Etruscello

The Railway Children was a wonderful experience -- as Fell predicted. Thank you Fell, and all. And our thanks, most recently, to Ruth (Jazzy Lady) for adding two more old British films to our list.
For us, The Railway Children was an enchanting look at idealized family and community life during the Edwardian era, within the context of the harsh realities of the day -- all wrapped up in a mystery. One would think that it would too much of a contradiction to try combine these elements, but it all worked. My wife Irma, an elementary school librarian, tells me that the story is based on a well-known set of childrens' books by Edith Nesbit. That explains why goodness wins out. It's heartening to to become engaged in such an uplifting story now and then. It helps one deal with the harsh realities of today.
An important note I must add is that we inadventently ordered the "wrong" version. What came to us from the public library was the Masterpiece Theatre version from the year 2000, not the 1970 film. Interestingly, we learned from Russel Baker's introduction. that the actress who played the mother in the 2000 version played the oldest daughter in the 1970 version (Jenny Agutter?). We are ordering the 1970 version for the sake of comparison. Why not double our pleasure?
We loved the characterizations offered in the Masterpiece Theatre production. It was an interesting bonus to see Richard Attenborough move from the movie director's chair to the front of the camera as the Railroad Director.
Was it a bad mistake to see the 2000 version first? Is the 1970 version much better or significantly different?
As always, in appreciation -- Tom

Freddy

Hello Tom,

I don't think you've lost anything by seeing the lastest version first. They are both fine productions and are very similar. Interestingly Jenny Agutter's appearance was her third in the Railway Children. Two years before the 1970 film she played the eldest daughter in the television series (one of three tv versions)

Another film you might like as it depicts post war England in a pleasant way is Genevieve. It stars Dinah Sheridan, Kay Kendall(who was married to Rex Harrisson) Kenneth More and John Gregson. Filmed in 1953 it is a classic comedy about the London Brighton Vintage Car Run. The music is by Larry Adler who was kept off the credits because of the McCarthy blacklisting.

It is one of my favourites.

best wishes

Freddy

The world wags on.

Fellwanderer

In my opinion the 1970 version is far superior - if you thought the 2000 version was wonderful, you're in for an even bigger treat. The 1970 version was the only real "children's film" that made it in the Bfi list of 100 greatest British films - and rightly so!

Enjoy it.

FELL
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All the best
FELL

A signature is no substitute for a life

Etruscello

Thank you Fell and Freddy -- we will see the 1970 version of Railway Children next week.
We just saw Passport to Pimlico. We found it humorous but we did not have the same very positive reaction we had to Kind Hearts and Coronets -- another British comedy of the same year, 1949, I think. Perhaps, Passport had too many characters and too many political activities going on to be very engaging. Kind Hearts had focused characterization and a streamlined plot. Yes, there were 8 relative characters to be murdered -- but they were all played by one (great) actor. Both movies seemed quintessential British to us (but what do we know). What I mean is that both movies start with a single wild premise ( What if you were only a few relatives away from a royal title? vs. What if your town could become an independent country?) and delelop that premise to extreme and absurd lengths. Is that typical of British houmor? I see it in Monty Pyton (What if Brian were a messiah?, etc.)
Thanks for any insights.
P.S. Are there many US Americans on this listserve? All of what I read is from Brits. I wish more Americans were exposed to these great Brit movies and your insights.
P.P.S. We recently saw Mister Tom on Masterpiece Theatre. What can I say but wonderful. The acting was superb at every level. Rich yet subtle characterization seems to be the hallmark of British drama. We're ordering more Masterpiece videos too -- one can't go wrong even if one picks at random.
Tom

Steve Crook

One thing to remember about Passport to Pimlico is to think of it in the context of when it was made. There was still rationing in the UK in 1949. Bread had never been rationed during the war but was put on the ration in 1946. Rationing didn't end here until 1954 on some things. So it's no wonder that the population of "Pimlico" is happy when they get a chance to break away from it.

The single absurd (or sometimes not so absurd) premise taken to extremes is one of many sources for comedy here. We laugh at many things

Steve

Fellwanderer

We seem to be able to take it to the extreme and appear to take it seriously whilst still laughing at it. Take the current example of Danny Wallace's How To Start Your Own Country - I'm sure that would be completely lost on most Americans.

P2P is a very British [probably very English] film that would appeal most to those of us who were brought up during or shortly after WWII - I certainly remember the bombed remains in the East End when travelling up to London in the late 50s so I feel an affinity to the film.

FELL
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All the best
FELL

A signature is no substitute for a life

Steve Crook

Danny Wallace was also writer/producer & "Dave's friend" on the equally clever but "based on a single, strange idea" programme The Dave Gorman Collection (2001)

And I'll second your opinion that growing up in and around London in the 1950s probably helped appreciation of Passport to Pimlico I remember vast areas of London that were old bombsites fenced off with corrugated iron.

Many of those old bombsites were bought up by the chap that started NCP car parks.

Steve

samkydd

And from my own experience I suspect that most NCP car park attendants were in the Heinkels and Dorniers that dropped the bombs in the first place! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img]

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

Etruscello

Passport to Pimlico was something of a history lesson as well as top-notch comedy. I could appreciate that, even though you are all quite right that I do not have the experiential context to understand post-WWII Britian and rationing. I do have memories of my Mother talking about her use of ration books in NYC's Little Italy during WWII. In fact, she would often say that once in 1942 she went down to the Paramount Theatre to see Frank Sinatra and, along with hundreds of other screaming teens, offer him her ration book! The context that is totally missing for me and many US Americans is that of the terror of the bombings. I can only imagine the ambivalence with which many British approached a comedy about exploding live WWII bombs. Then again, perhaps that's the point. We laugh about that which we most fear. The alternative is to cry. Thank you all for your insights. Passport to Pimlico is now a richer experience for me. Tom
P.S. Freddy's brilliant other mini-history post makes clear the diverse trends that make up British comedy. I have much to explore.