GB
1943
1hr 25mins
Dir: Lawrence Huntington
Starring: Robertson Hare and Polly Ward
Two music publishers unwittingly find themselves involved in espionage when they go away on manoeuvres with the Home Guard
This wartime comedy was based on the 1941 play of the same name by Vernon Sylvaine. It features an interesting scene filmed beneath the arches of the majestic Digswell Viaduct near Welwyn, though no trains feature. The viaduct carries the East Coast main line between Welwyn North and Welwyn Garden City stations. The main East Coast route has to narrow from four tracks to two to cross the viaduct, making it a serious bottleneck that severely restrains capacity on the southern end of this strategic transport artery. The problem is exacerbated further by Welwyn North railway station being situated at the northern end of the viaduct, which blocks the line while trains are stationary, and by two tunnels to the north. Several ideas to overcome the limitations of the viaduct and station without damaging the viaduct’s essential historic character and rhythmic design are periodically discussed.
