Review of The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) by Bill W — 01 Oct 2007

One of the last ventures at the end of golden era of Ealing comedies, THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT delves into a conventional form of provincial comedy, mostly inspired by over-rated Tati's JOUR DE FETE. As unenthusiastic and unfunny as Tati?s works, it suffers from the lack of good gags ? there may be only two good ones in entire film, first in two comparative shots in a TV's western bar and actual British pub and the second in a scene of accepting a proposal for helping the railway project going on...

But it marks the sad ending of a great beginning for British bratish comedy - however three decades later, director Crichton teams up with two Pythons, Cleese & Palin, as well as a stunning Kevin Kline in A FISH CALLED WANDA and shows the liveliness and vividness of the old tradition once again...