THE TENTH MAN (1936)

GB
1936
1hr 08mins
Dir: Brian Desmond Hurst
Starring: John Lodge and Aileen Marson

A crooked businessman tries every possible trick to be re-elected as an MP

This drama is based on the eponymous play by W. Somerset Maugham and opens with a shot looking up Ludgate Hill in London, with a Southern Railway suburban EMU crossing the railway bridge heading for Holborn Viaduct. This bridge, which obscured the view up Ludgate Hill to St Pauls Cathedral, was removed in 1990 but has appeared in many films over the years. Despite this it is rare to actually see a shot of a train crossing it. At the end of the film there is a scene that takes place at London King’s Cross station where an LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 is visible at the bufferstops. Meanwhile, there are additional scenes filmed from a hotel room overlooking Paddington station with Bishop’s Bridge visible in the distance, plus a closeup shot of St Pancras station’s grand facade. It is perhaps worth pointing out that this film should not be confused with the 1988 TV movie of the same name, which was based on a Graham Greene novel of the same title.

The opening shot of the film shows a Southern Railway electric unit crossing Ludgate Circus
St. Pancras never ceases to amaze. It is, arguably, the finest station in the world. These are the arched windows of the station’s Midland Grand Hotel that look out onto the Euston Road.
The implication is that the main characters of the film stay in the Midland Grand Hotel, but when they look out of the window they are treated to a view of Paddington instead! Nevertheless, this is a very rare glimpse indeed of the main trainshed of Paddington station before it had to be sympathetically rebuilt several times courtesy of the Luftwaffe!! The iron girders of Bishop’s Bridge can be seen in the distance beyond the main roof span.
The final scene used King’s Cross, just to confuse matters further
An LNER A1 Class 4-6-2 is visible at the bufferstops, but the hoardes of people in front prevent any hope of identifying it