GB
1952
1hr 24mins
Dir: Charles Crichton
Starring: Dirk Bogarde and Jon Whiteley
A violent fugitive and a mistreated small boy team up together to flee from authority
This pretty effective crime drama has an excellent railway scene whereby Dirk Bogarde and the runaway boy jump into the open wagons of a mixed freight hauled by ex-LMS Class 4F 0-6-0 No.44548. The bridge that the pair jump from is the last of three bridges that were situated very close together, and which were essentially foot bridges that then linked Burslem brickworks with Sneyd Colliery. The railway below was part of the ‘Potteries Loop Line’ that linked Stoke with Kidsgrove on the stretch of line between Cobridge and Burslem stations. The line was closed in the late 1960s and the three bridges were demolished in the 1980s. The line has now been converted into a ‘greenway’ for walkers and cyclists. Earlier in the film there is a scene filmed on Vauxhall Bridge Road, and a tram can be seen in the background in its final year of operation.
