Night Train for Inverness | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ernest Morris |
Written by | Mark Grantham |
Produced by | |
Cinematography | James Wilson |
Edited by | Spencer Reeve |
Music by | Albert Elms |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Paramount British Pictures (UK) |
Release date |
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Running time | 69 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Night Train for Inverness is a black and white 1960 British drama film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Norman Wooland, Jane Hylton and Dennis Waterman. [1] [2] [3] It was written by Mark Grantham and produced by The Danzigers.
It is notable as the film debut of Dennis Waterman [4] and was referenced in an episode of The Minder Podcast (about the ITV series 1979–1994, 2009, featuring Waterman). [5]
Roy Lewis, just released from gaol, kidnaps his young son Ted and takes him on a train bound for Inverness. However, Lewis doesn't know that Ted is diabetic and faces death without regular insulin injections. Meanwhile, a police manhunt is launched.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The action pointedly plays for suspense and pathos, but a contrived script and self-conscious, heavy-handed direction prove insurmountable obstacles. The net result is extremely mild, with the wife – effectively played by Silvia Francis – emerging as by far the most convincing character." [6]
Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture extracts human sentiment from the young diabetic's plight and creates penultimate suspense, but whether or not this is mis-applied showmanship depends on the individual viewer. It could give some audiences the needle! Denis Waterman is quite natural as Ted, Jane Hylton and Silvia Francis score if contrast as Marion and Ann, Norman Wooland registers as Roy, and Irene Arnold convinces as the interfering Mrs. Wall. The settings are suitably varied, and the vital train journey anything but uneventful." [7]
TV Guide gave it two out of four stars, calling it an "average drama." [8]
The List gave it three out of five stars, and wrote, "this tight, train-bound 1960 thriller has a lot to commend it... Gutsy (for its time) and very watchable." [9]
The film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane wrote that the film "generates genuine suspense from a neatly plotted screenplay". [10]
Norman Wooland was an English character actor who appeared in many major films, including several Shakespearean adaptations.
A Time to Kill is a 1955 British second feature ('B') crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Jack Watling, Rona Anderson, John Horsley, Russell Napier, Kenneth Kent, and John Le Mesurier. It was written by Doreen Montgomery.
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Hello London is a 1960 colour CinemaScope drama-documentary/promotional musical film directed by Sidney Smith and starring Sonja Henie, Michael Wilding, Ronny Graham and Eunice Gayson. It was written by Ken Englund, Herbert Sargent and George Fowler, and produced by Fowler. It was Henie's final film appearance,
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Edward J. Danziger (1909–1999) and Harry Lee Danziger (1913–2005) were American-born brothers who produced many British films and TV shows in the 1950s and 1960s.
The Nudist Story is a 1960 British second feature ('B') film directed by Ramsey Herrington and starring Shelley Martin and Brian Cobby. It was written by Mark Grantham and produced by The Danzigers.
Sentenced for Life is a low budget 1960 British second feature crime film directed by Max Varnel and starring Basil Dignam, Jack Gwillim, Francis Matthews, and Jill Williams. It was written by Mark Grantham and Eldon Howard and produced by The Danzigers.
Devil's Bait is a 1959 black and white British "B" drama film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Geoffrey Keen, Jane Hylton and Gordon Jackson. It was a second feature made by the Rank Organisation.
Bond of Fear is a 1956 British 'B' crime drama film directed by Henry Cass and starring Dermot Walsh, Jane Barrett, and John Colicos. The screenplay was by John Gilling and Norman Hudis.
The Malpas Mystery is a 1960 British second feature ('B') crime film, directed by Sidney Hayers and starring Maureen Swanson and Allan Cuthbertson. The screenplay was by Paul Tabori and Gordon Wellesley, based on the 1924 Edgar Wallace novel The Face in the Night.
Profile is a 1954 British second feature thriller film directed by Francis Searle and starring John Bentley, Kathleen Byron and Thea Gregory. A murder mystery set in a magazine publishers.
The Hideout is a 1956 British crime film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Dermot Walsh, Rona Anderson and Ronald Howard. It was produced as a second feature by John Temple-Smith. The screenplay was by Kenneth Hayles.