GB
1970
1hr 41mins
Dir: Jonathan Miller
Starring: Oliver Reed and Hayley Mills
A young Northern girl comes to teach in London but soon becomes the centre of male attention
This comedy is based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Kingsley Amis and the opening scenes feature Hayley Mills travelling by train. The opening shot is of a shabby two-tone green-liveried Class 47 passing through the countryside on an express, followed by a good scene with Mills arriving at Slough station. Class 35 ‘Hymek’ D7058 is bringing a train (headcode 1A20) into the Windsor branch bay platform and one of the BR Mk.1 coaches in the consist is SK No.25051. Slough masqueraded as ‘Hendge’ and a shot of the frontage appears again later in the film with period London Midland Region and Motorail posters. There is also a scene where Oliver Reed waits in his car at Pooley Green level crossing, Egham, while an 8-car formation of four 2 BIL EMU’s crosses. However, the rear unit, interestingly, appears to have been converted to departmental/parcels use as there are only three or four windows per vehicle (??). The units are working a headcode 36 service (Waterloo-Reading via Richmond fast) and there is an excellent shot of the signal box before its closure in 1974. Another train then passes in extreme closeup so it is unidentifiable as a result.
