The Last Journey (1936)

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Director: BERNARD VORHAUS. Screenplay: H. Fowler Mear, John Soutar. Based on an original screen story by J. Jefferson Farjeon. Photography: William Luff, Percy Strong. Supervising film editor: Jack Harris. Film editor: Lister Laurance. Art director: James A. Carter. Hair styles: Charles. Music director: W.L. Trytel. Production supervisor: John Brahm. Assistant director: James Davidson. Sound recording: Baynham Honri, Leo Wilkins. Visafone Sound System. Producer: Julius Hagen. Filmed with the full and courteous co-operation of the Great Western Railway. Cars supplied through the courtesy of Messsrs A.C. (Acedes) Cars, Ltd. A Twickenham Film Studios Production, released in the U.K. through Twickenham Film Distributors: October 1935. U.S. release through Olympic Pictures. Not copyrighted in the U.S.A. Not theatrically released in Australia. 66 minutes. SYNOPSIS: The driver of an express train suffers a breakdown. COMMENT: A definite must-see for railway buffs (in fact it would easily figure on the top ten), thanks to the wholehearted co-operation of the Great Western Railway which has produced some absolutely staggering scenes and effects. Aside from a bit of obvious under-cranking right at the very beginning of the movie, technical credits are extremely proficient. Direction and camerawork strike even a casual viewer as especially skillful. The script is serviceable enough too, though some of the players, particularly Julien Mitchell as the mad engineer, are inclined to over-do things a little. Olga Lindo also seems a bit of a pain as the overly sympathetic wife, but that's the fault of the script. Judy Gunn makes a pleasant heroine, and it's nice to see Eve Gray laying on the charm as a confidence girl.

This, had Hitch directed it, would have been considered one of his lesser efforts yet it has many of the elements and one of the stars, (Godfrey Tearle) of his "39 Steps" and lacks nothing in pace or sly humour. Hugh Williams was very much in the Robert Donat mould, albeit a national rather than international star.www.britishpictures.com warns against the easy dismissal of British films post 1927 as "quota quickies" arguing that "The big budget Things To Come, for example, can't be regarded as a quota-quickie yet producer Alexander Korda came to Britain because of the protection the quota offered." while fully accepting that there were dreadful low budget efforts which came into being because of the quota.This is all round, not less than a middle-ranking film in terms of stars,ambition, writing, direction and budget. Reminiscent of silent car/train chase films this steams along at a rattling pace but manages to amuse with the semi-comic conman and woman who get caught up in the plot.Thoroughly entertaining but lacking the brilliance of the Master.

The low budget British B film of the 30's is a much derided genre and conventional wisdom has it they did much to damage the image and prestige of the domestic film industry. But, as in any genre, there was scope for the occasional gem by an innovative writer and director. This is one such example. When most British films of the time - and for a long while afterwards - invariably consist of long dragging master shots, THE LAST JOURNEY is composed of rapid fire editing and quick, inventive clips that ratchet up the tension. There are occasional striking compositions through the fiery opening to the train's furnace as the deranged driver goes about his business. There are a motley group of passengers each with their own soap-opera problems. One such is Judy Gumm - a strikingly attractive British ingénue whose career promised much but went nowhere after she married a short time later. Another group of con men and woman have to deal with an inconvenient - and unconscious - detective - who turns a blind eye to them at the end and allows them to escape. There are several high tensions scenes of the engineer escaping across the roof's of the carriages and the Doctor who clambers into the cab to use psychology to calm the insane driver.This comes close to being a B British disaster movie and its helter skelter editing - no scene seems to last longer than a minute - maintains a hectic pace that leaves the viewer on the edge of his seat. It's a worthy example of how to make something out of very little and a lesson to British filmmakers everywhere. Few of the actors on display will be familiar - except for Godfey Tearle as the heroic Doctor who later crops up in ONE OF OUR AIRCRAFT IS MISSING. The extensive location shooting provides an intriguing glimpse of a lost prewar world. Two excellent books are worth mentioning. QUOTA QUICKIES by Steve Chibnall for the BFI amply demonstrates just how much wheat there was amongst the chaff of the prewar British B film - and some surprising names eg Errol Flynn - and THE UNKNOWN 30'S edited by Jeffrey Richards has a whole chapter devoted to Bernard Vorhaus.

Although only an hour long, The Last Journey is a very gripping vintage British thriller.A train driver, just about to undertake his last job before retiring discovers his fireman is having an affair with his wife, so he takes a gun and threatens him with it and he forces him to keep putting coal into the fire to make the loco go faster. As a result, the train misses all its stops and arrives at its destination early. One of the passengers manages to get the driver to slow down. There is a rather motley collection of passengers on board including a newly married couple on honeymoon, a pair of crooks, a woman who tells everyone not to drink alcohol, a couple with some very lively children, a Frenchman and a lone boy.Despite its low budget and age, I enjoyed watching this movie. It is available in the UK on VHS as a double feature with The Ghost Camera.A must for all vintage movie fans and also rail enthusiasts. Excellent.Rating: 4 stars out of 5.