LUNCH HOUR

GB
1961
1hr 04mins
Dir: James Hill
Starring: Robert Stephens and Shirley Anne Field

An art designer and a married executive attempt to have an affair during their lunch hours, but are continually interrupted

This amusing little gem, based on a one-act play by John Mortimer, includes a brief shot of the entrance to Temple Underground station, which is then followed by an even briefer shot of a District Line R stock train leaving the southbound platform of Notting Hill Gate station. There is also a scene with Shirley Anne Field onboard a suburban DMU, but as no exterior shots appear it is impossible to tell where this was filmed. The frontage of King’s Cross station just creeps into the background of two shots and the opening credits appear over images of rolling track, images that are repeated in the scene with Shirley Anne onboard the train. The film is a brilliant spectacle. Shirley Anne Field described it as perhaps “the most enjoyable film she had ever done because the cast and crew all worked so closely together”. Seek it out, it is well worth it.

Crowds stream into Temple Underground station
A District Line train of R stock leaving the southbound platform of Notting Hill Gate station
Robert Stephens in Birkenhead Street WC1 with King’s Cross station behind
Shirley Anne Field getting some shut eye in a compartment of a DMU