HAMMER THE TOFF

GB
1952
1hr 11mins
Dir: Maclean Rogers
Starring: John Bentley and Patricia Dainton

A private sleuth known as The Toff proves that a Robin Hood style East End character did not commit murder

This is another good quality piece of B-movie entertainment that was once considered lost, and it features at the beginning some really good shots of steam-hauled services on the LSWR main line around Walton-on-Thames. Four Southern Region expresses are shown, hauled in order by a ‘King Arthur’, a second ‘King Arthur’ in the form of No.30737 King Uther, a ‘Lord Nelson’, and then a streamlined Bulleid light pacific. The film was based on the 1947 novel of the same name by John Creasey, the 17th in the series featuring upper-class sleuth Richard Rollinson, also known as “The Toff”. This film, and another Toff adaptation Salute the Toff, were shot back-to-back at Nettlefold Studios in the summer of 1951 with identical production credits and many of the same actors. Hammer the Toff was issued to cinemas in March 1952 as the sequel to Salute the Toff, which was released as Brighthaven Express (qv). There would be no further entries in the series of films, which had proved popular to the public.

A ‘King Arthur’ Class 4-6-0 approaches the camera on a short five-coach passenger train
As the camera pans around a platform comes into view. An as yet unidentified location.
This is another ‘King Arthur’, in the form of No.30737 King Uther. This is a view looking south-west along the line towards Weybridge from the signal box at Walton-on-Thames.
The final railway shots are filmed here, in the immediate vicinity of Sir Richard’s Bridge, just to the south west of Walton-on-Thames station
This is a view from the bridge looking towards the station. Sir Richard’s Bridge currently takes Ashley Road over the railway, but was originally built for Sir Richard Frederick, owner of the nearby Burwood Park Estate, to allow him access for his pony and trap to Walton and Hersham station (as it was then called), now Walton-on-Thames station.
The approaching express flashes passed in the hands of a ‘Lord Nelson’
And the fourth express, although partially obscured by the trees, is clearly hauled by a streamlined Bulleid light pacific