Night Train for Inverness

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Night Train for Inverness
"Night Train for Inverness" (1960).jpg
Jane Hylton, Dennis Waterman and Norman Wooland
Directed by Ernest Morris
Written byMark Grantham
Produced by
Cinematography James Wilson
Edited bySpencer Reeve
Music by Albert Elms
Production
company
Distributed by Paramount British Pictures (UK)
Release date
  • January 1960 (1960-01)(UK)
Running time
69 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Night Train for Inverness (also known as Night Train to Inverness) is a 1960 black and white British second feature ('B') [1] drama film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Norman Wooland, Jane Hylton and Dennis Waterman. [2] [3] [4] It was written by Mark Grantham and produced by The Danzigers.

Contents

It is notable as the film debut of Dennis Waterman [5] and was referenced in an episode of The Minder Podcast (about the ITV series 1979–1994, 2009, featuring Waterman). [6]

Plot

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.

Cast

Critical reception

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." [7]

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." [8]

TV Guide gave it two out of four stars, calling it an "average drama." [9]

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." [10]

The film historians Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane wrote that the film "generates genuine suspense from a neatly plotted screenplay". [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 151. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ↑ "Night Train for Inverness". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
  3. ↑ "Night Train for Inverness (1960)". BFI. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009.
  4. ↑ "Night Train for Inverness (1960) - Original Print Info - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
  5. ↑ "DANZIGER FILMS". 78rpm.co.uk.
  6. ↑ "Episode 14 – Dennis Waterman Tribute - THE MINDER PODCAST". 25 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "Night Train for Inverness". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 27 (312): 38. 1 January 1960 – via ProQuest.
  8. ↑ "Night Train for Inverness". Kine Weekly . 513 (2731): 30. 4 February 1960 – via ProQuest.
  9. ↑ "Night Train For Inverness". TVGuide.com.
  10. ↑ "Night Train to Inverness". The List.


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