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''The Titfield Thunderbolt'' is a 1953 British comedy film about a group of villagers trying to keep their branch line operating after British Railways decided to close it. The film was written by T.E.B. Clarke and was inspired by the restoration of the narrow gauge Talyllyn Railway in Wales, the world's first heritage railway run by volunteers. It starred Stanley Holloway, George Relph and John Gregson, and was directed by Charles Crichton. Michael Truman was the producer. The film was produced by Ealing Studios. It was the first Ealing comedy shot in Technicolor and one of the first colour comedies made in the UK. There was considerable inspiration from the book ''Railway Adventure'' by established railway book author L. T. C. Rolt, published in 1952. Rolt had acted as honorary manager for the volunteer enthusiasts running the Talyllyn Railway for the two years 1951-52. A number of scenes in the film, such as the emergency re-supply of water to the locomotive by buckets from an adjacent stream, or passengers being asked to assist in pushing the carriages, were taken from this book. ==Plot== The residents of the (fictional) rural village of Titfield rely on the railway branch line to commute to work and transport their produce to market. So they are shocked when the government announces that the line is to be closed. Particularly hard hit is the local vicar, railway enthusiast Rev. Sam Weech (George Relph); he comes up with the idea to run it locally. He and the local squire, Gordon Chesterford (John Gregson), persuade wealthy Walter Valentine (Stanley Holloway) to provide the financial backing by telling him they can legally operate a bar while the train is running, so he will not have to wait all morning for the local pub to open. The branch line supporters are bitterly opposed by bus operators Alec Pearce (Ewan Roberts) and Vernon Crump (Jack MacGowran), but, despite the fears of town clerk George Blakeworth (Naunton Wayne), the supporters persuade the Ministry of Transport to grant them a month's trial period with an inspection at the end. Dan Taylor (Hugh Griffith), a retired railway worker, knows how to run an engine and joins the venture. On the maiden run, Crump and Pearce try to block a crossing, first with their lorry and then with a passing steam roller operated by Harry Hawkins (Sid James), but the steam locomotive is too powerful and pushes them off the track. The next day, Crump and Pearce persuade an irate Hawkins to shoot holes in the water tower, but the passengers form a bucket brigade and refill the engine from a nearby river using buckets from the nearby farm. Defeated, Crump proposes a merger, but is turned down. The night before the inspection, Hawkins, Crump and Pearce sabotage the line by using the steamroller to tow the unguarded engine and coach down the gradient. It runs off the track where the three men have removed a rail and is severely damaged. Blakeworth is mistakenly blamed and arrested. Taylor and Valentine get drunk together and decide to "borrow" an engine from the Mallingford yards, but end up driving the engine along the main street of Mallingford and finally running the locomotive into a large oak tree. They are arrested, with the arresting constable giving the desk sergeant a long and humorous list of the many offences they have committed. Now with no usable engine, Weech decides to get the antique but still-functional ''Thunderbolt'' (in real life the ''Lion'', one of the earliest locomotives in Britain and at the time of filming 115 years old) from the museum, and after liberating Blakeworth from the law, they persuade the mayor to support them. They also commandeer Dan Taylor's home, an old railway carriage body, which is hastily strapped to a flat wagon. The impromptu train is completed by a goods brake van for Chesterford, the guard, to use. With Taylor's arrest, Weech is left without a fireman. Fortunately, the vicar's friend and fellow railway devotee, Ollie Matthews (Godfrey Tearle), the Bishop of Welchester, is visiting and willingly steps in to lend a hand. Meanwhile, Pierce and Crump see ''Thunderbolt'' from the road and, distracted, run their bus into a black maria carrying Taylor and Valentine to gaol. Pierce panics and confesses to the train wrecking and the two are also arrested. Weech and Chesterford also have to improvise a means of connecting the engine to the rest of the train since the coupling method had greatly changed since ''Thunderbolt''s heyday. The village craftsman uses a length of rope, but warns Chesterford to be careful. As they are about to start their run, the police demand to be carried to Mallingford with their four prisoners. The Ministry inspector (John Rudling) refuses to adjust the starting time for the delay. During a braking test, the rope snaps, and ''Thunderbolt'' leaves the rest of the train behind; however, several villagers turn out and manage to quietly push the carriages to meet up again with ''Thunderbolt ''at the water tower, with the inspector none the wiser. Joan Hampton (Gabrielle Brune) promises to marry Hawkins to get him to lend them the chain from his roller's steering mechanism to replace the broken rope. The train pulls into Mallingford railway station nearly ten minutes late. The villagers worry that this will prove their downfall, but it turns out that if they had been just a bit faster, they would have exceeded the speed limit for light railways. Instead, the line passes inspection, clearing the way for the Light Railway Order to be granted. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Titfield Thunderbolt」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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