The Ghost Train (1941) User Reviews

The ghosts of Askey's past

[darkdayforanime · 7/10 · 16 May 2004]

The question of whether or not one likes this film version of "The Ghost Train" invariably depends on one thing and one thing alone: your reaction to the performance of Arthur Askey.

He tends to steal almost every scene he's in, and not always in a good way. Sometimes you wish he'd settle down or back off just a little, to allow the plot's many characters to feature and develop (which they do to some extent). But somehow everything keeps pointing back to Askey's Tommy Gander character.

Personally I like the film, and even like Askey to an extent. I always seem to plonk it into the vcr at those odd hours of the early morning when I can't sleep and really can't find the energy to watch anything else. There is something about watching old b/w movies in the quiet dark of pre-dawn that I find appealing....

Classic British comedy thriller

[Neil-117 · 7/10 · 23 February 2000]

Curl up with this one on a dark and stormy night and prepare to be alternately amused, irritated and frightened. The creaky old plot about about a phantom train that's said to run through the lonely English countryside at dead of night may be implausible, but it's a lot of fun. There are some wonderful old cliches like "THE ACCIDENT" which the locals can remember but won't talk about. But primarily the movie's a vehicle for comedian Arthur Askey to showcase his particular brand of vaudeville style humour in between the scary bits. Askey's corny humor is not very trendy these days but if you just let it wash over you it can be fun. This is probably the best of Askey's movies.

great British fun

[nzeno · 7/10 · 5 September 2001]

Ghost Train is a fine and entertaining film, typical of the better British comedy chillers of the 1930s and 40s. The antics of comedian Arthur Askey are not as funny as they once apparently were, but this can be overcome by viewing him as a period piece or a curiosity.

For a low-budget wartime production, Ghost Train is atmospheric, effective, and it provides some genuine suspense. Great fun for a dark (and, yes, stormy) night. Lighten up, take off the critic's hat, and enjoy.

Interesting film....except for Askey

[normv · 6/10 · 3 April 2001]

This could've been an excellent "ghost story"; however, Arthur Askey's antics in the first 10 mins. of this film tend to ruin the film. (One wishes that they would've been edited out, as they have NOTHING to do with the film!).

Askey (who resembles a cross between Harold Lloyd, Kay Kyser, and Robert Woolsey) might have been funny in his day, but his brand of humor is ofttimes DISMAL by today's standards. On the bright side, it improves when they get to the train station. (His antics with an imaginary "dead body" are humorous at times).

However, the real "meat & potatoes" of this film is the haunted train station, and the legend of the "ghost train" that comes thru on dark nights! One wishes this part of the film would've been much longer.

The "ghost element" makes up for Askey, so see this film if u get a chance!

My brief review of the film

[sol- · 6/10 · 20 December 2005]

With mostly gags and very little plot, this is an entertaining film overall but hardly a brilliant one. It improves a great deal after the one-hour mark though when the horror finally starts to seep through. The thriller and comedy elements of the film only work about half the time themselves, however there are still some amusing bits and the plot is reasonably intriguing. It is easy to see that the film was intended to be a showcase for Arthur Askey's talents. He does show talent here, but it can be questioned as to whether his comic antics could have been put to better use. On the positive side, the characters are relatively interesting, and those beginning credits are great. The film makes an interesting companion piece to 'Rome Express', also directed by Walter Forde, and also set on a train. This film is the weaker of the two but it is a slightly different approach to friendships between strangers on trains. It is worth a look in the end. If not a great film, it is a fairly enjoyable ride.

Mystery Machina

[CuriosityKilledShawn · 6/10 · 9 November 2010]

When you can't sleep at night I guess you'll watch anything to make you drift away, even long forgotten Brit-coms. This obscure film features a group of eight passengers stranded at a remote train station in Cornwall. All they need to do is make it through the night, but tales of a spooky, spectral locomotive do nothing to settle the nerves.

The film makes great use of its single location (it was adapted from a stage play after all) but I do wish there would have been more emphasis on mystery rather than the tomfoolery of the main characters. The big reveal is very "Scooby-Doo", but the writing and dialogue is sharp enough to lend the film a bit of credibility.

Askey spoils it

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 12 September 2018]

THE GHOST TRAIN is a well-remembered but slight and rather dated comedy horror film, made in Britain and written by none other than Arnold Ridley - best known these days for his role as Godfrey in DAD'S ARMY. It's essentially a vehicle for music hall entertainer Arthur Askey, who comes across as intensely irritating playing the comic relief here. He literally saps life and enjoyment from the film, which is otherwise quite interesting, featuring a bunch of characters trapped overnight at a dismal train and haunted by various atmospherics. Kathleen Harrison also appears and does a much better job of down-playing it, but Askey is too large and boisterous a presence for this to be entertaining.

"If it be natural where do it come from, where do it go?"

[Spondonman · 8/10 · 11 September 2005]

Now this is one of Big's Best, Jack Hulbert's single role in 1931 split into two for the Band Waggon radio team Askey & Murdoch. It boasts a great stalwart cast, who ham the play up for all they're worth, especially Askey of course. Histrionics were provided by Linden Travers, melodramatics by Herbert Lomas, and pragmatics by Richard Murdoch.

The group of rail passengers stranded at the lonely country station for the night find more than they bargained for, ghostly trains, spectral porters, hairy sausage rolls and Arthur trying to entertain them all. His repartee with everyone falls between side-splitting and ghastly dull. When the formula works it's very good, but it sometimes gets very contrived and forced making the film seem more dated than it is. But those damn treacherous fifth columnists - thank any God Britain hasn't got any nowadays!

Ultimately a nice harmless film, to welcome back to the TV screen as an old friend, but if you were expecting to be shivered out of your timbers you'll probably be very disappointed!

It was a dark and stormy night...charming little British comedy thriller is nostalgic fun

[mlraymond · 6/10 · 30 July 2008]

There's no getting around the fact that comedian Arthur Askey will probably not be for everyone's taste ( it occurs to me that he could have been the prototype for Archie Rice in The Entertainer), but if you take him as representative of a type of English music hall comic of the time, he often is pretty funny. The fact that he is frequently referred to by other characters as an " annoying little man" indicates that most of his exasperating antics were quite intentional, and not simply the result of changing tastes in humor.

The setting of the almost abandoned railway station at night, with a thunderstorm drenching the stranded passengers, is quite effective. The assorted English types and their interactions are quite delightful, from the tippling Professor to the glum engaged couple, the irritable athlete, the quiet spinster who becomes very lively after agreeing to take a little brandy for medicinal purposes, etc.

It may not be a masterpiece, but it has an English charm that is unique to British productions of this period; somewhat recalling Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, or an Agatha Christie mystery story.

If you like old movies and British comedy, this is recommended for a nice time.

A bumpy ride

[glyntreharne-1 · 3/10 · 7 June 2003]

Arthur Askey's great skill as a comic was in the way he communicated with his public. His juvenile jokes, silly songs and daft dances went down well because he was able to engage folk and draw them into his off the wall world. A lack of a live audience was a distinct disadvantage to him, and he was never completely comfortable in films. He has his moments in The Ghost Train, and his character, Tommy Gander, has been tailored to make the most of his talents, but Askey the performer needed to be seen to be appreciated.

Askey's support in the film is not strong, it includes regular co-star Richard Murdoch; Betty Jardine and Stuart Latham as a dopey honeymoon couple; Linden Travers going over the top as a 'mad woman'. Also on board are Peter Murray-Hill, who off-screen married Phyllis Calvert, as the nominal leading man, giving a totally bland reading of the part, and leading lady Carol Lynne, who turns in an equally insipid performance. It is left to character actress Kathleen Harrison to effortlessly steal the film as a parrot loving single woman who gets smashed on Dr Morland Graham's brandy.

The Ghost Train (a timeless classic)

[Radu_Vladislas · 10/10 · 18 June 2007]

I have a thing for old black and white movies of this kind, movies by Will Hay and Abbot & Costello especially as those are my favourites. I picked this movie up on DVD as it was using the same idea as Will Hay's "Oh Mr Porter" which is one of the finest comedies ever made. I just finished watching this movie less than ten minutes ago (the movie finished at 12:45am). I find that movies of this kind, to do with Ghost Trains, etc, are best viewed at night time with the lights out. That way you get into the storyline more and night time viewing works well with this movie.

The one-liners in the movie may seem a little dated to some viewers, I guess this depends on the viewer. They are not dated to me though. I am 28 and even though I am not old enough to have been around when this movie was first released (my dad was though). I still have a lot of appreciation for some of the old movies of this kind. Sitting in the room in front of the TV with some snacks and drinks and kicking back and relaxing at night while watching these movies, not many things can beat the feeling you get while doing this. It is an escape from reality for a while.

I noticed that one of the men in the movie (he has a black mustache) he appears about three quarters of the way through the movie after his car crashes and he is looking for a woman he was followed to the station. This man was in the Will Hay classic "The Ghost of St Michaels" as well. Just thought I'd point that out in case no one noticed :).

The set pieces in the movie are very atmospheric. Outside the abandoned station looks good and as if there is not a soul for miles in any direction, and the inside of the station is very cosy looking away from the rain storm that is outside. I felt like I would have loved to have been there in the movie with the cast. The atmosphere in this movie is something that is missing from a lot of movies now. It keeps you hooked from the moment the movie starts till it finishes.

We need more of this type of movie in todays market. But sadly it could be over looked in favour of movies with nudity and swearing and crude humour. This sort of movie making era (The Ghost Train, Oh Mr Porter, etc) to me is the golden age of cinema!.

watch it as a old friend

[peachymead-1 · 23 February 2004]

The ghost train along with 'Oh Mr Porter' which is also based on the story & play,IT is like an old friend if you feel down watch it over and over each time you see something different. would have loved to spent the night on that station with the cast. IT could easy be re-made today as it was from a mid thirties version. This is also a great old film, with much the same treatment.. I am off to watch it again as have been talking about it, I must go on it again.Catch the ghost train when ever you can Peachy Mead East Anglia's film king

Brash, corny and nonstop...and it sure isn't Masterpiece Theater

[Terrell-4 · 6/10 · 31 January 2008]

There was a type of British comedy film which the Brits were careful never to send over to the States. I suspect it was because in their hearts they knew that some time in the future Masterpiece Theater was going to do more for America's image of Britain than Churchill, the Tudors and Noel Coward would do rolled into one. And these comedies would make Masterpiece Theater unbelievable. These were comedies that were just as brash and broad as Coward's diction was clipped and upper class. They were comedies for the working class, and in Britain that could be a bad thing as well as a good thing.

Sometimes the condescension is overwhelming. The stars were household names in England. Most of them came from the music halls and often were equally big on radio. A few even managed to survive television. We're talking names like Will Hay, Tommy Trinder, George Formby, Arthur Askey and quite a few more. And if Churchill gave the Brits courage in World War II, these men and women kept them smiling through. The Ghost Train, a big hit for Arthur Askey, is a first-class example. In a word...it's awful. But put yourself back in those days, imagine yourself a hardworking bloke who might not survive the next bombing, and see if you don't wind up laughing at Askey's endless shenanigans, his irrepressible optimism and his terrible jokes.

Tommy Gander (Askey) is a short bundle of energy who is always on. He's a song and dance comic traveling by train to his next music hall engagement. And when his hat blows off, he immediately pulls the emergency stop, runs to get the hat, and trots back to the train. From this, the train is late to the next station...so six passengers miss their connection...and the next connecting train isn't until morning...so the small group must stay overnight in the deserted train station...which has a ghost story attached to it about a years-ago crash and a phantom train that roars by with death on board...and then a horrendous rain storm blows up, the electricity may not work, there's no food except what the passengers can share. And then death appears...the sullen station manager who had left for help shows up at the door in the rain, clutching his heart...and apparently murdered.

Through it all, Tommy Gander almost skips with energy, making things worse, joking so often and so terribly the other passengers (and us) want to shove him into a piece of luggage. He sings and does a dance, he looks on the bright side, he feeds brandy to a spinster, he manages to locate water for tea only by standing in a downspout downpour. He is one of the most exhausting comedians I've ever seen. But he and his friend, Teddy Deakin (Richard Murdoch, who in old age played Uncle Tom in the Rumpole series) save the day in more ways than one. Think fifth columnists, unlawful arms delivery and a train that arrives in the rain which isn't a ghost.

I'm fond of old stuff like this. Askey and those like him are a window into a part of British life you'll never get on Masterpiece Theater.

Ruined by Arthur Askey

[londonpaul · 3/10 · 22 January 2019]

I was so looking forward to settling down to a nice creaky English ghost story. I was very disappointed. There was no reason whatsoever to have the unwarranted intrusion of that so-called comedian Arthur Askey. A previous reviewer indicated that he stole every scene he was in but in actuality he ruined every scene. A big disappointment overall.

Very Flawed But Not Without Interest

[Theo Robertson · 6/10 · 16 December 2012]

I remember THE GHOST TRAIN being shown on our regional television station STV on a fairly regular basis . No Christmas TV schedule or rainy bank holiday was complete without a showing on this movie . For some reason it abruptly disappeared from the schedules and can't recall it being broadcast on British television later than 1976 or 1977 . It's not a film I remember with any great affection either but it did stick out in my memory due to it being something of a scheduling institution in the 1970s along with certain scenes and I was curious as to how it would appear to my adult cynical self

Many of the scenes I vividly recall still remain no better and no worse such as the title sequence which does have a low key effectiveness as we're shown the POV of train speeding along tracks as the unfocused credits rush towards screen . I also remember the sequence where Arthur Askey's character pulls faces in to a carriage trying to impress a young blonde woman . Unfortunately as so many people on this page have stated it's difficult to believe Arthur Askey was funny in 1941 , even more difficult to believe he'd be funny on a wet bank holiday in the 1970s and is painfully unfunny in 2012 and the all talking , all joking and all singing AA means the modern day audience will be on the side of Richard Winthorpe which I doubt was the object of the original play

This is a pity because THE GHOST TRAIN whilst not being a classic is an effective take on the theme of THE OLD DARK HOUSE where a group of strangers fin themselves stuck in a remote rural railway station where they find themselves caught up in a mystery . It's hardly a classic but does have a certain degree of atmosphere especially when the station master relates the legend of the eponymous ghost train . This is however negated as the film becomes a star vehicle for Askey who feels the need to torture his new found companions and the audience with puns and pratfalls

There other curiosity aspects to modern eyes .The acting style where very posh actors and actresses pretend to be working class by dropping the " H " from words which sticks out a mile . Likewise the attitudes of both mental illness and cigarettes and temperence is slightly different than you'd imagine to what it is today . There's also a war on which means rationing and the possibility of normal looking citizens being traitors which means being very dated THE GHOST TRAIN is a film not without interest

THE GHOST TRAIN (Walter Forde, 1941) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 9 February 2007]

This is a classic British comedy-thriller I had always wanted to check out but no opportunity had arisen for that until now. It's based on a popular stage play which had already been filmed a number of times previously (most notably in 1931 by the same director but, unfortunately, this version seems not to have survived in its entirety!); for the remake under review, the plot has been updated to the then-current wartime situation.

Anyway, I was mainly familiar with early British comedians through the films of Will Hay: given that this one features a similar plot of legendary hauntings, smuggling and enemy agents, it's very much in that vein (it was actually scripted by Hay's regular writing team of Marriott Edgar, Val Guest and J.O.C. Orton); the stranded travelers element, then, was an equally tried-and-true formula. The star this time around is Arthur Askey (abetted by Richard Murdoch) - none of whose films I had watched before - who is as unlikely a hero as Hay himself and whose personality proves to be just as potentially irritating...but one soon warms up to him, and Askey certainly comes up with a number of witty lines and amusing bits of business throughout to justify the fact that the lead character of the play (and the 1931 film version) was split into two here, with Murdoch acting as the star's straight partner.

The remote single setting (the events of the film largely take place during one stormy night) provides for some wonderful atmosphere; the last half-hour - with the sudden appearance of a mysterious couple (Raymond Huntley and Linden Travers) and eventually the arrival of the titular vehicle itself - is especially gripping and well handled. Also worth mentioning from the remaining cast list is Kathleen Harrison as the stereotypical frightened spinster, with a parrot as her constant companion and who is driven by all the excitement to take her very first drink.

Improves with age!!!!!

[[e-mail] · 14 July 2003]

Having seen this film a few more times (since my last review), I've come to enjoy this film!

Again, Askey's antics on the train are a bit tedious, but he's rather funny, mocking the station-master's story about the ghost train AND the body of the late station-master.

Check it out!

Askey's antics quickly become grating

[crvierra · 6/10 · 3 November 2020]

As the film goes on, Askey becomes highly annoying. Scenes without him are but a brief respite from his juvenile interruptions. Otherwise an interesting and suspenseful story.

My first Askey film...and hopefully, my last

[pitt70 · 2/10 · 25 June 2014]

I really wanted to like this film. I really did. It sounded like it had so much potential. A ghost story, a comedy. Another "Ghost Breakers" or "Cat and the Canary", or "Hold that Ghost", I thought. No such luck.

I started to loose focus after about 20 minutes but I stuck with it for 45 before I finally called it a night. I thought maybe I just wasn't in the right mood and since I had recorded it on my DVR I decided I'd try again in a few days. The second time around I didn't even make it to 45 minutes.

The problem, at least for me, was Arthur Askey. I found myself repeating the words, "God, what an obnoxious ham". I tried to see past him, but he's in every scene, and every scene he's in .. he ruins. I realize that other reviewers seem to think he's great. I guess it's a perfect example of "different strokes".

I can't help but wonder what fun this movie could have been with Bob Hope or Abbott & Costello.

I thank you..... I thank you!

[ouzman-1 · 10/10 · 23 April 2006]

So your bairns are away on a sleep-over ? The wife is visiting the mother in law? You though are at home. It's a dark and stormy night and there is no football on the telly and the dishwasher needs stacking? So now what are you going to do?

I will tell you!

Go make an old fashioned cocoa (Frys is best!)Get hold of some ginger nuts and sit down in front of the DVD. Now go select and play Arthur Askeys world war two thriller/horror The Ghost Train, return to that comfortable settee and enjoy the night in!

The Ghost Train is a genuine British war time classic! Arthur Askey with his side kick,Stinker Murdoch, entertain you and I suspect the cast, to a high octane, thrills and spills, espionage thriller.It's set in old rural England during the second world war.

It centres around a motley group of people that need to stay overnight, through circumstances outside any ones' control, in an old railway waiting room that they discover is haunted by an old train.

The plot unfolds neatly and precisely and is a credit to the entire cast it is humorous in parts and at times genuinely scary!

(The tale was written by that old boy Godfrey of Dads Army fame and it is clever )

Arthur Askey is entertaining and is very at home preforming his routines to you and the cast, he also shows he can act a bit! The cast are never out staged though, even the railway porter and the parrot help give the film the necessary gravitas.

Oh and when it ends please remember to stack the dish washer!

Fun but annoying

[m-newson · 7/10 · 28 April 2006]

This was fun to watch, spookily atmospheric and effects were pretty good considering they were bang in the middle of World War Two. The plot did unravel pretty quickly at the end with the villains getting their comeuppance.

It must have been a good one to watch at the local flea pit in the 1940's when they were facing the biggest threat to their liberty from the Nazis - well made with quite a serious message about the dangers to Britain from third columnists.

But Arthur Askey was so annoying & unfunny you just wanted him to shut up - well at least I did ! I suppose different tastes in different times but the clowning around became tiresome. If he was playing an annoying little man as part of the script then he succeeded.

A good watch and quite short at just over 80 minutes - a good background for older kids too so they have an idea of what train travel in austere times was like; uncomfortable slow, dirty trains, being thrown off for no reason, surly staff ....

Would have been better without Arthur Askey

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 21 February 2014]

Train passengers are stranded overnight at a train station due to the hijinks of an obnoxious man named Tommy Gander (Arthur Askey), who pulled the brake so he could go get his hat he dropped off the train. That's the first of this guy's annoyances in this movie, but hardly the last. He spends the entire film being annoying. While they're at the station, they're told the station is haunted and a ghost train passes at night. If anybody looks upon the train they will die. At this point I was cheering for Gander to see the train.

I'm a sucker for a train movie so I really wanted to like this. I did like the train station set, particularly the platform outside with the moody matte painting backdrop. The mystery elements aren't bad. I would rate this one a lot higher if not for Askey's overbearing character and the fact we seem to get little relief from him in the movie. As one other reviewer rightly noted, whether or not you will enjoy this film depends on how you feel about Arthur Askey's performance. For me, he was unfunny, irritating, and unlikable. You might think he's the funniest person who ever lived. Watch it and see for yourself.

The Ghost Train offers laughs and yet keeps to its main focus which is The Ghost Train itself.

[npardis · 10/10 · 23 February 2005]

The Ghost Train is a treat to those who appreciate the typical 1940's humour. It incorporates World War Two into the plot but not as much as I initially believed it would, and the characters are a unique blend who play their roles fairly well. Askey, playing the role of Tommy Gander, is what brightens the story up for the parts which could of been portrayed as boring or "dragging".

The story of the haunted station is actually spooky even for present day standards. It is unique and the way the characters communicate with each is fantastic to liven up the mystery which is The Ghost Train. Gander is basically a nuisance to all the other members while the rest get along fairly well. He is always centre of attention and can be dubbed as being "annoying" but that is by those who do not appreciate 1940's humour. His humour is innocent and childish which makes it sweet to watch.

If it was not for Askey/Gander, than this film would of been shorter in action, enjoyment and the result would be not as effective in my opinion.

Pretty decent horror/mystery plot spiced with Arthur Askey

[ingemar-4 · 6/10 · 4 July 2013]

Some comedians work a lot on running gags, which means that you must understand the gag before it gets funny. I believe Arthur Askey is playing such strings here. I never heard about him before (I guess he was mostly forgotten when I was born), and found him less than amusing during much of the movie, but I thought the same of other comedians that I came to love. That said, I can't imagine ever rating his humor as highly as e.g. the Marx brothers. Actually, I thought that some of his gags would have been funnier if he had remained silent - like Harpo, or like old silent movies. As I see it, he is more fooling around than doing well thought out and well timed gags. But he is amusing at times, and he looks funny.

But to the story, he is spice, not substance. Well, maybe a little. He makes the abandoned station feel smaller than it is, by annoying the other people. And his obnoxious ways did make the train late which put them in the station in the first place.

The story felt rather stupid until the plot was unrolled. Maybe not the most original plot ever, but it was pretty well packaged and made perfect sense.

Not a top movie, rather a simple low budget B movie aimed at Askey fans. I ended up finding it worth watching.

Arthur Askey Showpiece

[Rainey-Dawn · 4/10 · 21 May 2016]

If this film is anything it is an Arthur Askey showpiece. 90% of this film belongs to Askey and his style of comedy. That is not necessarily a bad thing but he really distracts from the reason most of us are watching the film to being with - A Ghost Train. At the time this was filmed the audiences may have gone to watch this for Askey's comedy but I think today most of us are watching this for a comedy-horror/thriller and not so much for Askey.

It's a mildly entertaining film from the start but really the only part to watch roughly the last 25 minutes - then you'll actually get to The Ghost Train part of the show. As stated earlier, the rest of the film is the comedy of Askey.

4/10