''Train of Events'' is a 1949 British

portmanteau film An anthology film (also known as an omnibus film, package film, or portmanteau film) is a single film consisting of several shorter films, each complete in itself and distinguished from the other, though frequently tied together by a single theme ...

made by

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

and directed by

Sidney Cole Sidney Henry Cole (31 October 1908 – 25 January 1998) was a British film and television producer. Earlier in his career he worked as a film editor. Cole was educated at the London School of Economics (LSE), and entered the film industry as ...

Charles Crichton Charles Ainslie Crichton (6 August 1910 – 14 September 1999) was an English film director and film editor, editor. Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he became best known for directing many comedies produced at Ealing Studios and had a 40-ye ...

and Basil Dearden. It begins with a train that is heading for a crash into a stalled petrol tanker at a level crossing and then flashes back and tells four different stories about some of the passengers.

Plot

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

-bound train departs from Euston station in London in the period immediately after World War II. After dark, the train is travelling north at speed when a light being waved by the trackside is seen by the driver. He applies the brakes but a road tanker stalled across a

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an overpass or tunnel. The term a ...

is looming up just ahead. Plainly, there is not enough room to stop but, just as the collision is about to occur, there is a fade-out succeeded by a view of the locomotive sheds at Euston three days earlier. Personal stories of passengers are then told in flashbacks which make up the "train of events" of the title. The first story, "The Actor", is about Philip ( Peter Finch) who has a dark secret. He has been visited by his estranged wife and we learn that she has been unfaithful while he was in the Army. She jeers at him and he is roused to revenge, strangling her while a gramophone plays ''

These Foolish Things "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)" is a standard with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz, writing under the pseudonym Holt Marvell, and music by Jack Strachey, both Englishmen. Harry Link, an American, sometimes appears as a co-writer; his input ...

''. The theatre party to which he belongs is on the train, en route to Canada. Also on board is a costume hamper containing the body of his wife. He is hoping to get rid of it on the transatlantic crossing but detectives have been tracking him and are on the train. The second story, "The Prisoner-of-War", is about Richard ( Laurence Payne) and Ella (

Joan Dowling Joan Dowling (6 January 1928 – 31 March 1954) was a British character actress. Life and career Dowling was the illegitimate daughter of Vera Dowling. A piece in ''The Laindon and District Times'', on 23 June 2015, written by her cousin Joh ...

). He is a prisoner of war (POW) on the run who doesn't wish to return to Germany. They have hitherto endured a miserable secret life in assorted seedy lodgings and Ella is hoping they can start again abroad. However, she has stolen money from her landlady to pay her fare and there is only enough for one of them to emigrate. Selflessly, she intends it be him. The third story, "The Composer", is about composer Raymond Hillary ( John Clements) who is travelling to a performance with his star pianist, the temperamental Irina (

Irina Baronova Irina Mikhailovna Baronova FRAD (; 13 March 1919 – 28 June 2008) was a Russian ballerina and actress who was one of the Baby Ballerinas of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, discovered by George Balanchine in Paris in the 1930s. She created ...

). Although married he has had a string of dalliances, Irina being the latest. The fourth story, "The Engine Driver", is centred on engine driver Jim Hardcastle ( Jack Warner). He is facing his own crisis: he is a candidate for a management job at the locomotive sheds. Getting the job would take him off the footplate and allow him to work office hours, the heartfelt wish of his wife Emily (

Gladys Henson Gladys Henson (27 September 1897 – 21 December 1982) was an Irish actress whose career lasted from 1932 to 1976 and included roles on stage, radio, films and television series. Among her most notable films were '' The History of Mr Polly'' ...

). However, to cover for his daughter's future husband who was accidentally knocked out when Jim and his mate were trying to stop him resigning, then put into a fish wagon to come round which was hitched to a loco that ends up in Macclesfield, Jim covers for him by working his shift and, if this were to come to light, it could cost him the promotion. The film returns to the train, roaring through the night. Again we see the light by the track and the tanker just ahead but this time also the collision. The derailed and damaged train lies in ruins. Jim Hardcastle groggily recovers consciousness in a pile of coal from the overturned tender, as shocked passengers wander about. One of them is Richard but his Ella is badly injured and on a stretcher; she dies before she can be taken away and Richard runs from the scene (and the attending police) unaware of the steamship ticket in Ella's handbag, which blows away. Philip seems unhurt and makes a dash for freedom, but as he tries to evade the detectives he runs dangerously close to the wreckage and an unstable coach collapses upon him. Irina and Raymond are only bruised and their company is able to continue, albeit in bandages. There is a happy ending for driver Jim. The final scene shows him waving goodbye to his wife as he prepares to cycle across to the locomotive sheds on the first day of his new job.

Main cast

"The Engine Driver" (directed by

) * Jack Warner as Jim Hardcastle *

as Mrs Hardcastle *

Susan Shaw Susan Shaw (29 August 192927 November 1978) was an English actress. Biography Shaw was born Patsy Sloots in West Norwood, London. She had wanted to become a dress designer and was working as a typist at the Ministry for Information when she di ...

as Doris Hardcastle *

Patric Doonan Patric Doonan (George William Doonan) (18 April 1926 in Derby, Derbyshire – 10 March 1958 in London) was a British stage and screen actor. He was the son of comedian George Vincent Doonan and Doris Mary (Nee Endsor) he was the brother of ...

as Ron Stacey *

Miles Malleson William Miles Malleson (25 May 1888 – 15 March 1969) was an English actor and dramatist, particularly remembered for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles i ...

as Timekeeper * Philip Dale as Hardcastle's fireman *

Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...

as Stacey's Fireman "The Prisoner-of-War" (directed by Basil Dearden) *

as Ella * Laurence Payne as Richard *

Olga Lindo Olga Lindo (13 July 1899 – 7 May 1968) was an English actress. She was the daughter of Frank Lindo, a well-known actor, manager and author. She made her stage debut at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 26 December 1913. She later joined her ...

as Mrs Bailey "The Composer" (directed by

) * Valerie Hobson as Stella * John Clements as Raymond Hillary *

as Irina *

John Gregson Harold Thomas Gregson (15 March 1919 – 8 January 1975), known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles. He was cr ...

as Malcolm * Gwen Cherrell as Charmian * Jacqueline Byrne as TV Announcer "The Actor" (directed by Basil Dearden) * Peter Finch as Philip *

Mary Morris Mary Lilian Agnes Morris (13 December 1915 – 14 October 1988) was a Fijian born British actress. Life and career Morris was the daughter of Herbert Stanley Morris, a botanist, and his wife, Sylvia Ena de Creft-Harford. She trained at the Ro ...

as Louise *

Laurence Naismith Laurence Naismith (born Lawrence Johnson; 14 December 1908 – 5 June 1992) was an English actor. He made numerous film and television appearances, including starring roles in the musical films '' Scrooge'' (1970) and the children's ghost fil ...

as Joe Hunt * Doris Yorke as Mrs Hunt *

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

as Plainclothesman * Charles Morgan as Plainclothesman * Guy Verney as Producer *

Mark Dignam Cuthbert Mark Dignam (20 March 1909 – 29 September 1989) was a prolific English actor. Born in London, the son of a salesman in the steel industry, Dignam grew up in Sheffield, and was educated at the Jesuit College, where he appeared in num ...

as Bolingbroke * Philip Ashley as Actor * Bryan Coleman as Actor * Henry Hewitt as Actor *

Lyndon Brook Lyndon Brook (10 April 1926 – 9 January 2004) was a British actor, on film and television. Family and early life Lyndon Brook was born on 10 April 1926 in Los Angeles, California, to British parents. He came from an established acting fami ...

as Actor

Production

Jack Warner was permanently injured while making this film. He had insisted on learning how a steam engine is driven to get his posture right, but slipped on a patch of oil and fell into a locomotive turntable pit and injured his back. He had a slight limp ever afterwards as a result which remained with him and became noticeably worse as he aged until his death. One quirk of the film is that one of the digits on the smokebox number plate of a locomotive featured in one of the early scenes is painted out (presumably to avoid worrying passengers who might fear that it really would be involved in an accident) but is still clearly readable because the numbers themselves were made from raised metal. The locomotives used in the film included two LMS Class 3F "Jinty" 0-6-0Ts Nos. 47327 and 47675, and

LMS Royal Scot Class The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) Royal Scot Class is a class of 4-6-0 express passenger locomotive introduced in 1927. Originally having parallel boilers, all members were later rebuilt with tapered type 2A boilers, and were in ef ...

No. 46126 ''Royal Army Service Corps''. One of these engines 47327 survives to this day and is based on the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

Butterley Butterley is a village in the English county of Derbyshire near to Ripley. It is the site of the Midland Railway – Butterley, as well as the old Butterley Brickworks. Notable residents *Sir James Outram, hero of the Indian Mutiny, was born ...

Reception

The film premiered on 18 August 1949 at the Gaumont Haymarket in London, and the reviewer for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' didn't appreciate the four-in-one storyline : "''The contrivance at best is clumsy, and there are not any inherent virtues in "Train of Events" to compensate for the inevitable distraction and division of attention.''"

References

External links

* * {{Michael Balcon 1949 films British anthology films 1949 drama films Films directed by Basil Dearden Films directed by Charles Crichton Rail transport films British drama films Ealing Studios films Films set in London Films with screenplays by Basil Dearden British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films