GB
1935
1hr 20mins
Dir: Leslie Hiscott
Starring: Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen
After ten years in prison three ex-bank robbers try to recover their hidden loot
There is a comedy scene in this film whereby Flanagan and Allen drive their car from a level crossing and into a tunnel. An express follows them in and emerges from the other side, followed by the car missing most of its parts! The express suffers from an identity crisis as in the ‘approaching’ shot it is hauled by GWR ‘Star’ Class 4-6-0 No.4035 Queen Charlotte, only for it then to be hauled by a Class 4300-series 2-6-0 as it enters the tunnel. When it emerges from the other side it is hauled by a ‘Hall’ Class 4-6-0, which is travelling a lot quicker, but even this is not all it appears to be. As the train passes by there is a jump in the camera film and we then see some vintage clerestory rolling stock, a clear indication of two trains filmed in independent shots then merged together to form one. It is also the same tunnel entrance that is used for both the ‘entrance’ and ‘exit’ scenes! These are not the only continuity errors though. The car initially turns left off the level crossing and, by crossing onto the bridge over the River Avon, is actually driving away from the tunnel. The first shot of the ‘approaching’ ‘Star’ also shows the loco heading away from the level crossing having already crossed the bridge. Then we see the car entering the tunnel, so it has turned around! None of this really matters though because the amusing scene has some decent images, that of the ‘Star’ is particularly rare. So, where was this filmed? The level crossing is Greenland Mill Level Crossing and the tunnel is the adjacent 159 yards-long Bradford Tunnel. There is also a shot of the wrecked car being driven through Bradford-on-Avon station just after the event.
