Trains.com

Trains in old movies but not necessarily train movies

49849 views
553 replies
1 rating 2 rating 3 rating 4 rating 5 rating
  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Toronto, Canada
  • 2,560 posts
Posted by 54light15 on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 10:03 AM

I cut the cable years ago- there wasn't anything on that I wanted to watch and the price went way, way up for the few channels I was interested in so that was the end. There is an excellent video rental store downtown where I would rent a week's worth at a time. I hope to hell they survive- just about every other video store is long gone. 

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • 4,557 posts
Posted by Convicted One on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 9:59 AM

Flintlock76
They bumped 'em up to the "Premium" level and we said "No thanks!"  Doesn't kill me not to have 'em anymore

It was a very unpopular decision at the time they made the change. There was considerable out cry, and as I recall ....Comcast's official line was that they were making the change to avoid having to raise everyones cable bill".

SO, they (claim) they are actually saving us money by taking away from us what used to be included in the base package.

I can't imagine a lot of people who didn't already have that premium tier, actually going out and subscribing to it just to follow TCM.

So, I almost wonder if there might be bad blood between Comcast and TCM? Perhaps TCM tried to renegotiate it's "per viewer" fee, and Comcast is saying "okay, but we're going to make you regret it"?

Just speculating, but it is a plausible scenario, which otherwise makes little sense. They put it into a pre-existing sports tier.

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 9:45 AM

I know what you mean about the cable prices.

My TV is basically tuned to three channels:  Turner Classic Movies, HGTV, and DIY.  

I'm willing to check into streaming Turner if it is moved to a high pay tier.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    January 2019
  • From: Henrico, VA
  • 9,728 posts
Posted by Flintlock76 on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 9:36 AM

Convicted One

Unfortunately, Comcast moved TCM to a pay tier that I otherwise would never use, so I didn't go for the cheese.

It's a shame, because I had grown fond of those old movies, but I just refuse to be used in the way they are hoping.

 

Don't you just hate that?

There were a number of channels that came with our initial cable package, outdoor sports channels, channels like "Speedvison", well you get the picture.

They bumped 'em up to the "Premium" level and we said "No thanks!"  Doesn't kill me not to have 'em anymore.

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • 4,557 posts
Posted by Convicted One on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 9:35 AM

54light15
He stole that picture, you have to admit

Isn't he the guy who always claimed that his parents encouraged him to run away from home?

I normally am not amused by personal insults, but when Tony Curtis referred to him as "ol' bucketmouth" I had to sympathize. 

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • 4,557 posts
Posted by Convicted One on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 9:30 AM

Unfortunately, Comcast moved TCM to a pay tier that I otherwise would never use, so I didn't go for the cheese.

It's a shame, because I had grown fond of those old movies, but I just refuse to be used in the way they are hoping.

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Tuesday, April 21, 2020 8:29 AM

If you have Turner Classic Movie channel on your cable system, and you haven't seen The Narrow Margin, it's on at 8:45 a.m. Central time, about 15 minutes from now.  Later today, Strangers on a Train is on, too.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Toronto, Canada
  • 2,560 posts
Posted by 54light15 on Monday, April 20, 2020 11:22 PM

Dammit- I can't see whatever was posted above.

Joe E. Brown must have done OK in the movies. I was at a car show in Michigan and there was a car there that he used to own and it was in mint condition; a 1930 Duesenberg Model J touring car. That was the very top of the line back then. He stole that picture, you have to admit and Nehemiah Persoff gave the very best imitation of Benito Mussolini that I've ever seen. 

  • Member since
    January 2019
  • From: Henrico, VA
  • 9,728 posts
Posted by Flintlock76 on Monday, April 20, 2020 9:14 PM

Penny Trains

 

Whistling  Give ya one guess as to what the guy on the left is whistling!

  • Member since
    September 2010
  • From: Parma Heights Ohio
  • 3,442 posts
Posted by Penny Trains on Monday, April 20, 2020 9:10 PM

Trains, trains, wonderful trains.  The more you get, the more you toot!  Big Smile

  • Member since
    April 2007
  • 4,557 posts
Posted by Convicted One on Monday, April 20, 2020 8:49 PM

54light15
I'm surprised that no one's mentioned it. "Some Like it Hot.

LOL, when I was growing up there was a friend of the family that was a dead ringer for Joe E Brown, same personality...used to scare me when he would come to visit

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Toronto, Canada
  • 2,560 posts
Posted by 54light15 on Monday, April 20, 2020 8:41 PM

Here's a movie that features a train. Funniest picture I've ever seen and a superb cast. I'm surprised that no one's mentioned it. "Some Like it Hot."  I understand that the Pullman car used in the movie still exists in a museum in Tennesse. 

  • Member since
    August 2007
  • From: Appleton, Wi.
  • 26 posts
Posted by 22dec on Monday, April 20, 2020 8:38 AM

Have been watching reruns of Highway Patrol on METV and there are many scenes of Southern Pacific Trains, both passenger and freight.

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • 4,612 posts
Posted by M636C on Monday, April 20, 2020 3:32 AM

Miningman

Train scene in Leave Her to Heaven 

So which Railroad looks like the Northern Pacific but is in New Mexico? 

https://youtu.be/-r3ZotQacms

I don't think there ever was a railroad...

The observation car interior is almost certainly a movie set.

All we see of the train in the exterior (New Mexico) location is two standard Pullmans converted to streamline appearance and apparently painted two tone blue, with no obvious lettering for the railroad or car name or number.

These two cars could have been in storage and repainted for the movie.

Peter

  • Member since
    September 2013
  • 6,199 posts
Posted by Miningman on Sunday, April 19, 2020 3:47 PM

York1-- Yeah that's a dandy alright. It would be perfecty suitable if it just came out now! 

" sometimes the truth is wicked" 

It sure has the Northern Pacific colours in that observation tail car. 

The filming and sets are superb.

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Sunday, April 19, 2020 3:36 PM

Miningman
Train scene in Leave Her to Heaven 

 

Leave Her to Heaven!  What a movie.  What a woman.

I love the houses, from New Mexico to Back of the Moon to the Atlantic Coast in Maine.  

"There's nothing wrong with Ellen.  It's just that she loves too much."

York1 John       

  • Member since
    September 2013
  • 6,199 posts
Posted by Miningman on Sunday, April 19, 2020 2:06 PM

Train scene in Leave Her to Heaven 

So which Railroad looks like the Northern Pacific but is in New Mexico? 

https://youtu.be/-r3ZotQacms

 

  • Member since
    September 2003
  • 21,669 posts
Posted by Overmod on Sunday, April 19, 2020 10:26 AM

Paul Milenkovic
I have only one thing to say about that video.

Loading gauge.

What, no comment about the outside Stephenson gear?

  • Member since
    July 2004
  • 2,741 posts
Posted by Paul Milenkovic on Sunday, April 19, 2020 10:18 AM

I have only one thing to say about that video.

 

Loading gauge.

If GM "killed the electric car", what am I doing standing next to an EV-1, a half a block from the WSOR tracks?

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Toronto, Canada
  • 2,560 posts
Posted by 54light15 on Saturday, April 18, 2020 11:43 PM

The Ladykillers- excellent choice. A lot of people didn't like the Coen Brothers version but I thought it was pretty decent. The original is set in the part of London just North of King's Cross station in a part of town called Copenhagen Fields. They're not really tunnels but are bridge underpasses. I was in London and tried to find the exact location of Mrs. Wilberforce's house but those were done in a studio. I've been to Lavender Hill too, another favourite of mine. 

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • 4,612 posts
Posted by M636C on Saturday, April 18, 2020 7:41 PM

Another of the classic British comedies, "The Ladykillers" was run yesterday here. It is in colour, a change from most of these early post WWII movies.

A group of thieves rob an armoured car and end up with the money in a house beside the railway tracks. They kill eachother off as individuals try to escape from the group with the money.

One by one the bodies are dropped into empty coal wagons from a tunnel mouth. The sound effects include a realistic thump as the bodies (concealed by locomotive steam) fall into the open steel wagons.

The little old lady who was conned into helping the gang is unable to convince the police she has the money, so she keeps it...

But there are a number of scenes with the trains in the background as well as the disposal of bodies shots.

Peter

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Toronto, Canada
  • 2,560 posts
Posted by 54light15 on Saturday, April 18, 2020 1:49 PM

One thing about Skyfall, it had an Aston Martin DB5 and a long train ride in the Balkans and the thing that was cool was that the iconic theme music that we all know from the beginning of every other film didn't happen until about 20 minutes in and I felt like the entire theatre thought, "Yeah, now it's a real James Bond film!" 

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Saturday, April 18, 2020 11:45 AM

The favorite Bond is personal preference.  My wife liked Connery, I liked Moore.

While Craig may be what Fleming had in mind, I really don't care for the last several Bond movies.

Bond movies used to be adventurous fun.  However, the Craig and some of the Brosnan films are much more serious and dark.  For me, they're not fun to watch anymore.

Personal preference.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    December 2008
  • From: Toronto, Canada
  • 2,560 posts
Posted by 54light15 on Saturday, April 18, 2020 10:41 AM

Ian Fleming was seconded to Camp X in Bowmanville, Ontario during the war. He also worked at the old army staff college on Avenue Road in Toronto just North of Eglnton Avenue. He had said that he named Bond after a friend of his who was an avid birdwatcher as I recall. But, just across Avenue Road was a church. The church (now a condo) was St. James-Bond United Church. It was a church until about 20 years ago and I sure recall the sign out in front. 

Daniel Craig seemed like a total thug, but then I got that impression about Sean in Dr. No. 

  • Member since
    January 2019
  • From: Henrico, VA
  • 9,728 posts
Posted by Flintlock76 on Saturday, April 18, 2020 10:35 AM

Daniel Craig is a cold and cynical Bond all right, but he also looks like he was weaned on a pickle!

Some interesting James Bond trivia.  Ian Fleming wasn't happy with the casting of Sean Connery as Bond, Fleming thought Connery was too "Scottish blue-collar" looking while Fleming's Bond was supposed to be a proper British gentleman.

Until Fleming saw the first rushes.  Then he agreed with Connery's casting wholeheartedly.  

  • Member since
    March 2016
  • From: Burbank IL (near Clearing)
  • 13,540 posts
Posted by CSSHEGEWISCH on Saturday, April 18, 2020 10:05 AM

54light15

There is only one Bond and we all know who that is. 

While I won't argue with your choice, I've observed that Daniel Craig plays James Bond pretty close to the way that Ian Fleming wrote him: cold and cynical.

The daily commute is part of everyday life but I get two rides a day out of it. Paul
  • Member since
    August 2005
  • From: At the Crossroads of the West
  • 11,013 posts
Posted by Deggesty on Saturday, April 18, 2020 8:06 AM

I hope the porter had all the necessary berths made down before she stole it--or he was able to borrow another porter's tool.

Johnny

  • Member since
    November 2008
  • 1,881 posts
Posted by Leo_Ames on Saturday, April 18, 2020 3:38 AM

She even gives it back the next morning as I recall, telling the porter she found it.

  • Member since
    February 2018
  • From: Flyover Country
  • 5,557 posts
Posted by York1 on Friday, April 17, 2020 2:58 PM

Deggesty
I have always wondered how Eva Marie Saint managed to get the porter's tool needed to open and close the upper berth. Aside from that, I thought the railroad part was well done.

 

I'm just watching North by Northwest right now.  Eva Marie Saint just told Cary Grant that she stole the tool from the porter.

York1 John       

  • Member since
    January 2002
  • 4,612 posts
Posted by M636C on Friday, April 17, 2020 6:47 AM

This afternoon I saw a movie "Train of Events", which appears to have been filmed in 1948 or so. It is based on an accident occurring to a train, the 15:45 Euston to Liverpool, hauled by rebuilt Royal Scot 46126, painted in the initial black lined red and cream, later adopted for mixed traffic classes. The tender was  lettered "British Railways". The passenger cars were all still lettered for LMS.

The film outlines the activities of various passengers and the driver (jack Warner) in the days leading up to the accident. It concludes with the driver, who survives, being promoted to a desk job.

A lot of excellent period scenes, with all the featured locomotives in BR paint, but others in various stages of transition to Nationalisation.

Peter

Join our Community!

Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.

Search the Community

Newsletter Sign-Up

By signing up you may also receive occasional reader surveys and special offers from Trains magazine.Please view our privacy policy