SILVER BLAZE

GB
1937
1hr 11mins
Dir: Thomas Bentley
Starring: Arthur Wontner and Ian Fleming

Whilst on holiday, Sherlock Holmes finds himself in the middle of a double-murder mystery

This crime mystery was based rather loosely on Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story of the same title. In the US, the film was released in 1941 where it was also known as Murder at the Baskervilles, retitled by distributors to capitalize on the success of the Basil Rathbone Holmes film, The Hound of the Baskervilles. The running time was also reduced by six minutes for its US release. The story centres on a racehorse, Silver Blaze, and there are real scenes of actual racing at Newbury. As a result, there are a couple of shots of excursions calling at Newbury Racecourse station and of coaches in Racecourse Sidings. Although the GWR coaching stock is clearly visible no locomotives are, though we do see one extremely blurred glimpse of a GWR ‘kettle’.

Trains disgorge racegoers at Newbury Racecourse station
This is ‘The Paddock’ at Newbury Racecourse with a train standing in the adjacent station, top right
As the neddies race, the camera follows their progress, and a train standing in Racecourse Sidings is visible in the background. This blurry image is that of a locomotive, and one can even make out its nameplate, but this is as good an image we get.
More horses, and another train stabled in the sidings