LAST HOLIDAY

GB
1950
1hr 29mins
Dir: Henry Cass
Starring: Alec Guinness and Kay Walsh

When an unappreciated salesman discovers that he has only weeks to live, he spends his savings on a final holiday

This low-key black comedy features an extremely rare shot of the level crossing at Nast Hyde Halt on the Hatfield-St Albans line. No trains are seen and neither is the station. Closed to passengers in 1951, the line remained open to freight until 1968.

This is the level crossing over Ellenbrook Lane, at Nast Hyde Halt. The crossing keeper’s house just visible on the extreme left of the shot still stands, as does the platform (out of shot to the right), with the track bed now forming part of a cycleway.