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Caught on a Train

  • Episode aired Oct 31, 1980
  • 1h 20m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
362
YOUR RATING
Caught on a Train (1980)
Drama
Peter boards a train to attend an important business meeting across Europe. His train trip is made more complicated by two women also assigned to his train compartment. One is an independent... Read allPeter boards a train to attend an important business meeting across Europe. His train trip is made more complicated by two women also assigned to his train compartment. One is an independent American whom Peter finds attractive. The other is Frau Messner - an extremely particular... Read allPeter boards a train to attend an important business meeting across Europe. His train trip is made more complicated by two women also assigned to his train compartment. One is an independent American whom Peter finds attractive. The other is Frau Messner - an extremely particular and demanding older European woman. Between the two of them, they try different aspects o... Read all
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
362
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Peter Duffell
  • Writer
    • Stephen Poliakoff
  • Stars
    • Peggy Ashcroft
    • Michael Kitchen
    • Wendy Raebeck
  • Director
    • Peter Duffell
  • Writer
    • Stephen Poliakoff
  • Stars
    • Peggy Ashcroft
    • Michael Kitchen
    • Wendy Raebeck
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 14User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Photos54

    Caught on a Train (1980)
    Peggy Ashcroft in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Michael Kitchen in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Michael Kitchen in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Peggy Ashcroft in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Peggy Ashcroft and Michael Kitchen in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Peggy Ashcroft and Michael Kitchen in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Peggy Ashcroft, Ken Shaw, and Christopher Frederick in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Michael Kitchen in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Michael Kitchen, Ken Shaw, and Christopher Frederick in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Michael Kitchen and Ken Shaw in Caught on a Train (1980)
    Christopher Frederick in Caught on a Train (1980)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Peggy Ashcroft
    Peggy Ashcroft
    • Frau Messner
    Michael Kitchen
    Michael Kitchen
    • Peter
    Wendy Raebeck
    Wendy Raebeck
    • Lorraine
    Michael Sheard
    Michael Sheard
    • Preston
    Ingo Mogendorf
    • Kellner
    Louis Sheldon
    • Dietrich
    Michael Kingsbury
    • Hans
    John Dolan
    • Small Man in Mac
    Christopher Frederick
    • German Guard
    Ken Shaw
    • German Guard
    Terry Gurry
    • Belgian Guard
    Baron Casanov
    • Fat Man
    Martin Phillips
    • Belgian Youth
    Richard Merson
    • Porter
    Lex van Delden
    • Waiter
    Sean Barry-Weske
    • Steward
    • Director
      • Peter Duffell
    • Writer
      • Stephen Poliakoff
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      To perfect her accent, Peggy Ashcroft got the BBC Archives Department to send her recordings of the Austrian singer Lotte Lehmann. She said: "I listened to them over and over...and tried to get the vowel sounds, which are always the key, exactly right".

    User reviews14

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    Magnificent!
    An old favourite, but one I've not seen in years. Peter (Michael Kitchen) is Caught on a train in Stephen Poliakoff's comedic drama. Travelling across Europe, he finds himself in a carriage with the irritating Frau Messner (Peggy Ashcroft), the busy-body Preston (Michael Sheard), the fairly indifferent Kellner and the lovely Lorraine (Wendy Raebeck). It's going to be a long journey. Not helped at all by a group of excitable young Germans and a load of football fans. It's the Frau Messner show though, Ashcroft is magnificent, she grates on Peter from the off, wanting his seat, not letting him smoke, stifling his attempts to chat up Lorraine. It's a beautiful piece of slow searing tension, scored with some lovely jazz interludes. I have to say intercontinental train travel in the late 70s looks like hell, but it does provide a wonderful setting for this. Peter has nowhere to escape. The corridor, the dining car, Frau Messner always seems to be there. Her aristocratic rudeness needling at Peter's British reserve. A stop off in Frankfurt sees the unlikely pairing head off to the Opera for cake, it's a nice respite from the train and an opportunity for Peter to get to know Messner better, including her Nazi affiliations and wartime stories. Back on the train, he's spurned by Lorraine, hassled in the sleeping car and arrested by German police for having muddy trousers! "This journey is turning into an assault course". The arrest is quite terrifying as he's marched off the train in the snow, half dressed, looking for an unlikely ally. We know where Peter's headed, but it's really not important. The journey really is more enjoyable than the destination and for 80 near perfect minutes I'm transported effortlessly.
    helpful•0
    0
    • garethcrook
    • Jul 31, 2020

    Details

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    • Release date
      • October 31, 1980 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Production companies
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
      • Time-Life Television Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 20 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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