chase sequence at the end goes on a bit too long; but apart from that criticism this is highly recommended and passes a pleasant hour.

The Great Train Robbery for kids

[chris_gaskin123 · 8/10 · 31 October 2005]

I've just seen Runaway Railway for the first time and found it very enjoyable. This has been released in the UK on Video and DVD as part of a double feature of Children's Film Foundation Movies with Junket 89 being the other. There were four of these double-feature volumes released and I now have three of these.

A group of young railway enthusiasts attempt to stop the closure of the local railway by trying to raise money to buy it and the steam engine Matilda. They get help from a pair of men saying they are also enthusiasts. What the children don't know though is that these men are impostors and are really robbers who plan to rob the mail train. They find out the truth when a lorry is parked on the line. After a lengthy chase with the express train, Matilda ends up in London crashing into buffers at the terminus and the children are pleased when the branch line and Matilda are reprieved. The two robbers are then arrested after hiding under coal in Matilda.

This movie was made when Dr Beeching was closing railway lines all over the UK and also after the Great Train Robbery, so in a way it combines those two things. It was filmed on the Longmoor Military Railway in Hampshire.

The cast includes some well known British faces: Sidney Tafler , the late, great Ronnie Barker (The Two Ronnies, Open All Hours, Porridge), the third Dr Who Jon Pertwee and somebody else who has connections with Dr Who, Robeta Tovey who played Dr Who's (Peter Cushing) grand-daughter in Dr Who and the Daleks and Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 AD.

Runaway Railway is worth watching if you get the chance. They don't make 'em like this anymore.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

Wow Saturday Morning!

[TondaCoolwal · 10/10 · 14 March 2021]

Another CFF gem, courtesy of Talking Pictures. They are really spoiling us old codgers! A bit later than my own Saturday morning cinematic attendances, this movie still ticked all of the boxes for me. A scheduled branch line closure and a mail train robbery; what could have been more topical at the time!? And, of course, a gang of kids to foil both schemes. That's what it's all about. Obviously made before Health and Safety was invented, we have children perched on upstairs window sills, kids jumping from moving trains and running alongside racing steam engines. Also, in this type of film, the children can get out of their homes unhindered in the middle of the night and wander about with obvious criminals Sydney Tafler and Ronnie Barker. The final twenty minutes is really exciting with tank engine Matilda (being driven by the kids of course) being chased by the main line express and then, due to points switching, vice-versa. Keep it up TP!

Great fun!

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 14 March 2021]

RUNAWAY RAILWAY is a really great and always enjoyable Children's Film Foundation adventure, once again about kids versus robbers but set on and around a train which gives it extra interest and energy. John Moulder-Brown is the leader of the gang this time around, upgrading from his supporting role in GO KART GO from a couple of years previously. The story is very well-paced and gets almost straight to the action, which means there's a great deal of exciting footage of speeding trains and stunts. Sydney Tafler and Ronnie Barker are very well chosen choices for the villains and others like Graham Stark and Jon Pertwee pop up in cameos. Great fun, and CFF at its best.

Grandads Trains

[spidargirl · 8/10 · 24 March 2021]

Well Talking Pictures Ch. 81, this is the best of your Saturday morning pictures' so far. I lived by a railway line outside Barking station and remember the steam trains in the 1950s and 60s. I could smell the smoke watching the film. It's a great chance to play spot the up and coming stars. Blink and you will miss Jon Pertwee near the end. Graeme Stark? How did the train miss him as his sausages burnt to frazzle? Good to watch as a family film. It should provoke memories from all generations. Just 1hr long if you skip the adverts like me and recorded it. TV