Thats "Runaway" an ABC movie of the week originally aired in 1973 starring Ben Johnson who also starred in "Terror Train".

Actually go on YouTube and search Runaway 1973 and you'll find the whole film.

No. It fails for several reasons. First the train is only barely relevant to the substance of the movie, a tense social/suspense drama... it could have been a boat for all it mattered to the script. That kind of trivial "curio" use of trains is an insult to the genre.

What's more, including "train" or similar words in the title is all but certain fail, and relying on the old "runaway train" chestnut as a plot device is automatic, epic fail.

So - Runaway Train may be a good movie, but it is not a good TRAIN movie.

For the best train movies of the 80's, try:
* End of the Line
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit
* Back to the Future III and back to Rebecca DeMornay,
* Risky Business

Fortunately the 200x decade has been much richer for train movies. In particular, I'd call out the remake of Pelham 123 as a good one, not least because it smartly updated the perception of the NYC subway system as a robust, beloved institution with its act together.

I forgot about Back to the Future III. They really went to great lengths to make the train believable for the time period. Some great action sequences in that one. One of my top ten for sure.

Fried Green Tomatoes has outstanding footage of A&WP 290 in action. Jessica Tandy got the Oscar for Best Actress for her role. I have always believed that 290 should have gotten the Best Supporting Actress.

I recently heard that there was to have been a sequel, and there were plans to rebuild the 290 for it, but unfortunately Jessica Tandy died in the meantime.

In any event if anyone gets a chance to see it, it's a good story and has superb train footage.

I would like to add I haven't met but one person who has seen 'The Titfield Thunderbolt', a British film about a steam shortline about to be shut down by a bus service. It's a great movie, and produced by Disney I believe. Also, 'The Lady Vanishes' starring Cybil Shepherd had some good (Swiss?) steam and of course the movie is entirely based on the train. There was also an older version of 'Silver Streak' made in the 30's I'm guessing that was about the Burlington Zephyr racing to Nevada to save a man who was injured working on the Hoover Dam. Nothing like the 1970's version we've all seen much more railroady.

Well hold on a second, Robert. He didn't say WHY he thought it was top five material, as his reasoning may very well been the same as yours.

I'd suggest that your reading that the train matters little to the proceedings misses the entire point. That train is a literal metaphor for Manny, and to try and advocate that the train could have been easily swapped out with another mode of transportation denies the visceral power of the "runaway train" as well as the comparison between the railroad being unable to corral the train and society being unable to tame Manny, if not make him worse. Just because we are intimately familiar with the stage on which this drama takes place shouldn't fail to suggest these comparisons.

Name me another film that uses railroading in its physical and metaphorical power like Runaway Train does. This isn't a film interested in elaborate dressings or a documentary of how railroading really works, and this is reflected in the uber-simplistic title. I don't suppose "Yellow Rose of Texas" would have sufficed...

In terms of sheer storytelling power, "Runaway Train" and "The Train" share equal accolades, though they are very much at the opposite end of the spectrum. The former get a lot of glaringly simple things wrong, but the emotional truths sell damn well.

On a side note, as a filmmaker and a railroader, this issue failed to really connect, though I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't equally intended for members of the public as it may have been geared towards railfans. I've had a number of people tell me they've seen "100 Greatest Train Movies" placed prominently (or so it seems to them) that would never in a million years notice a "train" magazine.

In all pretentiousness,
Kelly Lynch

Gee, nobody even mentioned Truman, although it was an HBO movie starring the 1522 with Gary Sinise in a minor role (as Harry Truman).

Before I forget, here is one solid omission:

Other Men's Women (1931)

A fireman and engineer fight over the latter's wife aboard their own train. Mayhem, romance, wrecks (full scale and model), a young Joan Blondell, a James Cagney cameo, roundhouses, trackside diners, and hijinks ensue.

The opening scene gives you some flavor: the fireman alights his locomotive, orders breakfast at the diner, counts the freight cars on his train as they pass, and scrambles back up the caboose toward the engine when he's done. And later during the aforementioned in-cab fist fight, the locomotive chews into a caboose.

While the story is a little sparse, some of the dialogue exchanges are enjoyable ("Nix, nix, baby, there's too much of a gallery looking on") and there is railroading a plenty. Good, pulpy, 30's stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxrUFFKmWTk



KL

Did we also forget "Matewan" starring NKP 765?

I usually just lurk in these forums but can't resist a good movie debate. I was shocked "Schindlers List" wasnt in this issue. The scene of the train entering the camp is one of the most haunting things I've ever seen in cinema. "The Out of Towners" is a hilarious movie's but also features late 60's views of the interior of Boston South Station and Grand Central Terminal as well as some cool platform shots at South Station.

Robert.

In my mind a good train movie is where the train is in many shots. The train was in almost every shot (except the very beginning) and that is why it is a top 5 train movie. Silver Streak is another good train movie. I never saw Roger Rabbit so I can't comment on it's content. Emperor of the North is a top 5 pick for the same reasons. I don't care if the train can be substituted by a boat or a truck or a car. It was in the movie and therefore a good top 5 pick.

Later!
Mr. Ed

Matewan is ranked as number 74.

Is "Flame Over India" on the list?

Stephen

Well, since we're doing some "reaching" here (Out Of Towners, for example), how about "Revolutionary Road", with RMNE's NH 529 and heavyweight train, shot at Thomaston and GCT?

The top two on my reel would be "The Train" and "Danger Lights", both films where the railroad and railroaders are a primary focus of the film. We all might like to ride The Century with Eva Marie Saint, or CTA with Rebecca DeMornay, but those are NOT train films.

Now, when is Kelly L. going to finish his comedic screenplay about the railway preservation biz?? Or would that be a documentary? :-))

Howard P.
24 Frames, NY

"No. It fails for several reasons. First the train is only barely relevant to the substance of the movie, a tense social/suspense drama... it could have been a boat for all it mattered to the script. That kind of trivial "curio" use of trains is an insult to the genre."

Good point. Take "Trains, Planes & Automobiles." Hilarious movie, but sequences with "Contrak" and the CTA el are lame.

Sloan