The Great Locomotive Chase (1956)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Francis D. Lyon

Writer:

Lawrence Edward Watkin (written by)

Release Date:

8 June 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Adventure | War

Tagline:

A true-life spy story of ultimate suspense. High speed and inconceivable bravery!

Plot:

This is based on a true story. During the Civil War, a Union spy, Andrews, is asked to lead a band of...

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Train | Railway | Western And Atlantic Railroad | Theft

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Fess Parker	...	James J. Andrews
Jeffrey Hunter	...	William A. Fuller
Jeff York	...	William Campbell
John Lupton	...	William Pittenger
Eddie Firestone	...	Robert Buffum
Kenneth Tobey	...	Anthony Murphy
Don Megowan	...	Marion A. Ross
Claude Jarman Jr.	...	Jacob Parrott
Harry Carey Jr.	...	William Bensinger
Leonard P. Geer	...	J.A. Wilson (as Lennie Geer)
George Robotham	...	William Knight
Stan Jones	...	Wilson Brown
Marc Hamilton	...	John Wollam
John Wiley	...	John M. Scott
Slim Pickens	...	Pete Bracken

Also Known As:

Andrews' Raiders (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:Approved | Canada:G (video rating) | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:L | Sweden:Btl | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Georgia, USA

Company:

Walt Disney Productions

Trivia:

Only thirteen pieces of equipment were actually used: two full-sized locomotives, one yard engine, three passenger cars, two iron box cars, and five wooden box cars that were built specifically to be destroyed in the film. The various pieces of equipment wore different numbers on different trains throughout the movie.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the long shot of the Texas running in reverse toward the tunnel, it is obvious by the unnaturally quick movements of the crew that the film has been sped up.

Quotes:

James J. Andrews: [shows Fuller a letter] You don't get a letter like that from Brigadier General Beauregard just for running Quinine.
William A. Fuller: No, I reckon you don't. I'd give my right arm just to serve under that man.
James J. Andrews: *You are*! This railroad is the artery that pumps fresh blood into the army of Mississippi on the left land, and to the army of Northern Virginia on the right. Beauregard and Robert E. Lee would *perish* without men like you!

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Disneyland: Andrews' Raiders: Escape to Nowhere (#7.27)" (1961)

Soundtrack:

Sons of Old Aunt Dinah

Connection to GWTW

This is really not a review as such, even though I really enjoyed this film when I saw it as a kid and am glad it is now available on DVD.I do hope they have included the "making of" that aired on Disneyland when the film was first released. My main comment is about the obscure connection of The Great Locomotive Chase,the actual event and Gone With the Wind. The conductor who chased Andrews, Capt William A.Fuller lived in Atlanta after the war and he had a daughter named Annie Laurie Fuller. Annie married Atlanta architect, artist and historian Wilbur G.Kurtz. Wilbur and Annie were friends of Margaret Mitchell. When GWTW was being filmed, Mitchell suggested Kurtz be the technical adviser on the film. The Kurtzs spent a great deal of time in Hollywood. Kurtz kept a diary of his work on the film that was published in the The Atlanta Historical Journal in the Summer 1978 issue, Vol XXII Number 2. Annie Laurie took some of the pictures that accompany the article. I found this connection to be interesting and if anyone out there is a GWTW junkie like myself, try to get a copy of the above mentioned journal. There is a wealth of information on the making of GWTW.