GB 1950 1hr 29mins Dir: Henry Cass Starring: Leo Genn and Janette Scott
A young girl experiences trauma when her parent’s divorce
There is quite a bit of railway interest in this touching drama, based on the 1945 novel No Difference to Me by Phyllis Hambledon. These can be divided into four distinct sections – stations, passing trains, London, and the journey itself. The latter consists of the usual studio sets with back-projection, whilst the passing trains that feature are a pair of 4 LAV EMU’s, and two steam-hauled expresses, both hauled by ex-LMS Class 5MT ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0s. The station footage includes sequences filmed at London’s Euston and Waterloo termini, as well as a late night arrival at an unknown Eastern Region station, yet there is also a scene whereby Leo Genn sees his daughter off on a journey from their local station. In this instance the train is real and not a set, and the view outside shows a ‘Brookford’ station sign, but the real identity of the station remains a mystery. The arrival scene early in the film appears to use a real station too, and the sequence inside the station buffet has a train reflected in a mirror behind the counter which disappears from view when the subjects walk away to sit down at a table! Such a detail would unlikely be replicated effectively in a studio. Finally, we come to London, where there is a short scene filmed on the northbound Bakerloo Line platform of Oxford Circus Underground station with 1938 tube stock arriving, Some London trams additionally feature as part of back-projection during a studio bound car journey.
Beatrice Campbell waits at the station for her daughter to arrive. The ‘dodgy BUFFET sign and decidely uniform brickwork smells strongly of a studio recreation.
However, the arriving train looks realistic enough
More to the point, this shot shows a carriage reflected in the mirror behind the buffet counter. Make of this what you will.
Leo Genn says goodbye to his daughter at BROOKFORD station. This is not a set, yet the real identity of this station is not known. 3rd Class carriage 8076 could help narrow things down to a region.
This is the frontage to Waterloo station
In addition to the relatively rare shot of Waterloo’s main entrance, we are treated to this more familiar view of Euston’s infamous Doric arch.
This shot of Euston shows the platforms and trains dappled in sunlight from the roof above
And at platform level a young Janette Scott looks for a seat
A train formed of former LNER suburban stock arrives into a station in the dead of night. It has been suggested that this could be a side entrance at Hitchin station.
This first shot of a train shows a formation of 4 LAV EMU’s passing the camera.
Here we see a ‘Black Five’ hauled express passing Kensal Green station, which has platforms on the Watford DC lines only at this point, out of sight behind the fence on the left
As the train passes by at speed the camera spins round to show it entering Kensal Green tunnel, the other end of which can be seen.
Another express behind another ‘Black Five’.
This is the northbound platform of the Bakerloo Line at Oxford Circus. This layout dated from 1926 but the entrance to the platform was further altetred when the Victoria Line was constructed during the 1960s.
A train of 1938 stock arrives into Oxford Circus
A tram can be seen to the left of Guy Middleton as part of the studio back-projection
