Favorite Train Movies

[WGL]

 Does anyone have some favorite movies, either classics with train scenes or films notable for good train scenes?

  My favorite European train movie is Hitchcock's 1938 classic "The Lady Vanishes."  "The 39 Steps,"  "Shanghai Express," "Night Train to Munich," "North by Northwest," "From Russia, With Love," & "Murder on the Orient Express" have good train scenes.  "The Narrow Margin" (1952) is a gem of a "B" movie, & its re-make, "Narrow Margin," shows a lot of the Empire Builder, inside & out.  "Silver Streak" shows a lot of its train.  There's a Michael Shayne mystery, "Sleepers West."  Agatha Christie's Miss Marple witnesses a murder on a train in "Murder, She Said," as does Canadian star Deanna Durbin in "Lady on a Train."

    Westerns with trains include "Union Pacific" (1939) about the building of the railroad, "Jesse James," (1939), "Whispering Smith" (1948), "Night Passage" (1957), & the classics "3:10 to Yuma" (1957) & "Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid."  Hobos during the Great Depression ride the rails in the classic "Sullivan's Travels" (1941).

"The General," "Go West," "Twentieth Century," "Palm Beach Story," & "Some Like It Hot" have funny train scenes.

"The Man Who Knew Too Much" (1934), "Four's a Crowd," (1938), "Holiday Affair" (1949), People Will Talk" (1951) & "Throw Momma From the Train" feature model trains.

[Yampa Bob]

Two movies I enjoyed were "Von Ryan's Express" starring Frank Sinatra, and "Emperor of the North" with Lee Marvin and Ernest Borgnine.  Most train movies have bloopers but that's just Hollywood.

Another western with trains was "The Professionals" with Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Jack Palance and Claudia Cardinale. In the series "Gunsmoke", Matt was sometimes seen escorting a prisoner by train.

Unfortunately many of the movie greats are gone. John Wayne was my favorite, there was a short train scene in "The Quiet Man" , "McClintock" and "Red River".

"100 Rifles", "Bridge over River Kwai", "High Noon", "The Train Robbers".

[Woody Elmore]

We've been through this thread several times. Missing is the mention of one of the greatest train movies - the 1929 film "Danger Lights" starring Louis Waldheim (the star of "All Quiet on the Western Front). It takes place almost entirely on the Milwaukee Road and is a great film if you can find it.

By the way, the interior train scenes in "North by Northwest" were shot in a studio. Only the external scenes in Grand Central Terminal were done on location. Even the house at the end of the movie is a set.

"Emperor of the North" is great.

"Biloxie Blues" has some exterior scenes featuring ex -Lackawanna commuter coaches (in Mississippi!)

[pdlethbridge]

What was the silent movie with the guy ( probably yampa bob ) sitting on the side rod of a moving 4-4-0?
What was the Burt Lancaster movie he did in Europe and wrecked the train?

[mudhen]

As a Kid, Sorry my wife says I still am one.
I watched Casey Jones from the 1957 TV series staring Alan Hale Jr.  ( the captain on Gilligan's Island ) . Set in Illinois , Tennessee's 1890's. on the " Midwest and Illinois Central Railroad " Remember the Cannon Ball with the antlers on top, front of its boiler, Casey, his Son Casey Jr,  his Wife Alice, the Dog Cinders, the Fireman Wallie Sims, and Conductor Red Rock Smith too. Remember the show theme song too. It's great.
I purchased the 1 and only years series from Thomas Film Classics on DVD and they have it on sale now from $49.45 to $29.95 .
It shows 1 left in stock so best of luck who gets it first .
Great plug for Thomas Film Classics . I should work for them. Think.
As I under stand you my be able to purchase more railroad movies from them.
Good hunting.
Mudhen

[john tricarico]

the great silent movie your looking for is
buster keatons classic the GENERAL where hes sitting of the drive rod

now the burt lancaster movie filmed in france in
1964 is the TRAIN in this movie they actually destroyed an old french
railways facility and a bunch of pre war locomotives

theres benn a lot of movies over the years

my favorite  taking of the pelham 1 2 3   1974
with walter matthau and robert shaw  
this movie was classic nyc in the 70s

im allways looking for old movies with trains

good luck    john t  brooklyn ny

[mudhen]

The actor on the sid rods in that civil war black and white movie , the name of that movie escapes me now, was Buster Ketton  and he also did another silent short  movie set in Canada , going across Canada on a track motor car from coast to coast . Very funny. He live out of and gets everything out of where the motor should be.
Mudhen

[mudhen]

John
You are correct, it was the movie  The General and it is Buster Keaton. You are just one click ahead of me
Mudhen

[PRRThomas11]

     A really good one is North by Northwest. Its a great Alfred Hitchcock movie in which Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is framed for murder and eludes the authorities by getting on the 20th Century Limited.
     Also, The Great Locomotive Chase: an old live action Disney movie about the the civil war story when undercover Union soldiers steal The Genral and are chased by a the train's conductor on foot, a handcar, then backwards on The Texas.
     Both of these movies are some of my favorites.

[Yampa Bob]

In the movie "Stand by Me", Will Wheaton (Wesley in Star Trek) and friends are juvenile runaways playing hobo.  They get caught in the middle of a long trestle with a steamer bearing down on them. The kids are running like crazy, of course one kid gets his foot caught between the open ties, but they all jump clear at the last moment.

[Jim Banner]

Runaway Train comes to mind as another train movie.

The General is available online at the link below:

http://www.archive.org/details/TheGeneral

[RAM]

I didn't see the movie "Stand by Me", Will Wheaton (Wesley in Star Trek) and friends are juvenile runaways playing hobo.  They get caught in the middle of a long trestle with a steamer bearing down on them. However I saw a program where they interviewed the boys.  They asked the question. 'what was it like to be running accross that trestle with a train bearing down on you?'  "Well there wasn't a train coming"

[renniks]

   
      The film of Buster Keaton in Canada is 'The Railrodder'.  He travels fron the Atlantic to the Pacific on a CN speeder. No dialogue--just background sounds and music.
      He  eats and sleeps on the speeder,getting all necessary objects from the small toolbox on top of the engine cover.  These include a (very)full length fur coat, a shotgun and a 15x15 plate camera and tripod.
      Very chuckle worthy.

     Eric UK

[glennk28]

Let's get the right stars here:

Emperpr of the North---OP&E (YW) 19
Denver & Rio Grande---D&RGW 268, with 319 and 345 in the big scene
A Ticket to Tomahawk---RGS 20

[WGL]

 For Maine railroaders, there is the comedy, "It Happened to Jane," in which Doris Day & Jack Lemmon commandeer an old steamer to get her lobsters to market & foil the nasty owner of the railroad, Ernie Kovacs, who re-routes them all over the state.