Murder on the Orient Express

Off- hand I would say 'The Great Locomotive Chase' due to our nearness to the locale and a club member's interest and 'involvement' with it!

 

ALso 'cause it has the General.

Von Ryan's Express

Unstoppable (2010, Denzel Washington)

The Train (1964, Burt Lancaster)

 

Alex

Unstoppable (2010, Denzel Washington)

Great Escape

1) The Great St. Trinians train Robbery.

2) Unstoppable

3) Von Ryan's Express

 

For those who have not seen the Great St. Trinians Train Robbery, here is a trailer/excerpt that I found on the 'tube'. Most of you guys should enjoy this.

 

 

Silver Streak (1934)

 

"Terrible railroading, but swell melodrama." -quote from an RKO executive regarding the railroad action scenes.

 

How can you not love a movie starring the Pioneer Zephy?

 

Rusty 

Risky Business with Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay in that famous train scene! 

Silver Streak (1976)

 

The Train

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory

Not really a movie but great atmospheric train and tram scenes from Melbourne, Australia in 1910.

 

 

 

 

I agree with most of the choices listed so far. My favorites in order: Von Ryan's Express, The Train, Murder on the Orient Express, Breakheart Pass. Almost forgot: Runaway Train---

The General (Buster Keaton), Murder On the Orient Express, From Russia With Love.

I know this question has come up before, but it's fun.

Pelham 123 (original)

Unstoppable and Water for elephants. Don

The Train with Burt Lancaster

The best "train movie" hasn't been made yet !

Some of these already mentioned are OK.

"The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit" from 1956 with Gregory Peck and scenes in both CT. and on the Grand Central Viaduct of New Haven trains and EP5s.

1. Silver Streak

2. The Great St. Trinian's Train Robbery

Titfield Thunderbolt

Emperor of the North. 

1) Unstoppable (2010)

2) The Station Agent (2003) - probably the most overlooked one I've seen on OGR....

3) Back to the Future Part 3 (1990)

4) The Train (1964)

5) Runaway Train (1985)

"The Train"

 

John-

Effectively, none of them. 

 

The only one that I can think of that does not make me cringe (or bore me) would be "Danger Lights".

 

I do realize that "train movies" suffer hugely from movie-makers silliness, but, truly, as

fascinating as the subject is to all here assembled, railroading simply doesn't make

for very good movies, by its nature. Not sure why. I actually tend to avoid them.

Transsiberian with Woody Harrelson and Atlas Shrugged Parts I & II 

Depends on how you define........

Best visuals - Runaway Train

Best story - Silver Streak

Best action - Unstoppable

Grittiest - Emperor of the North

Best vintage - Buster Keaton's The General

lots of others I like.....

Unstoppable

Those would rank up at the top of my list, as well, with "The Train," "Silver Streak," "Von Ryan's Express," "The General," and a couple of others also included.  I have all on DVD or VHS.

Unstoppable.

!. The Train- Lancaster

2. Donovan's Reef Great Train set on the bar, kept Marvin occupied)-Wayne and Marvin

3.Emperor of the North-Marvin

4. Von Ryan Express-Sinatra

***** Favorite TV series- Casey Jones-Alan Hale Jr. and you can still see them on You Tube.!

I cant cut it to less than 3, in no particular order, depending on my mood:

Von Ryan's Express

The Train

Silver Streak

Forgot about Unstoppable. Von Ryan's Express was OK too. 

Von Ryan's Express

Forgot, "stranger on a train" Don

"The Train"

"Dr. Zhivago"

"North by Northwest"

"Titfield Thunderbolt"

 

all tied

Walt Disney's The Great Locomotive Chase, starring the B&O WILLIAM MASON as the GENERAL

The Polar Express

The Titfield Thunderbolt

Cecil B. deMille's UNION PACIFIC

Marx Brothers' GO WEST

A TICKET TO TOMAHAWK, starring RGS 4-6-0 No. 20, now being restored at the Strasburg. A replica of her was used on a sound stage in Culver City as a stand-in for Sierra 4-6-0 No. 3 on the TV series PETTICOAT JUNCTION

HELLO DOLLY - Strasburg's Pennsy D-16sb 4-4-0 No. 1223 and wooden coaches

I am compelled to add Thomas and the Magic Railroad - pretty hokey but Strasburg's ex-N&W Mollie 4-8-0 No. 475 and two wooden coaches were lettered INDIAN VALLEY for action scenes, including a departure from the Pennsy station in Harrisburg, PA

Silver Streak (1976)

Unstoppable

 

Don

La Bete Humaine (The Human Beast)

Fantastic opening scene too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6GVt8HQCmI

!.  The Train

 

2.  Dr. Zhivago

 

3.  From Russia With Love

 

4.  Von Ryan's Express

 

5.  White Christmas

1. North By Northwest

 

2. Breakheart Pass

 

3. Mr. Bean's Holiday  (ok..I am being a bit silly with that)

North by Northwest & Von Ryans Express!

Unstoppable

Danger Lights

The Train

and I can't believe no one has mentioned "The Taking Of Pelham 123". Both versions are fun to watch IMHO.

Runaway Train and Silver Streak

Unstoppable.  

Sinister Journey

I like how you classified these. I'd add Best historical dramatization -- "The Train"

1. The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3  ORGINAL ONLY

2. Silver Streak

4. Emporer of the North

5. The Train

6. Von Ryan's Express

 

The Train with Burt Lancaster

Broadway Limited (ca before WWII). Terrible movie but great shots of PRR equipment.

Not necessarily a train movie, but you've got to mention.....................

 

"Throw Momma from the Train"

Lionelvilleestination:adventure!

(just kidding)

 

I guess it would have to be Silver Streak.

1.  Murder on the Orient Express

2.  Von Ryan's Express (read the book first)

i am going to craft a note of my selections and just paste it in every two years when this subject reappears.

 

or not

Emperor of the North - no contest

Lionel-The Movie

 

Joe McDoaks

 

Richie

deMilles Union Pacific.

"Union Pacific" without a doubt.

 

Bob

Once Upon a Time in the West

Emperor of the North.

N by NW is a great movie, but I can't call it a train movie. For instance he takes Northwest Airlines at Midway Airport.
Family beckons so i stop.

"Riding the Rails" (1997) if a documentary can be a candidate; otherwise, "Wild Boys of the Road" (1933).

 

 

 

 

What, me worry?

"Silver Streak"---original one, made about 1935 or so. Great train shots

Unstoppable

TAKING OF THE PELHAM 123 AND BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI

i had to look at my DVD shelf to remember this one...

 

 

Sullivan's Travels (1941) ...trains and a good story, too.

 

 

SP 2445 (albeit as a reversed image) opens up this film.

unlike many movies which feature passenger consists, this one is mostly freights.

Hey silverstreak richard pryer and gene wilder.Bound for glory david caroldean.Some great shots of a doubleheader freight trains.Million dollar hobo tim conway real trains and lionel trains.And not really a train movie.But daul with denis weaver there are some great shots of long freight trains with mid train helpers.And there are some movies from the 1940s to.

i always wonder if Louis Marx ever tried to get one of the brothers to endorse his product.

 

"Play Safe," yeah I know it's a cartoon, but some of the trains in this short are real. And Lionel's "The Wonderful World of Trains."

if we're including cartoons... definitely Conjunction Junction!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPoBE-E8VOc

 

kudos to whoever thought of the OR(e) hoppers.

The train, Union Pacific,  and dont laugh, I have kids Thomas the Tank Engine(english and German versions) the old version before they went to digital graphics.

The Denver and Rio Grande 1952, with Sterling Hayden and Paul "rifleman" Fix, only on VHS I can't find it on DVD. 

"Fours a Crowd" lots of 1938 pre War Lionel with Errol Flynn.

"The Professionals" 1966 with Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Jack Palance.

"The Train" 1964 Burt Lancaster.

"The Great Locomotive Chase" with Fess Parker 1956

"The Great Train Robbery" Sean Connery 1974?

and all of the a previous mentioned! Great movies..

 

 

Von Ryan's Express

my first train movie was silver streak (1976) at a drive in, I was 7 years old.

the one I really liked was the atomic train.

my favortie christmas is The Polar Express. 

One of my all-time favorite groaners is "Disaster on the Coastline." Despite using a made up railroad name, all the equipment says AMTRAK plain as day, the railroad is run by people who have no idea how CTC actually works, the "disaster" is a murder plot against the vice president's wife, and it stars William Shatner as Captain Kirk as a smooth talking money counterfeiter who doesn't actually save the day, but somehow gets portrayed as the hero. And they crash an F40PH.

I agree. I would also add "Railroad'n" with the Little Rascals. To me, there is a big difference between a train movie vs a movie with a train in it.

I wondered when someone would mention this movie.

It is the best!

 

Not to mention Veronica Lake.

 

I can't single out any one as my favorite, but at the top are:

 

Emperor of the North

The Great Locomotive Chase

Polar Express

Breakheart Pass

Sullivan's Travels

Danger Lights

 

Andy

All great choices, hard to pick any one as really better, but "The Train" is a movie that excells on every level and also has lots of footage showing real train operation and control.   Great movie.   

 

Terror By Night, one of the most fun Basil Rathbone Sherlock Holmes movies.  There is a really nice digital colorized version of this available.  Not crappy stuff like 30 years ago, but very clear, sharp color.

 

Great Locomotive Chase.   What kid from the 50's/early 60's can't love a movie with Fess parker  on an old time train.  disney, after all.

 

Silver Streak, great train stuff and never slows down.

 

Von Ryans Express, Sinatra, again lots of RR operating details, plus great scenery.

 

Emperor of the North.  Been years since I've seen this. Probably need to watch for it again.

 

Fours A Crowd, fun movie with Errol Flynn, but that is a great outdoor layout they race trains on.

 

Hard to have a bad train movie.  All those westerns based on building the RR's are fun.   North By Northwest.  I guess there is no such thing as a bad train movie.

"The Train" is a great classic, the best.  The talent to make and act this is no longer with us. 

.

this movie shows the drama, the human side of railroading as well as the equipment used during what i consider one of the most interesting decades,timewise.[1930s]. cant believe only 3or 4 guys mentioned this movie. to me,Emperor of theNorth far surpasses any movie made so far.-jim

forgot about another favervite-"Tough Guys" -has southern pacific daylight4-8-4 in the last part of the movie .i cannot find this on dvd.-jim

Charles Bronson in BreakHeart Pass.

 

It has it all...

 

 

 

My faves in no particular order:

 

Danger Lights, Broadway Limited (in spite of what the reviewers say, a MUCH better movie than the overwrought "20th Century Limited"), Tough Guys, and another sleeper: "Human Desire" starring Glenn Ford. 

 

Great train scenes in that one!

 

Jon

Toccata for Toy Trains

I'm with both of you.

 

And in addition to Danger Lights, I recommend Silver Streak.  NOT the 1976 film with Gene Wilder, but the 1934 picture of the same name,  starring the Burlington Zephyr.

If you remember b-westerns, Tex Ritter used trains in quite a few of his movie plots.

 

I have that one as well.

Unstoppable

The Train, Silver Streak (1976), North by Northwest, Runaway Train...all good

also Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid 

and a couple off beat...The Lady Vanishes & The Station Agent

 

A couple favorite train related movies or train scenes...

Stand by Me & Unforgiven

The General with Buster Keaton.

The Grey Fox, "true" story about Gearge Minor who gets out of prison for robbing stage coaches and turns to robbing trains when stage coaches are in the past.  Minor is credited for the term "Hands Up"   Great train shots and Canadian scenery.

The late Richard Farnsworth stars in it

Just saw that Turner Classics ran "Canadian Pacific " (1949) earlier today. Starring Randolph Scott and Jane Wyatt.

 

I missed it and have never seen it before. Looks interesting. Wiki says it was filmed on location in the Canadian Rockies at Banff.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...n_Pacific_%28film%29

 

"The Lady Vanishes" by Alfred Hitchcok is an interesting movie classic.

No, fave, I like most of them. Here's 2 that I like not mentioned. Nice topic.

Under Siege 2: Dark Territory  1995 (Train is the movie)

 

The Professionals 1996   (Train in it)

 

Let's not forget the sleeper car in Some Like Hot (1959)

Guys,

 

Thanks for all of your responses but after viewing quite a number on Netflix the standout versions I would pick are agreeing with AMCDave and his choices and his response on May 9.

 

I have viewed 163 movies and those are my top picks just as AMCDave selected. If Hollywood would like to crank out a few more, I am sure that we would like to watch.

 

As you can see by watching trains in different movies not all scenes can necessarily be filmed in the same way, when taking into account time of day, camera angle, actors flubs, train #'s and era justifications. A tremendous amount of research goes into making a film historically accurate. Some films simply don't have the technical know how that we train geeks seem to have and some film companies are content to gloss over certain details. I know from personal experience, my sister made a short film about trains and a love story between two passengers! It takes forever and a day to get those camera angles and shadows right!

 

What should matter most to us is that with so many subjects to cover in such a diverse world that real trains (those that we love) still are making it! I personally am thrilled about that!

 

Mike Maurice

"Danger Lights"

"How the West Was Won" ficticious but alot of background history.

When this was asked over 10 years ago, the overwhelming majority said "Danger Lights" with "The Train" a respectable 2nd.  About 4-5 years ago, it was a virtual tie between the 2.  Now "Danger Lights" has a very small number of proponents.  Guess it just goes to show the Forum readerships' changing tastes.

 

Bill

 

Oh yeah, "Danger Lights" & "The Train" are on my heavy play rotation as to favorite "train" movie.  But one perhaps some of you have never seen is a good one: "Other Men's Women" directed by William Wellman.