The Ghost Train

   

The film Ghost Train isn't about a scary funfair ride nor is it really a horror film despite being labelled as one, what it is, is a 1941 comedy starring Arthur Askey an English actor who first made his name on radio and in Music Hall performances and whether you enjoy the film or not will largely depend on whether you enjoy his brand of slapstick comedy.

Arthur Askey Doesn't Look Too Spooked By The Ghost Train

Slapstick comedy is something I personally enjoy, but what is it? It's a particular form of humour that involves over the top physical reactions, exaggerated mannerisms, think Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin, two of the more well known names of the genre, over here in good old England we had actors such as George Formby, Norman Wisdom, Will Hay and yes Arthur Askey. All these names except for Norman Wisdom found fame before the 1950's and the style today is a little harder to pinpoint but if you are watching a comedy and the actor or indeed actress is making a complete fool of themselves, hamming it up to the hilt then you might just be watching a slapstick comedy!

The Ghost Train, directed by Walter Forde is based on the 1923 play of the same name, originally written, believe it or not, by an actor from the comedy series Dad's Army, Arthur Ridley, who thought up the idea whilst standing on a station platform surrounded by tracks at different angles the arrangement of these tracks resulted in the sound of a train arriving even when one wasn't. The play had already been adapted for the screen several times before, firstly in 1927 as a silent film in a joint English and German venture, then again in 1929 by a Hungarian company, this was also a silent film, it's next and first sound portrayal arrived in 1931 starring husband and wife comedy duo Jack Hulbert and Cicley Courtneidge and was once again directed by Walter Forde, for many years this version was thought to be a 'lost film' until a copy was discovered in the 1990s alas in a deteriorated condition with several rolls of film missing and several more missing sound. A further German version was made in 1939 and following our 1941 adaption it was remade once more in 1976 by a Danish film company. That's a lot of spooky trains trundling along the tracks but don't expect it's author Arthur Ridley to be overly impressed with all these different adaptions being filmed though as he sold the rights to his story before it became a hit, he really missed the train... I mean boat on that one!

Warning Spoilers Are Revealed...

The Ghost Train released in 1941 tells the story of a group of passengers travelling by tain to Truro in Cornwall, one of these passengers, Tommy Gander a vaudeville comedian, loses his hat whilst looking out of a window and pulls the communication cord (a communication cord was a wire that ran the length of the train that could be pulled in emergencies to halt the train) bringing the train to an abrupt stop, he then proceeds to exit the train and retrieve his hat, returning, Mr Gander is fined for improper use of the cord and makes his way back to his seat, passing the compartment of an attractive young woman he decides to try his hand at a bit of flirtation, the blonde beauty however has already caught the eye of a fellow passenger (Teddy Deakin comedy partner of Arthur Askey) and he gallantly comes to her rescue, derailing Mr Gander's attempts, neither of them get very far however when the lady's companion returns, a tall, athletic sportsman who tells them both to hit the tracks and they leave.

Arthur Askey Entertaining His Fellow Passengers

At Least She's Laughing

He Doesn't Look To Impressed Though

The train arrives at Far Vale Station and the four passengers depart along with a spinster (Miss Bourne), a young couple about to be married and a doctor, they soon discover however that the unscheduled stop means that they have missed their connecting train and there won't be another one until the following morning. The station master (Mr Hodgkin) is about to close the waiting room and tells them that they can not stay over night but due to bad weather and the isolated location the stranded passengers feel they have no other option but to do just that. With a station full of unwanted passengers the master reluctantly allows them to stay but first warns them that the building is haunted. A train 43 yrs prior passed the station but due to the sudden death of an employee the adjoining swing bridge had been left open and the train crashed into the river killing all those unfortunate passengers on board except one (Ted Holmes) who had been driven mad by the accident, since then a ghost train is said to pass through the station, killing anyone who witnesses the phantom vehicle.

If It Be A Natural Thing Where Does It Come From Where Does It Go

The passengers settle down into their haunted surroundings and let off steam with a cup of tea and a few sandwiches (how very British) Mr Gander tries to entertain his captive audience but only succeeds in irritating most of them (and it would appear many reviewers of the film). Suddenly the noise of shuffling feet are heard outside and Mr Hodgkin returns and collapses in the same position the station master had done all those years before, the doctor pronounces him dead and they leave his body in the station's office. Miss Bourne faints and resorts to the first alcoholic drink in her life, braking the pledge with a quick brandy, the spirit makes her drunk and she is helped into an adjoining cafe to sleep it off, whilst the young couple, uneasy at the thought of staying the night in the same building as a corpse leave. It isn't long before the young couple come running back as a dark figure has been seen outside, then suddenly footsteps are heard again and a frightened woman who has clearly gone off the rails enters all dressed in black, the woman (Julia Price), pleads with the passengers to hide her as someone is chasing her. A car outside is heard which then crashes on the side of a hill forcing several of the group to venture into the heavy rain to investigate, upon their arrival back at the station a man enters in search of our lady in black or as Mr Gander calls her Fanny Fadeaway, he turns out to be the woman's brother John Price who has come to return her to the hospital where she is usually kept under observation. The route of her problems appears to be..... yes you've guessed it the ghost train, she informs the passengers that she thought she once saw the ghost train and insists that she must see it for herself again whatever the consequences but warns the others that if it arrives not to look at the ghostly loco as the mere sight of it can kill you.

The passengers inform the two newcomers to ghost central that the station master has died and that his body is in the office however when John Price enters the office the body has disappeared, Fanny Fadeaway arrives at the conclusion that is wasn't the station master at all but the ghost of Ted Holmes back from the dead. Mr Price leaves the station to arrange transportation, with all these ghostly goings on several of the group start to second guess their first assumption that the tales are merely folklore. Suddenly in the distance a train is heard (remember there are no trains till the morning) getting closer and closer, louder and louder, the hysterical Julia Price smashes a window and faints as the lights of the phantom train rush passed the station.

Is She Really Mad? The Delusional Fanny Fadeaway

Teddy Deakin and Tommy Gander force their way out of the station as singing is heard from the nearby tunnel, Teddy shoots at a ghostly figure emerging from the tunnel but when they both rush to investigate no body earthly or otherwise is found. Back at the station Mr Price returns and informs our weary passengers that a bus is waiting for them outside and they gather their belongings and finally leave the station. On the bus Mr Gander informs the others that he has left the bridge, operated by a large wheel, open as it had originally been before someone had closed it, this alarms the two Prices.

Warning The Twist Is Revealed...

Armed with guns they order the bus to return and head to the bridge, for what is supposedly a ghost train is actually quite a real train full of weapons as the Price's along with the doctor are fifth columnists (Nazis sympathisers) the bus tries in vain to catch up with train but it is to late as the train crosses the open bridge and crashes into the river. The ending of the film reveals that Teddy is actually working for the police and was on the trail of the fifth columnists and that they had used the local legend to scare them into not staying or even looking at the train as it passed by.

Some Fairly Interesting Information About Riding The Ghost Train

Made in 1941 during the height of the Blitz in a London studio, an air raid shelter was in easy reach of the sound studio and dressing rooms.

The location that inspired it's author Arnold Ridley to write the story was Mangotsfield Railway Station near Bristol, the station and line are no longer in use but parts of it still survive today, the original building is now a private residence whilst parts of the extended station now form a section of a bicycle path with the surviving platform walls providing cyclists a place to rest.

The film takes place exactly 43 years after Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, placing the film on the date of June 22nd 1940, a Saturday.

The train crash scenes are actually taken from the 1931 version, also directed by Walter Forde.

The film was first announced in 1939 and at one point was to be directed by Carol Reed.

Filming began in February 1941.

The Ghost Train A Ride Into Nostalgia 

The film was updated for a war time audience, in previous adaptions the villains were smugglers using the ghost train as a cover story whilst in this 1941 version the smugglers were changed to fifth columnists .

Three of the script writers involved with this film also wrote the 1937 film Oh Mr Porter! starring Will Hayes the two films have a similar theme of trains, an isolated train station and suspicious characters.

More screenshots from the film