GB 1939 1hr 22mins Dir: Maurice Elvey Starring: Leslie Banks and Kay Walsh
British naval officers at the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth must defeat an espionage ring
This drama was made shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, something explored in the themes of the film, and it was shot in the revolutionary Dufaycolor, the first British movie of its kind. As a result, there are a number of excellent colour shots of both Dartmouth and Churston stations throughout the film. There is a shot of a GWR express passing along the Dart Estuary as seen from the opposite bank, and a good shot of a GWR ‘Castle’ Class 4-6-0 arriving into Churston. In this scene, a branch train for Brixham is standing in the bay but the loco is obscured by platform paraphernalia.
This is Dartmouth, the famous GWR station that was never served by a railway. The sign along the roof reads ‘GWR FERRY FOR CARS AND PASSENGERS’.
A GWR express steams along the Dart estuary having just left Kingswear
CHURSTON FOR BRIXHAM reads the classic GWR station sign. What in the world happened to 1st Sunday Pictorial?
This lovely shot of Churston station shows a small goods van of some description beyond the fence in the Brixham bay platform
In this view from the platform at Churston, a Kingswear bound train is rounding the curve beneath the Dartmouth Road bridge whilst a Brixham train stands in the branch bay platform on the right, its locomotive obscured by the signal post. A small box van awaits collection in the siding on the left.
Although this is an identical view of the station from that shown above, there are some notable differences. The sky has improved, slightly, and a train is arriving hauled by a filthy ‘Castle’. The box van has also gone from the bay platform.
A train stands in platform one at Churston. The chocolate and cream livery of the GWR coaching stock is positively glowing!
