Review
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....
I believe that the novel was written by Arnold Ridley, who played
ReplyDeletePte Godfrey in Dad's Army. Saw the play, many years ago, performed by my daughter's school 6th form class as an end of year celebration. One member went on to appear in UK, and then American, films.
Penseivat
Wow.
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