youngblood is a 1986 american drama sports film directed , co-produced , and co-written by peter markle , and starring rob lowe , patrick swayze , cynthia gibb and is also keanu reeves ' second film appearance .

youngblood ( 1986 film )

peter markle is a film director and writer who directed and co - wrote the 1986 film youngblood . he was also credited as being part of the minneapolis camera crew during the film ' s production .
nick gilder , keanu reeves , 1986 in film , stephen e . rivkin , saving jessica lynch
youngblood is an american feature film directed by peter markle . it was released in 1986 and stars rob lowe , cynthia gibb and patrick swayze .
youngblood : : urltoken : : reviews
. rogerebert . suntimes . com . 1986 - 01 - 31
maslin , janet ( 1986 - 01 - 31 ) .
movie review - youngblood - the screen : rob lowe stars as ' youngblood ' - urltoken
. urltoken
youngblood is the second film that reeves starred in as he was still a struggling actor when he was cast in the film .
this perceived weakness is pounced upon by a brutish player , carl racki , who is also trying out for the team and engages him in a fight . - youngblood ( 1986 film )
heck , it might even be your favorite . whereas the 1977 comedy lampooned hockey’s violence , 1986’s
eric nesterenko as blane youngblood . a 20 year nhl veteran , nesterenko was also the film ' s hockey consultant .
youngblood ( 1986 ) a hockey film about a player on a canadian minor league hockey team . starring rob lowe ( as youngblood ) , cynthia gibb , patrick swayze and keanu reeves . rob lowe had to be taught how to skate before filming began . filmed partially in mendota , minnesota .
keanu reeves portrays a goalie named heaver in the 1986 film youngblood . he was actually an exceptional hockey player in high school and was voted mvp by his fellow teammates and nicknamed
the wall
for his goal keeping skills .
youngblood premiered in the united states on january 31 , 1986 and in other countries throughout the year . it is currently available on dvd but not yet on blu - ray .
with the headline : the screen : rob lowe stars as ' youngblood ' .
mgm / ua entertainment company ( 1986 ) ( united states ) ( theatrical ) ( as mgm / ua entertainment co . )
movie reviews : a violent ' youngblood ' : . . . the puck stops here
after watching his acting in the film , it is apparent that this is only his second film due to his inexperience showing on camera . is there any evidence that keanu reeves was cast in youngblood just because of his hockey skills ?
youngblood is very much fine . it ' s plot connects every dot in order and never challenges the genre that it is in . the titular youngblood has to prove himself patrick swazye . then youngblood has to prove himself to the coach . then youngblood has to prove himself to the girl ( and she ' s the coach ' s daughter . like oh my gosh can you believe it ? ? ? ) then youngblood has to prove himself to his father and brother . then youngblood has to prove himself to the girl again . and then youngblood has a rival that he has to prove himself to . and then the movie ends .
movie reviews : a violent ' youngblood ' : . . . the puck stops here - latimes
by the middle of the film , we are deep into the clidvic formula .
minnesota film and television is a non - profit film commission that advances minnesota’s economy and enhances its robust cultural environment by promoting and supporting the state’s production industry .
title youngblood year 1986 formats dvd , cinema distributor ( s ) warner home video ltd , u . i . p . ( uk ) , mgm home entertainment ( europe ) ltd classified date ( s ) 06 / 11 / 2003 main language english bbfc reference azf057650
avc : you re - teamed with patrick swayze from the outsiders for youngblood , but you also worked on that film with someone else we spoke with for this feature : the late ed lauter .
future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .
tengiz abuladze ' s allegorical film , made in georgia , is the best known film of the perestroika and glasnost years . with its outspoken and controversial reference to the stalin era and stalin ' s place in the soviet psyche ,
repentance
was originally shelved but ultimately released in 1986 to widespread popular and critical acclaim . this
kinofile
investigates the production , context and critical reception of the film , and the people who made it , and provides an analysis of the film itself and its place in world cinema .
rob lowe , left , and patrick swayze in the hockey cult - favorite youngblood . ( courtesy rob mcewen )
the game ends with a dramatic , game - winning goal by youngblood with 3 seconds left . youngblood demands to be left in the game as time expires to confront racki . youngblood emerges victorious , landing several blows to the face and body of his nemesis racki , and is carried off the ice on the shoulders of his teammates .
the game ends with a dramatic , game - winning penalty shot goal by youngblood with 3 seconds left ; yet it is far from over as youngblood demands to his coach , murray chadwick ( ed lauter ) to be left in the game as time expires to confront racki .
let ' s go , pretty boy !
says youngblood as he and racki engage in a violent fight to the finish with teammates and crowd including youngblood ' s father blane ( eric nesterenko ) and girlfriend jessie ( coach chadwick ' s daughter ) , cheering him on . the fight starts with both youngblood and racki using their sticks as swords until youngblood knocks racki ' s stick out of his hands . youngblood and racki then fight bare - handed . youngblood emerges victorious , landing several blows to the face and body of his nemesis racki , and is carried off the ice on the shoulders of his teammates in celebration .
biggs : when they first put youngblood out on vhs , on the back there was a picture of youngblood and sutton laughing . but it was actually me with rob lowe . they had to pull it and change the cover .
youngblood hit theaters in 1986 . made on a $ 4 . 2 million budget , it grossed $ 15 . 4 million in u . s . theaters . the movie became a popular rental on vhs and was aired regularly on cable tv . even in the late 2000s , a pg - rated edit of youngblood was shown in the u . s . during the nhl playoffs when a series ended early .
a soundtrack was released for the film . the track list for the soundtrack is as follows :
irwin : i shot the mighty ducks 2 as well , so we evolved the dollies that we built in 1984 for youngblood .
movie review : ' wagons east ! ' - - candy ' s final film - - just . . .
avc : there’s a claim on imdb that you and adam scott first worked together in a film called winding roads .
josephine woll is professor of german and russian at howard university , washington d . c . denise youngblood is professor at the university of vermont .
youngblood
stars rob lowe in the title role . ( this violates the
youngblood hawke
rule , which states : any character named young blood should be renamed . ) he ' s a farm kid who dreams of playing professional hockey . his dad ( played by the hockey great eric nesterenko ) discourages him , but his brother offers to do his chores , and so youngblood tries out for a minor league canadian team .
the good son ( 1993 ) with macaulay culkin and elijah wood . film locations included the north shore of lake superior .
while not creative , the film is watchable and has a few moments worth watching . rob lowe , who is an actor…
nesterenko : i didn’t realize , but when you’re together for two or three months , a real camaraderie really builds up among the film crew , the actors and all the people who are brought together to make the film . i really enjoyed that .
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
if you could somehow mate the lovely welder from
flashdance
with the indefatigable young mr . balboa from
rocky ,
the result would be dean youngblood , the handsome hockey prodigy of
youngblood
( citywide ) , a movie that could be just as accurately titled
flashdance on ice .
thirty years later , youngblood stands tall as one of hockey’s cult classics . adding to its realism were the people involved in the film . writer and director peter markle was a former minor - pro and international player for the u . s . . cinematographer mark irwin donned skates and a helmet and devised a special rig to shoot the movie on ice . eric nesterenko , who played 20 seasons in the nhl , was the film’s hockey consultant and also played dean youngblood’s dad , blane . george finn , who portrayed nemesis carl racki , was a former ohl enforcer .
in september 1986 “coda : poets & writers newsletter” published an article by writer david long titled “notes from a contest judge” . the excerpt below included the first articulation located by qi of the eccentric claim that collapsed all plots to two archetypes : 2
trauma ( 1993 ) directed by dario argento , a award winning italian film director , producer and screenwriter best known for his work in the horror film genre . “trauma” is his first feature length american production . filmed entirely in minneapolis , hopkins and st . paul .
i ' m not that huge of a hockey fan , but this film is one of my deepest , darkest , guilty pleasures .
in the fight scene , at end of movie between racki and youngblood . youngblood pulls racki ' s jersey over his head onto his arms , then punches racki to the ice . when racki is on the ice he isn ' t wearing his jersey anymore , then when he gets back up , racki takes his jersey completely off .
in the fight scene , at end of movie between racki and youngblood . youngblood pulls racki ' s jersey over his head onto his arms , then punches racki to the ice . when racki is on the ice he isn ' t wearing his jersey anymore , then when he gets back up , racki takes his jersey completely off . see more »
blending hollywood pretty boys with hard - nosed hockey players proved to be a winning formula for ‘youngblood . ’ thirty years later , this cult classic still stands the test of time .
after two successful films , markle decided he wanted to make a hockey movie . mgm green - lit youngblood . first , though , markle had to assemble a cast and crew .
patrick goldstein ( 1994 - 08 - 26 ) .
movie reviews : a violent ' youngblood ' : . . . the puck stops here - los angeles times
. urltoken
angus ( 1995 ) the majority of angus was filmed at the owatonna high school in in owatonna , minnesota . the film stars charlie talbert and james van der beek in their first film roles , as well as chris owen , ariana richards , george c . scott , kathy bates and rita moreno .
the ballad of narayama
is a japanese film of great beauty and elegant artifice , telling a story of startling cruelty . what a space it opens…
in 1925 sydney , caddie leaves her adulterous and brutish husband and takes her two children , ann and terry , with her . - caddie ( film )
thin ice ( originally titled “the convincer” ) ( 2011 ) starring greg kinnear , alan arkin , and minnesota native – lea thompson . story takes place in wisconsin and chicago , but the scenes were all shot in the twin cities with the violin shop scenes were filmed at dahl violin shop in minneapolis . the original titled film “the convincer” was screened at the sundance film festival , but then rights to the film were sold and it was re - edited and retitled “thin ice” .
at the end of the film , swanson , now in love with sheen , steals a helicopter , and the two abscond to mexico and live happily ever after .
markle : i sent the masks used in youngblood , the pucks with the mustangs’ logo , the script and a bunch of photos to the hockey hall of fame . they were really excited to get it all .
avc : were you surprised at the success of the film ? because coppola was certainly a name , but at the time , no one in the cast really was yet .
so gay that it ' s almost possible to see the film as a comment that the real audience for movies like this are pre - sexual little boys and homosexual big boys .
after his mentor and friend on the team , derek sutton , is brutally injured by racki ( now with the rival thunder bay bombers ) , youngblood returns home to the farm out of fear , sadness , and disgust . after a pep - talk by his older brother kelly ( jim youngs ) about the nature of never quitting and always standing up for yourself , youngblood is inspired to learn how to fight and survive on the ice and adopt the killer instinct that has been stopping him from being successful . youngblood returns to the team a new man , ready to confront racki in the final game of the memorial cup playoffs between his team and the thunder bay bombers .
irwin : we shot the hockey action in slow motion , at 32 frames per second , because 24 frames per second looked over - cranked , like an old silent buster keaton film .
thomas : if someone were to do that in a game , back in the era when i played , that guy wouldn’t be alive . if that happened in a real game , there’d be problems . in the final game between the mustangs and the bombers , youngblood scores a hat trick , including the winning goal on a penalty shot . but his work isn’t done . for this hero’s journey to be complete , youngblood needs to stand up to racki .
racki has almost killed one of youngblood ' s teammates . youngblood returns to the farm , where his father ( working in the great tradition of burgess meredith in the
rocky
movies and pat morita in
the karate kid
) puts him into training and teaches him age - old wisdom . then , of course , it ' s time for the big game , in which the kid will make his comeback and the evil racki will eat ice .
portrayed it as a necessary part of the game , while also highlighting hockey’s grace and skill . the film stars rob lowe as dean youngblood , who leaves his family farm in upstate new york to play junior hockey for the hamilton mustangs . although he can skate and score , he can’t fight . he tries to fit in with his teammates , woos his coach’s daughter and in the end has to stand up to the league’s biggest bully .
after his mentor and friend on the team , derek sutton , is brutally injured by racki ( now with a rival team ) , youngblood returns home to the farm . after a pep - talk by kelly about the nature of never quitting , youngblood is inspired to learn how to survive on the ice . dean ' s father blane , who initially disapproved of his son playing , especially after kelly had been injured ending a promising career , also teaches his son some fighting tricks , stating
its ok to hit a bag in the barn , but you ' ve got to learn to survive on the ice
. youngblood returns to the team , ready to confront racki in the final game of the memorial cup playoffs .
the filming of youngblood took place in the east end of toronto . ted reeve arena was used as the setting for the interior of the hamilton mustangs home rink while scarborough gardens arena was used for the setting of the arena ' s exterior .
the new land ( “nybyggarna” in swedish ) ( 1972 ) foreign film ; the life of an immigrant family from sweden who came to minnesota in the mid 19th century . based on the last two books of vilhelm moberg’s epic the emigrants suite . the movie starred max von sydow , liv ullmann . nominated for the best foreign language film academy award ( oscar ) in 1973 . filmed in sweden and wisconsin .
many of the other team members in the film were actual junior or ncaa hockey players , including steve thomas , peter zezel ( both of whom had lengthy nhl careers ) , don biggs , and james richmond .
markle : a really good friend of mine skied all the time in vail , colo . he became pretty close to eric nesterenko , who taught ski lessons . i was working on the project , looking for someone to play youngblood’s dad , and my friend suggested nesterenko as the dad and as my hockey consultant . youngblood featured a lot of up - and - coming actors . lowe was cast in the lead role , while patrick swayze played derek sutton , the mustangs’ captain and star center . even keanu reeves appears in the movie ( his second film role ) , as heaver , one of the mustangs’ goalies . while reeves actually played hockey growing up , swayze and lowe needed doubles to do a lot of their on - ice work .
avc : tommy boy is such a quotable film , too . i literally just found myself breaking out the “walkie talkie” line a couple of days ago . and , yes , i know i just said “literally . ”
, at the time of filming , were professional nhl players . in the film , they played for the hamilton mustangs , and in real - life , they played for the philadelphia flyers and the toronto maple leafs .
year : 1986 september / october , periodical : coda : poets & writers newsletter , volume 14 , number 1 , article : notes from a contest judge , article author : david long , article subsection number : 7 , start page 20 , quote page 21 , publisher : poets & writers , inc , new york . ( verified with scans thanks to charles doyle and the university of georgia library system ) ↩
youngblood
is not a bad movie , and indeed has moments of real conviction . but it is doomed by its plot , which is yet another example of what i like to call the climb from despair to victory ( clidvic , rhymes with kid pic ) .
aurora borealis ( 2006 ) film was partially shot in minneapolis and included footage of the hennepin avenue bridge , mall of america , walker sculpture garden . starring joshua jackson , donald sutherland , juliette lewis , and louise fletcher .
peter markle , writer & director : i wrote youngblood , and my agent gave it to producer peter guber at mgm , who played club hockey . he liked the script , and we had a lot of actors interested in it . we had it cast up pretty quickly .
the hockey scenes for youngblood were shot at three toronto rinks over the summer of 1984 . filming hockey is difficult . you need to co - ordinate players , navigate expensive cameras around the ice and have enough people in the stands to make it look like a real game .
[ the backstory : in her random roles interview , virginia madsen summed up her experience on the 1983 film class as follows : “ew . i don’t want to talk about that . those guys were assholes . they were really shitty to me . it was bad . bad memories . ” unsurprisingly , some instigator rushed to twitter and sent out the link , tagging as many of the guys who appeared in the film as 140 characters would allow … including @ roblowe . —ed . ]
avc : were you any more familiar with francis ford coppola when you got the film ? because when we talked to c . thomas howell , he was , like , “well , i’d seen the black stallion , but that’s about it . ”
dean youngblood , a teenage farmboy and amateur hockey player , is recruited by the hamilton mustangs in a canadian junior hockey league . at first , the team treats him poorly because he ' s small and lacks toughness . but they have a change of heart once they see him play and score goals .
every good movie needs a great villain , and finn fit the bill . like racki , finn was an enforcer who could also score . he played in the ohl against thomas , biggs and many of the other players cast in youngblood , but he almost didn’t become one of hockey’s most popular bad guys .
richmond : i played in denmark for a few seasons . my teammates there loved youngblood and used to watch it all the time . they thought it was the best thing in the world that i was in it . so the next year , when i came back , i gave one of my teammates my stordahl jersey .
there ' s an unnecessary scene where youngblood is seduced by his hot - blooded landlady , and another one where he ' s trapped in a public corridor of the stadium wearing nothing but his jockstrap . these scenes are so obviously set up as cheap shots that they undermine the integrity of the scenes that are intended seriously .
the filming of youngblood took place in the east end of toronto in the summer of 1984 . ted reeve arena was used as the setting for the interior of the hamilton mustangs home rink while scarborough gardens arena was used for the setting of the arena ' s exterior ; a third city arena was also used for filming .
in the opening chapters , tony shaw and denise j . youngblood provide a general overview of cold war films between 1945 and 1990 . they dismiss the notion that hollywood produced “entertainment” whereas soviet studios produced “propaganda . ” instead , they contend that all films reflect the cultural assumptions , institutional dictates , and audience expectations of the period .
' ' youngblood ' ' seems chiefly designed as a vehicle for mr . lowe , and mr . lowe seems well able to handle more demanding material . but once the film descends into the usual platitudes about doing one ' s best and making the grade , it begins to seem aimless . when it even sends mr . lowe back to the farm he supposedly came from , so as to create a dewy montage of him handling the barnyard chores , it seems to have gone entirely off the deep end . whatever it is that rob lowe ought to be doing on the screen , pitching hay is not the answer .
imprint : i . b . tauris publisher : i . b . tauris & co . ltd . series : kinofiles film companion paperback isbn : 9781860643958 publication date : 23 aug 2001 number of pages : 96 height : 216 width : 138 illustrations : 20 b & w ; illustrations
gbs : 66 . 6 rt : 38 % gruttadaro : youngblood is what would happen if you threw dirty dancing , st . elmo’s fire , and a hockey puck into a cauldron . it’s deliciously ’80s , with an absurd amount of slow - motion hockey scenes , a fantastic training montage , an extremely cheesy but fun
hotshot athlete hooks up with the coach’s daughter
plotline , and a murderer’s row of icons from the decade : rob lowe , patrick swayze , and a brand - new keanu reeves . out of every entry in swayze’s ’80s oeuvre , youngblood probably gets the least reverence , but it’s absolutely deserving of a cult movement . i mean , c’mon , just look at this :
it started in - house , with staff members of the ringer nominating candidates . after weeding out the nominees that did not adhere to rule no . 3 above — any film with over a 60 percent rating on rotten tomatoes was deemed ineligible — the remaining movies were put through this formula :
ice castles ( 1978 ) the original ice castles film , partially filmed in minnesota at mariucci arena – university of minnesota , and the now demolished met center in bloomington , mn . starring : robby benson and lynn - holly johnson . nominated for one academy awards ( oscar ) – original song .
dean youngblood ' s teammates on the hamilton mustangs hockey team think he ' s too pretty , and who can blame them - as played by rob lowe , he is . so the other players haze dean unmercifully , clobbering him on the ice and subjecting him to all manner of unpleasantness in the locker room . after awhile , though , they begin to soften ; they come to realize that dean is a good egg after all . and the audience does , too . ' ' youngblood , ' ' which opens today at loews astor plaza and other theaters , is at its shrewdest in introducing mr . lowe in this roundabout way , since he becomes much more sympathetic as an underdog than he might be as a complacent - looking winner .
the emigrants ( “utvandrarna” in swedish ) ( 1971 ) film based on the first two books of the emigrants suite , written by swedish author vilhelm moberg . tells the story of a swedish group who emigrate from småland , sweden to minnesota in the 19th century . the emigrants starred max von sydow and liv ullmann .
the best scenes in
youngblood
are these early ones , as the hero meets the hard - as - nails coach ( ed lauter ) and gets his first look at the evil , sadistic racki ( george finn ) , a bearded ice demon who delights in playing dirty and trying to kill his opponents . even here , however , the movie has serious lapses in tone .
allerdings unterhält „bodycheck“ einerseits mit seiner gelungen mischung aus sport - und college - film , bei der sich sport , action , drama , humor und die liebe schön die waage halten . andererseits begeistern die sympathischen , charismatischen schauspieler und die charmante 80er atmosphäre , die durch den saftig rockenden soundtrack für herrliches retro - feeling sorgt .
gbs : 640 . 8 rt : 39 % luckerson : i’m not sure there’s ever been a good film that had a title ending with
the movie ,
but this one embraces its craven capitalist mission so fully — to make the most badass , butt - rock - fueled episode of power rangers ever — that there is absolutely no reason to hate or even dislike it . what exactly could you be looking for in a film called mighty morphin power rangers : the movie besides cringey one - liners (
have a nice trip , see you next fall
remains a go - to insult of mine during street fights ) , a legitimately sinister villain in ivan ooze , plentiful bulk and skull high jinks , sky - surfing soundtracked by the red hot chilli peppers , and honest - to - goodness ninjas ? the only person with any right to disparage this movie is the black ranger , who got saddled with a frog when they upgraded zords near the film’s climax .
the wrestler ( 1974 ) not to be confused with the 2008 film of the same name ( with mickey rourke ) . the 1974 version starred edward asner and many local professional wrestling legends like verne gagne , the crusher , the bruiser and more . vince mcmahon and ric flair also make an appearance . filmed mostly in minneapolis .
gbs : 403 . 7 rt : 6 % gruttadaro : troll 2 is maybe the movie that best exemplifies this genre’s ability to conjure cult followings . troll 2 is quite possibly the worst movie ever made — it sounds like a sequel to a 1986 movie called troll , and yet it is not connected to that film in any way ; it’s not a sequel at all — but a fervent movement arose in appreciation of troll 2 ’s badness . long after the movie should have drifted into obscurity , screenings were being held in cities like los angeles and new york , and fans of the campy fantasy movie packed in to revel in the schlock . in 2009 , michael stephenson , child star of troll 2 , went on to make a documentary about the movie’s second life as a cult classic called best worst movie , which got pretty solid reviews . that right there is a story with a happy ending , which also proves how much value a good bad movie can have .
this book is a refreshing revisit to the post‐world war ii political and propaganda film contexts for both the united states and the soviet union . the authors fuse an understanding of history with an interest in how films communicate . their study shows familiarity with studio archives , files of propaganda agencies in the united states and the ussr , and other original sources .
the hat was once the head of the nemean lion , which hercules slayed as one of his famous 12 labors . naturally , ratner’s film yada - yadas those endeavors to make a movie about herc training an army of farmers . but that’s part of the film’s appeal . hercules assumes that no one would ever see a hercules movie that’s … you know , about the legend of hercules . (
his father was zeus — the zeus , king of the gods ,
the narrator intones . got it — that zeus . ) in its place , we get a sturdy swords - and - sandals epic , a very confused dwayne johnson performance , and — yes — the lion hat . long may it roar .
gbs : 143 . 1 rt : 36 % giorgis : twenty years later , does anyone remember the actual plot of spice world ? for the unfamiliar , the film followed the spice girls as they drove around london in their tour bus . rather than track average encounters with fans , spice world took the girls on strange , unexpected adventures including encounters with aliens and a night in a haunted castle . none of the girls can really act ( sorry , boos ) , but the movie is more about their outrageous antics than any sort of plausibility . mel b , mel c , emma , and geri all spiced up our lives back in 1997 ; if you wanna be my lover now , you still gotta get with this film .
there ' s nothing wrong with hollywood ' s obsession with making ' 80s updates of the horatio alger story . but
youngblood
doesn ' t come close to capturing the spunk or spirit of youthful dreams . it ' s just another empty - headed clunker from the guber - peters assembly line ( who helped make
vision quest
as well as
flashdance
) , where imitation seems to have replaced inspiration as a starting point for cinema .
[ note : this interview was conducted over a four - year period . it began when lowe was in the process of promoting his role in the 2013 natgeo film killing kennedy , continued when he was doing press for fox’s the grinder in 2015 , and was completed by phone in conjunction with the season finale of his latest series , the cbs medical drama code black . ]
finn : actually , i was supposed to be called brophy in the film , after ( former minor pro d - man and nhl coach ) john brophy , but john didn’t want to release his name . so peter markle named me after ( stuntman ) branko racki . i said , “you’re the director , so you can call me whatever you want to call me . ”
rio ( 2011 ) a 3d animated feature film about a rare blue macaw named “blu” who lives in a book shop in moose lake , minnesota . blu is stolen on a visit back to his original homeland , rio . he wants to get back to minnesota , but he needs to learn how to fly first , something he never had to do as a domesticated pet .
rl : it’s a very interesting cast . it’s always a good day when i get to work with jim belushi , who i adore . he and i have a great thing going , and a really weird , offbeat story . it’s the type of movie that i don’t even know if it would be made today . just a very odd film . but a very fun movie .
drop dead gorgeous ( 1999 ) a mockumentary about a vicious competition between two contestants in a rural minnesota beauty pageant . filmed in a variety of locations around the twin cities . starred denise richards , kirsten dunst , ellen barkin , allison janney , kirstie alley , brittany murphy , sam mcmurray , william sasso . this was also the film debut of amy adams . director : michael patrick jann .
fargo ( 1996 ) filmed in minneapolis and brainerd , mn . directed by minnesota natives , joel and ethan coen . a film not widely embraced by minnesotans who felt that the minnesotans in the movie were portrayed as being slow or dumb . nominated for seven academy awards ( oscar ) and won two ( actress in a leading role – frances mcdormand , and writing – joel and ethan coen ) .
nesterenko : the action scenes on the ice had to be choreographed . it really helps to have somebody who understands what the plays should look like . real plays . markle was pretty busy running the whole film , so he wanted somebody to organize the play on the ice . it was fun being the smart guy on the set , as far as hockey’s concerned , and it was a good experience .
iron will ( 1994 ) a disney movie based loosely on a true story . a college age gets involved in a dogsled race to try to win money for college , and take care of his family . much of the film was shot in northern minnesota on the north shore and iron range . starred : mackenzie astin , kevin spacey , and david ogden stiers . ( submitted by mike _ _ _ )
this is the plot of the
rocky
movies and also of countless teenage wrestling , bicycle - racing and karate movies .
youngblood
takes it north of the border into the world of small - time canadian professional hockey . at first , it ' s interesting just to look at the locations - the seedy ice rinks and shabby rooming houses . but eventually the dead weight of the clidvic formula begins to weigh heavily on our minds , and we realize we are sentenced to yet another slog through the same old plot .
catch me if you can ( 1989 ) not the better known 2002 film by the same name . this one was filmed entirely in st . cloud and included scenes at cathedral and apollo high schools . it was directorial debut of stephen sommers who would later direct blockbuster films like the mummy , the mummy return , van helsing and g . i . joe : the rise of cobra . sommers grew up in st . cloud , mn .
gbs : 183 . 2 rt : 57 % gruttadaro : john woo is a good bad genius , and his mission : impossible ii may be the movie that’s most saturated with his brand of slo - mo , hyperstylized action . before a climactic scene in which tom cruise’s ethan hunt emerges to take down a henchman , a flock of doves inexplicably flutter across the screen . motorcycle stunts alone seem to make up about 65 percent of the film :
director peter markle clearly knows his way around the rink - - he ' s a former hockey player himself and has a nice feel for the raunchy initiation rites of adolescent sports . but the film ' s occasional glimpses of boyhood camaraderie are buried in an avalanche of thudding synthesizer - rock and coming - of - age cliches that have a lot more in common with box - office stratagems than the thrills - - and spills - - of athletic endeavor .
@ paulie _ d well , sometimes a new actor is cast specifically because of some other special talent that they possess rather than just acting . this was only his 2nd film role and he really was not great at acting at this point in his career . so , the question is did he get this role specifically for his acting abilities or was the fact that he was a star hockey player in high school play any part in him getting the role .
memorial day ( 2011 ) filmed entirely in minnesota . takes us on a journey into a father’s complicated wartime past , but also his son’s wartime future where they share parallel experiences in combat , they come to realize how a magical day on the porch shaped both of their lives . this film features minnesota’s own red bull brigade ( national guard ) . starring james cromwell , jonathan bennett , and john cromwell and directed by st . paul , mn resident sam fischer .
a prairie home companion ( 2006 ) a look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of america’s most celebrated radio show . shot mostly on - site at the fitzgerald theater in st . paul , minnesota . cast includes marylouise burke , woody harrelson , tommy lee jones , garrison keillor , kevin kline , lindsay lohan , virginia madsen , john c . reilly , maya rudolph , meryl streep , lily tomlin . director : robert altman ( his last film ) .
foolin’ around ( 1980 ) about a working - class boy who falls for a girl from a wealthy family . with gary busey , annette o’toole , chloris leachman and tony randall . filmed at the university of minnesota msp campus , and the pillsbury mansion on lake minnetonka . other scenes were filmed at the st . paul cathedral , the northwestern national life building ( now the reliastar building in msp ) and central lutheran church in minneapolis , minnesota . ( source : carole ostlund , an extra in the film )
thriller writer john gardner ( or was it tolstoy ? or hemingway ? or deepak chopra ? i can’t remember ) once said there are only two kinds of stories : a man goes on a journey and a stranger comes to town . there is , in fact , a third kind of story , which is when a man goes on a journey , takes along his best mate , two really hot motorcycles and a film crew , and makes an amazing seven - part series that sells to television stations all around the world .
but the film ' s biggest problem lies with its star . lowe is a perfectly competent actor , but he ' s woefully miscast as a gritty , aspiring hockey star - - the only team one could possibly imagine him skating with would be an vanity fair summer - league squad . ( the fact that his teammates , even fellow - actor swayze , look authentically rough ' n ' tumble only makes him look more out of place - - couldn ' t someone have at least blackened out a couple of his teeth ? )
gbs : 698 . 2 rt : 57 % luckerson : this film can be distilled into a two - minute scene that has become one of the most iconic movie deaths of all time . samuel l . jackson , in a stirring portrayal of samuel l . jackson , is giving a motivational speech to the few comrades who have survived at an aquatic research facility overrun with three genetically modified super - intelligent sharks . as his resonant words reach their crescendo , a poorly rendered cg shark leaps out of a nearby pool and devours him .
the good bad movie genre is not easy to define . the line between so - bad - it’s - good and so - bad - i - left - the - theater is quite thin ; taste is subjective , and what one person finds to be amusingly bad others may consider plain bad . the emergence of parody movies , meanwhile , raises questions about how integral artistic intent is in giving a film the good bad label . therefore , following these three rules is a solid , efficient way to determine whether a movie is good bad :
there must be a pervading sense that those who made the film thought what they were doing was great , or at least good . good bad movies have minimal self - awareness . here are two examples that may help explain this sentiment : ( 1 ) macgruber is not a good bad movie , it’s a tribute to good bad movies , and ( 2 ) fast five is not a good bad movie , it is a movie that intentionally wades into ridiculousness ( and then manufactures a reaction similar to the one a good bad movie elicits naturally ) .
george finn , “carl racki” : my agent told me that they were looking for a villain for a hockey film . i said no at first . but then i thought about it and ended up auditioning . once i got there , i felt really good about it . i read some lines , and peter markle and ( producer ) pat wells actually liked me . markle : george was a decent player in junior . casting brought him in . i loved his look , and he handled the part well . he never acted before in his life , and i thought he did a really great job .
gbs : 462 . 2 rt : 39 % dobbins : say the words
roller coaster scene
to any woman in her 30s and you will understand the role this film played in a generation’s sexual awakening . it is a truly preposterous two minutes : the awkward , lifetime - y glances between mark wahlberg and reese witherspoon , the sundays’
wild horses
soundtrack , reese’s li’l ’90s kilt , and also the part where the roller coaster’s down - swoop is used as a clumsy visual metaphor for an orgasm . i’m so embarrassed , but also it’s important — that’s what this list is about , right ?
however , long before dean has his bloody showdown with this darth vader of the rink , we ' ve lost any real rooting interest in the outcome . it ' s no wonder the national hockey league has refused to have anything to do with the movie . the film not only depicts more sustained violence than the worst nhl slugfest , but proudly displays dean preparing for his big grudge match by pummeling a punching bag and a getting a few brawling tips from his father . it also has - - perhaps to make lowe ' s skating look more realistic - - more slow - motion sequences than any movie since
the wild bunch .
eric nesterenko , hockey co - ordinator & “blane youngblood” : swayze wasn’t a bad skater , but lowe couldn’t skate , so we set him up with a figure skater . she got him to stand on his skates and go from point a to point b without looking too bad . they basically shot him from the waist up . markle : we had a couple doubles for rob : scott macpherson and randy walker . scott was a fantastic player , totally ambidextrous . randy didn’t shoot the same way as rob , but he was a perfect - looking double . scotty could shoot both ways , and that helped . don biggs , patrick swayze’s hockey double : patrick and i had to tape our skates , shin pads and stick blades the same so that they didn’t miss a beat when they flipped from me to him .
gbs : 1 , 151 . 6 rt : 11 % gruttadaro : this one’s tough , because it’s pretty hard to laugh at anything hulk hogan–related anymore . but it’s a great example of both cheesy ’80s action and a recurring miscalculation in the movie industry that maximum fame in one field will translate to the big screen seamlessly . ( it happened with the rock too . ) despite his starpower in professional wrestling , hulk hogan turned out to not be a fantastic film actor , though it is fun to watch him jump through the roof of a limousine , or feign shock ( or is it anger ? or maybe amusement ? how does one propose i read this scene ? ) over making one henchman poop his pants .
rl : well , first of all , it doesn’t look like any other cbs show… and i don’t mean that as any sort of judgment . it’s just unbelievably unique , it’s gorgeous , and it looks like a film . you know , i went from doing something that was very original , sort of subversive , and specific in its voice— the grinder —and loved every minute of it , but having done that , i was anxious to do something that had more broad appeal and to embrace the good things about that . because there’s good things about both . and to your point , medical - genre shows have been around forever , they will be around forever , and i think this is a great iteration of the next generation .
mark irwin , cinematographer : when producers would come to toronto , in those days , you actually had to apply to work on a film . the night before my interview , there was this giant blizzard . on thursday morning , there was four feet of snow , and the whole city was shut down . no one called me to cancel the meeting . i couldn’t drive there , because they hadn’t plowed the streets . so i walked in the snowdrifts , which were up to my waist . i got to the meeting and nobody was in the whole building except for peter , ( associate producer ) mark allan and myself . i got the gig because of that meeting but also because peter was impressed that i braved the snow .
gbs : 3 , 425 . 6 rt : 17 % gruttadaro : in 1999 , will smith was the biggest movie star in hollywood . by then , kevin kline and kenneth branagh were already oscar winners . salma hayek was salma hayek . what could possibly screw up a movie featuring those heavy hitters ? turns out , a gigantic mechanical tarantula . wild wild west is an epic misfire with overly bombastic special effects and next to no coherence . watching it now , it may be the film that is most capable of eliciting the question ,
what were these people thinking ?
but all of that chaos — bearing witness to such an utter failure in filmmaking — makes for quite a fun viewing experience . plus , the will smith–sisqo collab that accompanied the movie ,
wild wild west ,
is an iconic banger .
i somehow did miss out on this one in my youth and has managed to stay clear of it since . a weirdly fascinating film in spite of all its flaws . one of its bigger weaknesses is the way the actual hockey games are shot - almost all in slow motion - which therefore doesn ' t just emphasize on certain aspects or sequences in the game , but makes it look like they ' re playing really slow . in addition to that i think we find every cliché there is to be found in such a story , friendship between rivals , proving one ' s worth to the hard - as - nails coach ( and father ) ( and brother ) ( and the coach ' s daughter ) . and to top it all off , really fine dialogue like this : «you can learn to punch in the barn , but you gotta learn to survive on the ice . » like i said , weirdly fascinating .
gbs : 116 . 5 rt : 37 % victor luckerson : a great bad movie is full of semifamous actors / celebrities — often referred to as
that guy
— who immediately seem worse off for having appeared in the film . tokyo drift is full of such revelations . main character lucas black is that guy from friday night lights and the wonderful world of disney movie flash . the dude he races at the start of the movie is that kid from home improvement ( not jonathan taylor thomas , who is too ’90s - iconic to be
that guy
) . black’s high school buddy is that guy from mediocre early - 2000s rap , also known as bow wow . and the movie ends with the ultimate cameo — vin diesel , that guy from the original the fast and the furious ! before it could become a blockbuster action franchise , f & f had to devolve into b - movie schlock . watching fame - adjacent actors muddle through the franchise’s critical and commercial nadir is one of life’s great joys .


the ghost train is a 1941 english mystery thriller film directed by walter forde based on the 1923 play of the same name written by arnold ridley .

the ghost train ( 1941 film )

arthur askey is toe - curlinglingly unfunny , and the ‘ghost train’ isn’t a ghost train .
- hire a modern day train carriage to film the last scene needed to complete the film .
the version we are discussing today was made in 1941 and film critic leslie hallowell has said that it is almost a scene by scene remake of the 1931 film - - even using some of the surviving footage from the earlier film . the major differences between the two films were that the 1941 film was updated to world war ii and that one character ' s role had been split into two roles .
the ghost train has been called the greatest and scariest stage ghost story of all time . it was written in 1923 by arnold who wrote more than 30 plays . yet it was , only the ghost train which achieved notable success , running for 665 performances at london’s st martin’s theatre and being adapted for the cinema three times .
john explains that he has never boarded the ghost train because he can’t leave his sister ( who is still alive ) .
it ' s a mildly entertaining film from the start but really the only part to watch roughly the last 25 minutes - then you ' ll actually get to the ghost train part of the show . as stated earlier , the rest of the film is the comedy of askey .
pg 1941 aka spellbound and the spell of amy nugent , passing clouds . a good film but suffers from a noisy soundtrack , worth persevering with .
first came across arthur askey in the ghost train and thought he was great . he ' s just as good in band waggon
they are ‘greeted’ by the sombre station master , ted holmes , who reluctantly allows the group to spend the night at the station but not before telling them the story of the ghost train that has been seen at the station every night since a horrific train crash in 1941 . ted then leaves the six strangers to reflect on the tale and their current predicament .
arthur askey ' s the ghost train ( 1941 ) - first saw it as a poorly kid with toothache and last night twenty years on as a poorly adult with the flu . cheered me up both times : ) clever , silly and fun .
all we need is a little help to complete this amazing project , and then hopefully audiences can enjoy a thrilling ride on the ghost train .
the ghost and mrs . muir ( original motion picture soundtrack ) by bernard herrmann on apple music
if you can get past the inclusion of askey ( and it’s a big “if” ) , the ghost train is a very effective little film . everyone else is playing it dead straight , which makes the ghostly goings - on work very well indeed .
clearly , too , the makers of the ghost train recognised how thoroughly they were sabotaging their source material . it speaks volumes for everyone’s attitude to this film’s “star” that when it comes time for the first of the play’s two famous set - pieces , the recounting of the history of the ghost train by station - master saul hodgkin , tommy gander is banished from the room , so that the grim narrative can proceed uninterrupted . the scene is allowed to play out as originally written - - - and consequently is one of the few honestly effective aspects of this film .
eight people find themselves stranded at fal vale junction , truro and are told of the mysterious ghost train . two of them investigate and uncover a fifth - column plot .
this film is the product of so many fantastic people , who have all given their time and expertise to make the ghost train a success . we simply cannot bear to think that it won ' t get finished , for the sake of a few thousand pounds !
vaudevillian arthur askey’s lead turns this film about passengers stranded in a haunted train station into the comedy genre , although it’s a stretch for the subject matter . the most interesting parts about the film are the matter of fact treatment of life in world war 2 britain .
the stationmaster tells a tale of 43 years ago , when the then stationmaster died from heart failure as he was half way through closing the swing bridge nearby . the next train crashed , killing the occupants . the line hasn’t been used since , but on some nights the train can still be heard… “they do say that to look on the ghost train would mean death , ” he adds , less than cheerily .
( 1941 ) , war drama film ; written and directed by michael powell and emeric pressburger . ( released in the united states as the invaders . ) starring anton walbrook , raymond massey , laurence olivier and leslie howard . despite the title , the only border scene is at niagara falls where the train episode takes place . incidental . *
war is hell : german troops during the battle for the city . the battle scenes in the film are terrible and convincing
the train is one of the most enduring features of the cinema . the locomotive has been present from film ' s early beginnings to the present day and evolved from the late 19th . century along with the cinema into everyday life .
anyway , back to the 1941 movie and its plot . tommy gander ( arthur askey ) , a vaudeville comedian , pulls the communication cord on a gwr express train , bringing it to a stop so he can retrieve his hat . “it was you who stopped the train” - “yes , i don’t know me own strength” .
still wrestling with their fate to different degrees , the passengers leave to board the ghost train . emma asks ted if he will ever get on the train , he replies that he ‘failed his post’ that night in 1941 and will work at the station until he believes his debt is paid . this seems to affect tom the most and after the smoke has cleared and the others have gone , tom is left standing on the platform with ted , ready to serve his time at the station for what he has caused .
future learning and skills – giving everyone the opportunity to build a lifelong relationship with film .
but now for something different : russian film - makers have got in on the act .
the film is suffused with a blend of brutality and sentimentality which has characterised the russian psyche for centuries .
arthur askey , richard murdoch and kathleen harrison were the main stars of the film version although saul hodgkin as the station master played a great role in setting the atmosphere for the group . the story concerns a group of mismatched train passengers who end up getting stranded at lonely country railway station called fal vale . the next train to truro is not for another nine hours and to make matters worse , the weather is terrible . they soon learn a local tale of mystery and fear concerning a phantom train that is sometimes heard and seen rushing down the track . the train carries the dead passengers , victims of a train crash that happened many years previously . one of the best lines in the film was by the station master : -
the ghost train by arnold ridley - different copy for the american market . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cast listing copyright 1931
the ghost train , produced at the st . martin ' s theatre , west street , cambridge circus , westminster , london , england on the 23rd november 1925 was a huge hit which then moved to the usa where it did not fair as well .
this article is about the film . for music hall song , see oh ! mr porter .
i ' d been looking forward to the ghost train ( 1941 ) for quite some time now . had seen the much damaged 1931 version and it felt like it had a lot in common with it . almost too much , and i ' m struggling a little with the light comedian arthur askey , so not as original as i ' d hoped . semi - zany comedy , but a bit of a letdown overall all things considering . especially with it ' s long wait for the ghost stuff . still plenty of goofball madness to enjoy .
it would have made more sense for me to watch the original sound version of the ghost train ( 1931 ) with the 1941 remake of the same title , because the ' 31 version is missing about 30 minutes of footage ( start and middle ) along with most of the sound discs . meaning there is only 50 minutes left of the film and only the last 20 of it with sound . thankfully this is where broad acting helps one understand what ' s going on . no matter how charming jack hulbert is , this one is simply too damaged to truly enjoy .
due to the moratorium imposed on horror films during the war , scary movies were issued under the comedy label – hence the involvement of arthur . this being 1941 and wartime propaganda , the train is really being used by nazi fifth columnists to secretly transport arms . all ends well with the train plunging into a river but , tragically , arthur survives . to paraphrase the germans in fawlty towers , “how did we ever win ? ”
tall , handsome and charming , his first career was on the stage , coming to some prominence in the 1930s , although already selling books between performances . he appeared in a dozen or more films between 1938 and 1945 , including the outsider ( 1939 ) , with george sanders ; the ghost train ( 1941 ) , with arthur askey ; a leading rôle in mr . reeder in room 13 ( 1941 ) , based on an edgar wallace story ; another leading rôle in rhythm serenade ( 1943 ) , opposite vera lynn , and bell - bottom george ( 1944 ) , with george formby .
the film that makes private ryan look like kids ' stuff : the russians are coming - with a blood - drenched film about the most savage battle in history . but , says max hastings , the reality was even more barbaric
if this film is anything it is an arthur askey showpiece . 90 % of this film belongs to askey and his style of comedy . that is not necessarily a bad thing but he really distracts from the reason most of us are watching the film to being with - a ghost train . at the time this was filmed the audiences may have gone to watch this for askey ' s comedy but i think today most of us are watching this for a comedy - horror / thriller and not so much for askey .
the ghost train has been fully self - funded thus far and we have filmed all but ' one ' scene ! the rest are ' in the can ' as they say , all filmed in high definition and will be broadcast quality when completed . we already have interest from various satellite television companies wanting to possibly transmit the film when it is completed .
film # 23 in my 2016 hoop - tober ( 3 . 0 ) list .
digital still digital copy of the iconic poster , pdf of screenplay script , digital version of the finished feature film .
tom shows the clipping to the others on the platform . ted appears and implores them all to come inside . once back in the waiting room the startled passengers listen to ted explain that the station is a ‘sort of limbo’ and that the ghost train takes people on to the next life . the television flashes onto a news report , about a train crash caused by the emergency brake being pulled . they listen as their names are read out as the six dead passengers .
we chose to do a modern day re - imagining of the ghost train because it was a brilliantly simple story with characters that could easily be adapted to become recognisable , relateable and interesting and it lent itself to tradition ' ghost story telling ' which is thrilling and suspenseful rather than ' gorey ' . the ghost train could also be described as a situation comedy as it explores the humour that arises from the real conversations such a diverse group of characters / ages / classes would have in this situation . this makes the film feel very naturalistic and real . the story takes place throughout one night , so the timing of it also feels very real with no big jumps or timelapse between scenes . we , as an audience see exactly how their night unfolds .
who stopped the train ! ” / “yes , i don’t know me own strength ! ” ) .
frasier ( season and episode unidentified ) - a christmas episode , with a train around the tree .
the “horror - comedy” is always a perilous undertaking . the comedy can sometimes undermine rather than enhance the horror , often by implying that there’s really nothing to be scared of in the first place . that , mind you , is when the comedy is done right . done wrong - - - well , there are all sorts of horrors in the world , and when it comes to the world of film few things can inflict suffering like an unfunny comedy . in this respect , 1941’s the ghost train is one of the most astonishing things i have ever seen , a comedy that becomes almost hypnotic in its sheer inability to entertain .
the person who caused the train to stop in the first place did it on purpose because he ' s actually investigating the goings - on . . .
but on film , compressed and inescapable - - - “cruel and unusual” doesn’t begin to describe the punishment dished out here . askey is no mere odious comic relief in the ghost train : he dominates the film , with the bare bones of arthur ridley’s play becoming nothing more than a framework on which to hang a barrage of capering , silly voices , unfunny jokes and even a song - and - dance number . the cumulative effect is nothing less than excruciating - - - and not only for the viewer .
the country doctor ( 1947 ) stars bing crosby , set in maine , and has a rare scene of a maine central passenger train , pulled by a pacific , departing the portland station with its train shed .
in this thriller , a group of stranded passengers are terrified by the weird tales of a stationmaster who tells them of the
ghost train
that rumbles down the darkened tracks . it turns out that phantasmal locomotive is very real and is used by a gang of arms smugglers .
the railrodder ( 1965 ) national film board of canada . buster keaton ventures across canada in a speeder ( handcar ) . final silent short ( 21 minutes ) comedy film . directed by gerald potterton .
classic ghostly comedy , starring arthur askey and based on the play by ' dad ' s army ' actor arnold ridley . when a group of mismatched train passengers are stranded at a rural station overnight , they soon hear of a sinister local legend telling of a ghostly train that passes through the area , ever since a terrible accident 43 years ago . anyone who happens to gaze upon the train will face death and disaster . when the station master is suddenly found murdered , and when a disturbed young girl arrives from the local mental hospital , the passengers are thrown into further panic when they hear the roar of the approaching ghost train . . .
in the opening scene , the train is shown traveling on the left side track , when gander pulls the cord and stops it , it ' s on the right side track .
this is an old one , 1941 in fact an attemp to mix comedy and horror , didn ' t do much for me . just to much slapstick . 2 1 / 2 stars
the ghost train is based on the arnold ridley play , of the same name and is a true ' ghost story ' . we had been huge fans of the original and have tried to be very respectful to the original material , with many subtle ' nods ' to the play . but we ultimately felt that the ending needed a more ' ghostly ' twist . when i started to write the modern day version i was amazed how quickly it all came together and how people who have read it are truly spooked and shocked by the dramatic twist at the end !
the tomatometer score — based on the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics — is a trusted measurement of critical recommendation for millions of fans . it represents the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive for a given film or television show .
in wartime , the british film industry consciously avoided potentially upsetting or disrespectful themes , and the recently installed
h
certificate almost eliminated horror movies entirely . so , when forde remade his 1931 film ten years later , humor was brought to the forefront .
ghost train [ dvd ] [ 1941 ] : urltoken arthur askey , richard murdoch , kathleen harrison , peter murray - hill , carole lynne , morland graham , betty jardine , stuart latham , herbert lomas , raymond huntley , linden travers , d . j . williams , jack e . cox , walter forde , edward black , arnold ridley , j . o . c . orton , marriott edgar , val guest : dvd & blu - ray
the hounds of notre dame ( 1980 ) . a canadian drama film directed by zale dalen , starring thomas peacocke and barry morse . it used the sukanen pioneer village museum train station in moose jaw , sask and added the sign
wilcox
to it for the filming .
the battle for stalingrad was the turning point of world war ii . following the german invasion of russia — operation barbarossa , which began in june 1941 — the wehrmacht swept eastwards , destroying whole soviet armies and capturing two million prisoners , most of whom they starved to death .
contemporary audiences would have taken this stuff for granted , of course , but there is something quite fascinating in the film’s details , and the matter - of - fact way in which they are presented : the obsessive checking of the train passengers’ tickets , for instance ; the removal of the place name signs from the train platforms ; the references to blackouts , and to rationing ; and the willingness of these strangers to pitch in and share their limited resources with one another .
mystery of the blue train . some fleeting or short exterior images , and the usual interior corridor and compartment shots . incidental . * *
additional recommendations by john d . thompson , photographer , writer , steam train and classic movie connoisseur :
a timeless masterpiece . i can watch this film over and over again and still laugh out loud at arthur askey ' s performance . i quote this film more often than i probably should and i just wish more people would watch it to understand the brilliance of it . all of the characters have their own charms in this classic film and it is really something to see a film so light - hearted being produced during a war . a must - watch for the whole family .
at the grand cafe on the boulevard de capucines in paris on the 28th . of december 1895 , an invited audience and the public who paid one franc saw l ' arrive d ' un train en gare , ( the arrival of a train at la ciotat station ) , the first public showing of a motion picture and the first ever recorded scene of a train pulling into a station filmed by the lumiere brothers during their family holiday in july that same year . reports soon appeared that the audiences had ducked behind their seats fearing that the oncoming engine would run over them . in this way the first
horror
film was born .
it is the night before christmas eve and unbeknownst to 5 unlucky train passengers their fate lie’s in the clumsy hands of budding ‘magician / comedian’ tom gander . tom pulls the ‘emergency brake’ on the train after dropping his phone from the window and this unscheduled stop causes the six of them to be stranded at an old station in the middle of yorkshire .
ten years ago , that train would have more likely been carrying lumber ; but this one , originally destined for a refinery , was carrying bakken shale oil from north dakota , where the business of oil is a runaway train of its own , a rush of opportunity and construction transforming the prairie so fast that regulation can hardly keep up . the oil had been improperly labeled less volatile than it was . the car had been left unmanned . the “ghost train , ” as it has come to be known , was 11 , 300 tons of steel and oil poised to inflict maximum damage .
was a wartime film in every sense of the expression . it was shot at studios in london at the very height of the blitz – the actors’ dressing - rooms were positioned handy to the bomb - shelters ,
( 2013 ) a british–australian war film directed by jonathan teplitzky ; an adaptation of the bestselling autobiography of the same name by eric lomax , and stars colin firth , nicole kidman , jeremy irvine and stellan skarsgård . it premiered at the 2013 toronto international film festival on 6 september 2013 .
different about this version of the venerable tale is that it has been updated to fit in with the times in which it was produced . in the original play , and the earlier filmed versions , the “ghost train” is revealed to be a cover for the activities of a gang of smugglers ; here , the bad guys are nothing less than a group of gun - running fifth columnists . and this is , i believe , where
it was turned into a silent motion picture in 1931 . directed by walter forde , it starred comic stage actor jack hulbert . only five reels of the film are known to survive ; the only known complete copy of the film had been seized and destroyed by british customs for copyright infringement .
at the core of the film is a big truth : the successful defence of the city proved a critical landmark in the war — much more so than el alamein or any other british military achievement in the years between the battle of britain and d - day .
– and its attitude is entirely typical for a british film of the time . certainly , there’s a war going on ; but you won’t find the characters of
his first film
band waggon
is really askey playing himself , as is his co - star . . .
mismatched travellers are stranded overnight at a lonely rural railway station . they soon learn of local superstition about a phantom train which is said to travel these parts at dead of night , carrying ghosts from a long - ago train wreck in the area .
mismatched travellers are stranded overnight at a lonely rural railway station . they soon learn of local superstition about a phantom train which is said to travel these parts at dead of night , carrying ghosts from a long - ago train wreck in the area . the travelers eventually get to the bottom of the things that go bump in the night . in between the scary bits , comedian arthur askey plays the gags with his vaudeville style humor . this film is in the public domain and can be downloaded here for free : urltoken
based on that version of the film . ( confused yet ? ) late that same year , the bbc broadcast a well - received 40 minute version of the play . and in 1939
north by northwest ( 1959 ) directed by alfred hitchcock . wonderful scenes of new york ' s grand central terminal , boarding the 20th century limited , scenes of the train heading alongside the hudson river , and an accurate recreation of the interior of a nyc diner . at the end , a brief shot of an sp train entering a tunnel .
one of the scenes in the opening credits is set in 1941 . i added this scene specifically because i knew of the large number of 1940 ' s enthusiasts in and around haworth who all have their own , hugely detailed and accurate , 1940 outfits ; soldiers , land girls , ' civvies ' and ' dad ' s army ' . they all kindly donated their time and knowledge to the film to make it look as authentic as possible .
fish hawk ( 1979 ) , directed by donald shebib and starring will sampson , used the huge railway trestle at the forks of the credit , ontario ( close by
the devil ' s pulpit
on the niagara escarpment ) to film the final scene .
who has seen the wind ( 1977 ) , canadian drama film . directed by allan king and written by patricia watson , the film is an adaptation of w . o . mitchell ' s influential novel . the film stars brian painchaud as brian o ' connall , with a supporting cast including douglas junor , patricia hamilton , gordon pinsent , helen shaver , chappelle jaffe , charmion king , leslie carlson and josé ferrer . the arcola ( sask ) cpr station .
the general ( 1926 ) . silent film , based on the great locomotive chase , starring buster keaton . directed by clyde bruckman . central . * * * * *
the film was parodied in the harry enfield spoof documentary norbert smith - a life , as oh , mr bank robber ! starring
will silly
. [ 15 ]
, it’s that even a pathetic , annoying , essentially useless little twerp like tommy gander can , when the necessity confronts him , find a store of buried courage , rise to the occasion , and do his bit in the defence of his country : for british audiences of 1941 , a comforting and reassuring message .
high jinks and chills ensue when a group of people become stranded at an isolated station and a legendary phantom train approaches .
all of the above ! and ; a blu ray version of the finished feature film sent to you . two tickets to the 1940 ' s themed premier and a meeting with cast and crew .
the film critic barry norman included it among his 100 best films of all time , and fellow critic derek malcolm also included the film in his century of films , describing it as
perfectly representing a certain type of bumbling british humour
, [ 11 ] despite being directed by a parisian director .
in the man’s defence , it does appear that he’s playing a character who’s supposed to be that annoying , but he really is good at it . and the viewer has to admire the guts of a “star” who is willing to be the lead in a film which portrays him as such a tosser – by the end of the film you really are hoping that something nasty will happen to the little buffoon ( as , by the look of it , are the rest of the cast ) .
the hackneyed plot involves a group of passengers who are stranded at a railway station . the station manager tries to warn them away with the story of a phantom train that goes throught the station and all who see the train are doomed . normal right - thinking britishers , of course , would see through such a ploy , but this is a film of course , so they don ' t . the atmosphere , the special effects ( such as they are ) , and the all - star cast of ( mainly ) stage actors make this one worth a lokk .
then again , if you manage to ignore him , this is actually a pretty nice movie with an interesting story about a ghost train and with some interesting twists and turns . too bad this is entirely overshadowed by askey ' s obnoxious character . the best moments were those in which he was sent away or locked outside or in another room .
dennis the menace ( season 2 , episode 30 ) the soapbox derby . the prize was an h0 train set , but dennis ' s father made a bet on the side , and with the winnings bought dennis a lionel 0 set that goes right round the living room on the floor .
i enjoy his films but it was more about the big bands , so did a disservice to arthur , but it was a film of its time .
this film was ruined for me by arthur askey . his irritating character kept popping up until i wanted to punch him . i am giving two stars for arnold ridley who wrote the play as i think it was a good idea and could be a great film if they cut out the silly , unfunny character of tommy gander played by askey . to be fair , i can ' t comment on the last scene of the film because by then i had fallen asleep . so disappointing .
elaborate , in fact , that a phantom train and an undead station - master would have been a lot easier to believe .
the trio find the missing train inside a derelict railway tunnel , underneath a supposedly haunted windmill . they investigate and are briefly captured by the gun runners , but escape and climb progressively higher up the windmill until eventually they are trapped at the top .
( 1958 ) national film board of canada . directed by fergus mcdonell . this short documentary offers a step - by - step account of a fast freight train on a run from toronto to halifax , with glimpses of the vast amount of organization necessary in the operation of a country - wide transportation network .
the narrow margin ( 1952 ) a suspense film set aboard a transcontinental train , starring charles mcgraw and marie windsor , with numerous scenes in sleeping cars and the diner . exterior scenes featured a southern pacific train pulled by one of their magnificent
daylight
4 - 8 - 4 locomotives . ( re - made about 30 years later , same title , with gene hackman and anne archer ; given a contemporary setting and filmed on the british columbia railway . )
when teddy shoots at the ' ghost ' on the platform , he uses what appears to be a 1910 model browning automatic , a popular police and civilian pistol of the time ; but when he re - enters the waiting room he is holding a 1901 model browning , quite different in appearance . later when the villain price threatens the passengers on the bus , he now has the m1910 . see more »
it ' s a great film ; suspenseful , well - shot and acted and , as the older generation fail to get off at the last stop , there is only one solution .
digital still and poster , pdf of screenplay script , hardcopy of the poster signed by cast and crew , digital version of the full feature film , sent to you after its premier .
chris hemsworth kicks off filming for the star - studded men in black spin - off as he cuts a sharp figure in london . . . 21 years after the first film hit screens
but porter is unaware that he has really agreed to transport a group of criminals who are involved in running guns to the irish free state . the ' football ' train leaves at six a . m . the following morning , rather than the scheduled ten a . m . , at the insistence of joe and although porter questions some of the odd packages being loaded onto the train , he accepts joe ' s claim that these are in fact goalposts for the game .
great old film with a wonderfull cast including my great uncle , bruce trent . nice to be able to see and hear him sing .
dr . zhivago ( 1965 ) directed by david lean ; starring omar sharif and julie christie . the grand love story at the time of the russian revolution . the rail travel scenes were filmed in canada , and all the trains used in the film were spanish equipment . incidental . * *
suicide squad ( 2016 ) an american superhero film , written and directed by david ayer and stars an ensemble cast - featured the union station , toronto , ont .
of course , given the lengthy history of the play on which this film was based , it is hard to imagine that audiences of 1941 were very surprised by this revelation – or even ( as modern audiences may perhaps be ) by the flurry of unmaskings that concludes the action , with a great many of the characters turning out to be somebody quite different from who they appeared to be . ( though alas , tommy gander keeps right on being tommy gander , and not is not revealed to be an unethical experiment in psychological warfare . )
anne of green gables ( 1985 ) a canadian mini - series drama film produced and directed by kevin sullivan , starring megan follows . used the train station at westfield heritage village , ont . ( jerseyville th & b ) , and also at the halton county radial railway museum , ont . ( rockwood cnr ex gtr ) .
after taking the ferry from england to northern ireland , porter is aghast when he discovers how isolated the station is . it is situated out in the countryside , two miles cross - country from the nearest bus stop . to make matters worse , local legend has it that the ghost of one - eyed joe the miller haunts the line and , as a result , no - one will go near the station after dark .
mismatched travellers are stranded overnight at a lonely rural railway station . they soon learn of local superstition about a phantom train which is said to travel these parts at dead of night , carrying ghosts from a long - ago train wreck in the area . the travelers eventually get to the bottom of the things that go bump in the night . in between the scary bits , comedian arthur askey plays the gags with his vaudeville style humor , to the constant irritation of his fellow passengers .
the british film institute included the film in its 360 classic feature films list ; [ 8 ] variety magazine described the movie as
amusing , if over - long
, noting that there was
[ n ] o love interest to mar the comedy
; [ 9 ] and the cult website tv cream listed it at number 41 in its list of cinema ' s top 100 films . [ 10 ]
fascinating choice jerry - i ' ve only seen the 1941 version as well as listened to the most recent bbc radio version of the play . however , a couple of small nitpicky points - the 1931 jack hulbert movie is definitely sound and not silent - is it possible you ' re thinking of the 1927 german adaptation , der geisterzug , perhaps , which may be the one that infringed on the copyright ? also , the british writer ' s surname was spelled halliwell . thanks for all the great info . sergio
hope you like the material , seemed such a shame that very little is on the internet concerning the film and it played such a large role in my growing up ( not that i have quite managed yet ) . comments , thoughts etc . to the usual address at the top of the page .
this , then , is the story that film director fyodor bondarchuk has set out to tell , focusing upon the fictionalised experience of a few men ordered to hold a vital position between hitler’s army and the vital volga crossing .
not a word is said in the film about the stalin regime’s savagery , as terrible as that of the nazis . unit commissars imposed iron discipline : during the battle 13 , 500 russian soldiers were shot by their own side for alleged cowardice or desertion .
the southern railway of northern ireland that porter works for is fictitious . in reality , from the route chosen on the map , the line would have belonged to the great northern railway ( ireland ) , with buggleskelly being close to the real town of lisnaskea . in addition , the irish border on the map portrayed in the film is inaccurate , placing the border too far east , and roughly along the eastern coast of lough erne rather than the border of county fermanagh .
night passage ( 1957 ) james stewart , audie murphy , dan duryea ; train robber saga , filmed on the rio grande silverton branch ; some excellent scenes . technicolor .
mismatched travellers are stranded overnight at a lonely rural railway station . they soon learn of local superstition about a phantom train which is said to travel these parts at dead of night , carrying ghosts from a long - ago train wreck in the area . the travelers eventually get to the bottom of the things that go bump in the night . in between the scary bits , comedian arthur askey plays the gags with his vaudeville style humor , to the constant irritation of his fellow passengers . written by neil bridger
a group of mismatched travellers are subsequently stranded overnight at a lonely rural railway station . they soon learn of a local superstition about a phantom train which is said to travel the line at night , carrying ghosts from a long - ago train wreck . in between the admittedly fairly scary bits , arthur utilises his vaudeville style humour , to the constant irritation of his fellow passengers and anyone watching the movie .
in the film , the russian commander reprimands a sniper for killing a german who was fetching water . yet , in 1942 , men killed each other ruthlessly as they ate , slept , washed , prayed .
in the course of the film we see these people angry , irritable , argumentative , frightened , panicky . . . yet when the circumstances call for it , they are able to pull themselves together and , despite the danger , fight back against the enemies confronting them – even tommy gander .
633 squadron ( 1963 ) . a very popular war film which frankly seems melodramatic and quite corny today with the love story subplot particularly dire and most of the actors performing sub - par . the winners are the flyers and the photography and ron goodwin ' s famous theme ( with its 6 - 3 - 3 rhythm ; goodwin once remarked he was glad the squadron hadn ' t been numbered something like 978 ) . the theme however is flown out very frequently at full throttle and the rest of the score is over - the - top . sadly , i don ' t think the film has worn well .
having already completed 90 % of the filming , the only challenges we can forsee are during the editing process . we have already had numerous professional quotes for completing the ghost train and have been told exactly what it will take to finish , so the chances of anything ' too major ' arising are extremely slim . the ' people ' and the ' process ' are already set , we simply need the funding to carry it out . if , by any chance , we do get held up , significantly , we will be keeping all our backers fully updated with our progress through constant email / twitter communication until the problems are resolved .
twentieth century ( 1934 ) john barrymore , carole lombard . scenes aboard famed train , and a few authentic exterior views , pulled by nyc hudson locomotive
tough guys ( 1986 ) burt lancaster , kirk douglas , broderick crawford . scenes near end of sp 4449 4 - 8 - 4 and train .
associated british film distributors ( a . b . f . d . ) ( 1947 ) ( united kingdom ) ( theatrical ) ( re - release )
the question of whether or not one likes this film version of
the ghost train
invariably depends on one thing and one thing alone : your reaction to the performance of arthur askey . he tends to steal almost every scene he ' s in , and not always in a good way . sometimes you wish he ' d settle down or back off just a little , to allow the plot ' s many characters to feature and develop ( which they do to some extent ) . but somehow everything keeps pointing back to askey ' s tommy gander character . personally i like the film , and even like askey to an extent . i always seem to plonk it into the vcr at those odd hours of the early morning when i can ' t sleep and really can ' t find the energy to watch anything else . there is something about watching old b / w movies in the quiet dark of pre - dawn that i find appealing . . . .
spirit bay ( 1982 - 87 ) aired on cbc television and tvontario . the show focused on the lives of townsfolk on an ojibwe reservation town near macdiarmid , ontario . the winter episode called
time to be brave
featured the nakina train station and rail yard .
price , dismissing his sister’s wild insistence upon the reality of the ghost train , insists upon speaking to saul hodgkin , which forces the others to confess that he is dead . when julia hears that he died on the same spot as ted holmes – and at the same time , eleven o’clock – she demands that the others describe hodgkin to her . when they do she becomes completely hysterical , and even price is disturbed - - - for they have not described hodgkin at all , but ted holmes . . . price insists upon examining the body , but when the others take him into the locked back room , they discover that the body of hodgkin – or holmes – has vanished .
the train ( 1964 ) , directed by john frankenheimer , starring burt lancaster , paul scofield and jeanne moreau . a french resistance plot to stop looted art from being shipped to germany in the last days of wwii . arguably the most thrilling and memorable movie with a train as a central theme ever made , evoking grim memories of the evil of nazi occupation . one of the last movies of the black and white era - great photography and effects . central . * * * * *
places not our own ( 1986 ) an nfb film , directed by derek mazur , starring dianne debassige , tantoo cardinal and steve isfeld . features the napinka cpr ( manitoba ) railway station .
within seconds of stepping out the front door , yvon saw what rachel had seen up the hill , and what those inside could not : the train , moving so fast it would surely derail as it took a curve by the bar . he grabbed his girlfriend’s hand and ran .
night train to munich ( 1940 ) . directed by carol reed . wartime thriller . margaret lockwood , rex harrison , basil radford , naunton wayne . suspense right to the end , with a spectacular escape across the swiss border . done with mock - ups and a model train , all in studio , as on - location filming was obviously not possible . tangential * * * .
wind at my back ( 1996 - 2001 ) , a canadian television series created and produced by kevin sullivan . used the south simcoe railway and a mock train station in tottenham called the new bedford station . ( this was relocated to the back lot in toronto for the rest of the show ' s run . )
there follows a genuine moment of suspense , as the now jittery ( and annoyed ) group hear something coming down the platform towards them . it turns out to be the stationmaster , who promptly drops down dead of a heart attack , his body then mysteriously disappearing . another couple turn up at the station – julia , who seems rather highly strung , and her brother , who has just crashed his car nearby . julia , who claims she can see the ghost of the old stationmaster , now starts racking up the tension with considerable panache , and suddenly the lights go out , plunging everyone into shadow . the platform bell begins to ring , and there’s the sound of a train approaching , which gets louder and louder , the lights from it streaming through the windows of the waiting room . julia smashes the glass to get a look , screams and collapses .
is an effective horror film , with moments of genuine creepiness and a suspenseful premise – rare for a wartime offering , due to the supposed “moratorium” imposed on horror films which led to them being “snuck out” under the comedy / whimsy / askey banner . and of course , if it wasn’t for askey’s character’s utter selfishness , the whole film wouldn’t have happened - the unfortunate predicament of the disparate group who find themselves stranded in a supposedly haunted railway station is all down to askey’s character tommy gander pulling the communication chord after losing his “titfer” out the window ( “it was
number of refugees accepted into the u . s . falls below the rest of the world combined for the first time since 1980
remember the liberties with historical truth taken by the makers of the dambusters , reach for the sky and scores of other movies .
the first great train robbery ( 1979 , in the usa ,
the great train robbery
) . directed by michael crichton , starring sean connery , donald sutherland , leslie - ann down . theft of a shipment of gold bullion to finance the crimean war . drama and adventure , great period piece . used an original locomotive dating from 1855 , filmed mostly in ireland on the now - closed mullingar - athlone railway line . the station scenes were filmed at kent station , cork , ireland . central * * * * *
why shoot the teacher ( 1977 ) . a canadian comedy - drama film based on a book of the same name by max braithwaite . directed by silvio narizzano , starring bud cort , samantha eggar , kenneth griffith , chris wiggins . bud cort flags a train down near hanna , alberta . two solitudes ( 1978 ) , directed by lionel chetwynd ; starring jean - pierre aumont , stacy keach and gloria carlin was filmed at the old ottawa station beside the chateau laurier .
i am sad to admit i can watch this marvellous comedy thriller over and over again and still enjoy the this forgotten gem arthur askey was not everyones favourite entertainer but in the ghost train he shines as tommy gander
he ' s a scream
one of a group of passengers stranded at a cornish railway station in war time , the fun then begins as a group of nazi collabarators try to scare stranded passengers off to continue an illegal gun running operation i will not say to much so not to spoil the script for anyone buying the film . richard murdoch and peter murray hill give excellent performances as foils for askey ' s antics . raymond huntley was a unusally for him cast as a baddie and gives for me a career best performance . well worth watching even today for the nostalgia value alone .
they have created a 3d epic set for the film stalingrad , about the most famous battle in their history , and the movie has become one of the biggest domestic box office hits of all time . now , british audiences can see for themselves this amazingly noisy , bloody , cliche - laden , rubble - making version of the war .
number of refugees accepted into the u . s . falls below the rest of the world combined for the first time . . .
movies and tv shows that used canadian railway stations and / or locations , contributed by clayton self , a canadian tv and film buff , who runs the “forest rangers” fan page and loves to explore filming locations .
out of the joke book…” ) . he spends a good five minutes pretending to step over the invisible body of the stationmaster . he’s basically intent on winding everyone up ( i lost count of the amount of fists he had brandished in his direction , and the train guard’s reaction to his high - jinks is the first and only time i’ve ever heard the word “gertcha ! ” used seriously in anger ) .