GB
1964
53mins
Dir: John Moxey
Starring: Jeremy Kemp and Rosemary Leach
A criminal recently released from prison falls for the blind wife of his former cellmate whom he promised, when inside, to visit
This short crime drama was one of a series of second feature films based on Edgar Wallace novels, released between 1960 and 1965 in British cinemas. This particular crime story has a tight and intricate plot and is cleverly worked throughout. The synopsis above does little justice to what really takes place on screen. The film has some excellent scenes filmed at Oxshott station, on the Guildford New Line in Surrey, plus some shots of passing trains in the surrounding area. Electric units that feature are all 4-car EPB’s, both of Southern Railway and later Southern Region origin, working headcode 42, Waterloo-Guildford via Cobham services. Some scenes were also filmed on the concourse of London Waterloo, though no trains feature here on this occasion. There are several scenes of Jeremy Kemp onboard EPB’s, and one exceptional sequence as the train pulls into Oxshott station. The lady passenger sat opposite him gently opens the latch to the door when the train’s brakes begin to apply. Gradually, as the train hits the platform, she pushes the door still further until, by the time the train squeals to a halt, she lets the momentum of the stop open it fully before stepping out onto the platform in one swift movement. This is a wonderful portrayal of something that was once so very common, helped further by the fact that the cameraman is using a hand-held camera, with all its jaunty movements. He leaves the train after the passenger, and turns around on the platform in time to see Jeremy Kemp get off. True to form, all passengers have left the doors wide open!! The dangerous act of opening the doors and alighting whilst the train was in motion became a perfected art form for regular travelers, but died a death with the cessation of slam door services.
