Where to find it: Amazon and BritBox
Length: 83 minutes
Synopsis: English villagers work together to keep their local train service running
Recommendation rating: 4/5
What I like about it: charming, witty, pretty technicolor images of the English south-west, great model shots, orchestral train-inspired score
What I don’t like about it: for a trim 83 minutes, it does start to feel stretched and samey
Review:
Set amidst the slow bloodletting of the nationalised British Railways network which preceeded the swing of Beeching’s Axe, this Ealing comedy finds a group of quirky villagers dismayed at the closing of their local railway. They seek to run it themselves and contend with many challenges along the way, often stemming from an enterprising villager who hopes to profit off the closure by running monopolised bus services in their place. Has much to say about the changes faced by rural villages in the post-war years and plenty of dry wit to keep it going – “They already closed the Canterbury line, vicar!” “Well perhaps there are not men of sufficient faith in Canterbury”. A delightful, fluffy diversion
Content notes (may contain spoilers): alcoholism, hunting scene, racism and all-white cast