GB
2000
1hr 40mins
Dir: Kevin Lima
Starring: Glenn Close and Tim McInnerny
Cruella de Vil gets out of prison and goes after Dalmatian puppies once again
This Walt Disney live action comedy is the sequel to the 1996 film 101 Dalmatians and stars Glenn Close reprising her role as Cruella de Vil as she attempts to steal puppies for her ‘grandest’ fur coat yet. Cruella de Vil takes the Orient Express from London to Paris and this sequence features a dramatic scene filmed at London St Pancras station whereby a puppy attempting to board the train falls of the back and lands on the track. A macaw then picks up the puppy and they both fly into the open rear gangway door as the guard leans out to check that the tail lamp is in position! This sequence features good shots of the VSOE Pullman cars including Minerva, and the Mk1 baggage car at the rear, and a shot of LNER A3 Class 4-6-2 No.4472 Flying Scotsman pulling away with some serious wheel slip. Look out for the Midland Mainline Class 170 ‘Turbostar’ DMU’s which are present in the initial establishing shot of the station platforms, and in the background to the other scenes. There is also a shot of the interior of one of the opulent carriages though the scene inside the baggage car with the animals is a set. The view of the Orient Express en route is depicted with a run-by shot of BR Standard Class 5MT 4-6-0 No.73082 Camelot on the Bluebell Railway, and although Pullman cars are in the train’s formation, the Southern Railway Bulleid coach immediately behind the loco is not exactly typical fair for the VSOE! There is also a brief shot at night of Horsted Keynes Signal Box, oddly masquerading as ‘Green Park’. It was the temporary home to a pair of Dalmatian puppies used in the shoot, but they were very difficult to work with by all accounts!!
