England, 1850s. A master criminal aims to rob a train of a large sum of gold. Security is incredibly tight and the task seems an impossible one. However, he has a plan and just the right people to carry it out.
Sutherland and Connery wish to rob a moving train's safe in Victorian England. They need wax impressions of keys, coffins, dead cats, and a great deal of planning in order to pull it off.Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
When it came to casting and shooting the ratting scene, the crew were somewhat closemouthed about discussing certain details with writer and director Michael Crichton. They presented only one dog (not several candidates) and told him that this was the dog he definitely wanted. Likewise, they didn't explain much as to how they would set up the activity in the ratting pit. Only when it came time for the shoot did Crichton realize they had acquired an actual ratting dog and had captured live sewer rats, which the dog killed by biting and snapping their necks with a vigorous shake. Crichton said that the R.S.P.C.A. did find out what was happening and confronted them about it, but no legal action resulted. See more »
Goofs
When practicing the timing for Sutherland to run up the stairs, they're shooting for 75 seconds, and they say he did it in 74. It actually took 22 seconds. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Edward Pierce:
[narration]
In the year 1855, England and France were at war with Russia in the Crimea. The English troops were paid in gold. Once a month, twenty-five thousand pounds in gold was loaded into strongboxes inside the London bank of Huddleston and Bradford and taken by trusted armed guards to the railway station. The convoy followed no fixed route or timetable. At the station, the gold was loaded into the luggage van of the Folkestone train for shipment to the coast and from there to ...
See more »
Alternate Versions
Under the terms of the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937 all UK versions of the film are cut by 32 secs with edits to a scene where a dog hunts and kills rats in a show arena ('ratting'). See more »
Some people say that Crichton's books do not make for good movies. In this case it is not so. Crichton became fascinated with Victorian England, and was able to educate the public in a very useful way as well as write a suspenseful story. The movies does not really educate in the same way, unless you rent the DVD and listen to the director's comments. But the movie gives a very authentic feeling of Victorian England and has good pacing for the suspense aspect of it. I love movies based on true stories, and this one is one of them. We know all about exactly how it was done because the main character was caught, told the court everything, and then audaciously escaped! One really important thing that Crichton says: the great majority of crimes are never solved. Something to chew on.
23 of 36 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
Some people say that Crichton's books do not make for good movies. In this case it is not so. Crichton became fascinated with Victorian England, and was able to educate the public in a very useful way as well as write a suspenseful story. The movies does not really educate in the same way, unless you rent the DVD and listen to the director's comments. But the movie gives a very authentic feeling of Victorian England and has good pacing for the suspense aspect of it. I love movies based on true stories, and this one is one of them. We know all about exactly how it was done because the main character was caught, told the court everything, and then audaciously escaped! One really important thing that Crichton says: the great majority of crimes are never solved. Something to chew on.