''The Wrecker'' (german: Der Würger) is a 1929 British-German silent

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by

Géza von Bolváry Géza von Bolváry (born Géza Gyula Mária Bolváry Zahn, german: Géza Maria von Bolváry-Zahn; 26 December 1897 – 10 August 1961) was a Hungarians, Hungarian actor, screenwriter, and film director, who worked principally in Germany and Aust ...

and starring

Carlyle Blackwell Carlyle Blackwell (January 20, 1884 – June 17, 1955) was an American silent film actor, director and producer. Early years Blackwell was born in Troy, Pennsylvania. He studied at Cornell University before J. Stewart Blackton discovered him an ...

Joseph Striker Joseph Striker (December 23, 1898 – February 24, 1974) was an American actor. He appeared in 28 films between 1920 and 1929. Later in the 1930s he appeared on Broadway. He was born in New York City. A resident of Cranford, New Jersey, Str ...

, and

Benita Hume Benita Hume (14 October 1907 – 1 November 1967) was an English theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than 40 films between 1925 and 1955. Life and career She was married to film actor Ronald Colman from 1938 to his death in 1958 ...

. The film was based on the play of the same title by

Arnold Ridley William Arnold Ridley, OBE (7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984) was an English playwright and actor, earlier in his career known for writing the play '' The Ghost Train'' and later in life in the British TV sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977) as ...

. It was produced by

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

for

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

in a co-production with the German firm

Felsom Film Felsom Film was a film production company which operated in Weimar Germany between 1922 and 1933. It was founded and run by producers Hermann Fellner and Josef Somlo. The company's name is a blend of their surnames. During the 1920s, the firm em ...

Plot

A criminal referred to by the press as "The Wrecker" is orchestrating accidents on Britain's railways. One such accident occurs on the (fictional) United Coast Lines Railway, whose train is carrying Roger Doyle (

), who has retired from

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

to work on the railway. Roger survives, and reports the accident to his uncle, Sir Gerald Bartlett (

Winter Hall Winter Hall (21 June 1872 – 10 February 1947) was a New Zealand actor of the silent era who later appeared in sound films. He performed in more than 120 films between 1916 and 1938. Prior to that, he had a career as a stage actor in Austr ...

), the managing director of the railway, and his assistant, the sly Ambrose Barney (

). Unbeknownst to them, Ambrose is The Wrecker, and is also the head of the Kyle Motor-Coach Company, whose buses are introduced on services where The Wrecker has struck, hoping to frighten passengers off of the trains and onto buses. When Sir Gerald becomes suspicious of Ambrose following yet another accident, he is shot dead. After receiving a tip-off from one of Ambrose's employees, Roger and bumbling detective Ramesses Ratchett (Leonard Thompson) foil another planned accident, much to the delight of the press. Ambrose, enraged at being foiled, plans another accident, but his conversation is recorded onto a wax cylinder by Roger and his girlfriend, Mary Shelton (

), Sir Gerald's secretary who had been on the train that Roger had saved from disaster. On hearing the wax cylinder that exposes his crimes, Ambrose shoots the phonograph, destroying the cylinder, and flees from Roger and Mary, only to find himself on the very train that is to be wrecked. Ambrose holds Roger at gunpoint, but is attacked from behind by Mary and subdued, and the train is brought to a safe halt. With Ambrose defeated, Roger and Mary profess their love for each other, disappearing in a cloud of steam as the train reverses away.

Cast

Production

The film was shot as a silent, with a soundtrack was later added. The crash scene was filmed at

Herriard Herriard is a village and civil parish in the Basingstoke and Deane district of Hampshire, England. Its nearest town is Basingstoke, which lies north. The village is situated mainly on the A339 road between Alton, and Basingstoke. At the 2001 ...

on the

Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway The Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway was opened in 1901, by the London and South Western Railway. It was the first English railway authorised under Light Railway legislation. It ran through unpromising, lightly populated terrain, and was prob ...

. A set of SECR coaches and a SECR F1 Class locomotive No. A148 were released on an incline to collide into a Foden steam lorry. The impact, which destroyed the locomotive and the lorry, was recorded by 22 cameras and has been described as "the most spectacular rail crash in cinema history."

Restoration

The film has been restored, with a new musical score by the composer

Neil Brand Neil Brand (born 18 March 1958) is an English dramatist, composer and author. In addition to being a regular silent film accompanist at London's National Film Theatre, Brand has composed new scores for two restored films from the 1920s, '' The ...

. On 26 November 2009 it was launched at a special screening at the

Watercress Line The Watercress Line is the marketing name of the Mid-Hants Railway, a heritage railway in Hampshire, England, running from New Alresford to Alton where it connects to the National Rail network. The line gained its popular name in the days w ...

, a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

close to where the filming took place. The film was released on DVD in the UK on 16 November 2009.

References

Bibliography

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External links

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Alton line's silent movie stunt
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BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

article {{DEFAULTSORT:Wrecker, The 1929 crime films British crime films German crime films Films of the Weimar Republic British silent feature films German silent feature films German films based on plays British films based on plays Rail transport films Films directed by Géza von Bolváry Films set in England Gainsborough Pictures films Films produced by Arnold Pressburger German black-and-white films British black-and-white films 1920s British films 1920s German films Silent crime films