The Flying Scotsman (1929)

A young fireman on the Flying Scotsman train falls in love with the beautiful daughter of the driver who is about to retire. The young fireman has replaced another named Crow who was sacked... See full summary »

Director:

Castleton Knight

Writers:

Victor Kendall, Garnett Weston

Stars:

Dino Galvani, Gordon Harker, Alec Hurley

Cast

Credited cast:
Dino Galvani	...	Headwaiter
Gordon Harker
Alec Hurley	...	Crow
Pauline Johnson	...	Joan White
Moore Marriott	...	Bob White
Ray Milland	...	Jim Edwards (as Raymond Milland)
Bill Shine	...	Barman

Storyline

A young fireman on the Flying Scotsman train falls in love with the beautiful daughter of the driver who is about to retire. The young fireman has replaced another named Crow who was sacked for drinking on the job and is planning to wreck the express on the driver's last trip.

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Plot Keywords:

train | railway

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Also Known As:

Der Schottland-Express

Filming Locations:

King's Cross Station, King's Cross, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British International Pictures (BIP)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The movie was made to capitalize on the famous train. The mystery writer Freeman Crofts was the technical adviser on the movie, and so much of his knowledge found his way into this movie that he should be regarded by this site as an additional screenwriter.

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Connections

Remade as The Mailbag Robbery (1957)

User Reviews

Good movie for train enthusiasts

Like Hitchcock's "Blackmail" that came out the same year, this film has a silent opening sequence and seems to have begun as a silent picture before adapting the new technology after production began. This film doesn't merge the two quite as well, however. Blackmail's opening sequence filmed without dialogue comes across as an opening vignette intended to be silent, then the speaking comes when the story moves elsewhere (though it was in fact only after filming began that they switched, and then overdubbed the speaking parts). In this film the speaking was not overdubbed but seems to begin at an arbitrary point in the story.

While the plot is a bit thin and predictable, it is very well made, particularly the sequences on and of the train, the famous Flying Scotsman that runs from Edinburgh to London.

The tacked on love story angle is the weakest aspect, but the vengeful former engineer bent on getting even for being "wronged" is the strength of the movie and its momentum. Like Buster Keaton's "The General," they film and perform the stunts on the actual moving train and not with a filmed background, and some of the stunts are daring and impressive.

While the love story won't keep you interested, if you like well filmed thrillers and trains, this movie is good, though far from great.