Such a frustrating disappointment

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The basic story is of a man,denied access to his son,through circumstances,abducts him.I heard such a story yesterday so as they say nothing changes.The boy in question in this film is Denis Waterman making the first appearance in a career which now spans over half a century.The plot is quite neat and well told.It shows just how well the Danzigers had been able to adapt to the prevailing circumstances and turn out suspenseful films like this and turn a profit.It is a great shame that this type of film is no longer made.For railway enthusiasts there are glimpses of steam trains and also the old Euston Station before it was demolished.There are good performances all around.

Night Train to Inverness - 1960 A decent low rent thriller from the UK. Norman Wooland, has just gotten out of prison after a six month bit. He wants to see his ex-wife, Silvia Francis and his young son, Denis Waterman. Wooland had sent countless letters to Francis to arrange a meeting but had never received a response. Wooland gets himself a room and then pays a visit to the ex's flat. He is however turned away by his ex mother in-law, Irene Arnold. It seems the old battle axe has also been destroying all the letters Wooland had sent.A most bothered Wooland hits the bar to tip a few. He runs into a dolly he knew from the old days, Jane Hylton. While the two are talking Wooland has a brilliant idea. He will abduct his son and take him to Scotland by train.With the help of Hylton, Wooland picks up Waterman on his way home from school. The overjoyed Waterman is more than happy to take a train trip with his father. Wooland leaves some false clues in his hotel room that point to a trip to Northern Ireland. The three, Wooland, Hylton and Waterman board a train to Scotland. When Waterman fails to return home the Police are soon summoned. The mother in-law tells them about Wooland's visit. The police soon find a school chum of Waterman's who saw the boy with Wooland. The Yard hits Wooland's room and find the false leads, They put out the old all points bulletin to ships and aircraft heading to Ireland. Now the rub comes, Waterman, unknown to Wooland, has been diagnosed a diabetic. He needs his twice a day insulin shots as well as a special diet to prevent death. Wooland of course gives the child as much candy etc as he wants. When Waterman slips off into a coma Wooland just believes the kid is tired. As the trip continues, Hylton realizes that Wooland is really only interested in his son and not her. She gets off at the next stop and grabs a ticket on the next train to London. As she is waiting for her train, she hears a radio report about Waterman and his medical problems. Hylton calls the Police and tells them which train Wooland is on. The Police and a doctor board the train at the next stop. Wooland sees the cop, knocks him down, grabs up his unconscious son and flees the station. The doctor calls after him about his son's condition. Wooland stops, turns, and brings his son back to the doctor. A better film than I'm making sound. A well paced thriller with a runtime of only 69 minutes. The director was Ernest Morris. His films include, OPERATION MURDER, A WOMAN OF MYSTERY, 3 SUNDAYS TO LIVE, ON THE RUN, STRIP TEASE MURDER and SHADOW OF FEAR. The D of P was James Wilson. His work includes, APPOINTMENT WITH CRIME, DUAL ALIBI, COUNTERBLAST, VENGEANCE IS MINE, A TIME TO KILL, 3 SUNDAYS TO LIVE, THE DEPRAVED, THE GREAT VAN ROBBERY, MAN ACCUSED, and SO EVIL SO YOUNG.(b/w)

Roy Lewis (Norman Wooland) is released from prison after serving six months for stealing a large sum of money. He arrives in London to see his estranged wife, Ann (Silvia Francis) and seven-year-old son, Ted (Dennis Waterman), but is sent away by his domineering mother-in-law, Mrs Wall (Irene Arnold). With the help of Marion Crane (Jane Hylton), an ex-girlfriend, Roy abducts Ted and the three of them take the overnight train to Inverness to start a new life. But unknown to his adoring father, Ted is a diabetic and without his regular insulin injections he will go into a coma and die...A good example to prove that the much maligned British quota quickie industry could at times produce pleasing results. Director Ernest Morris (a prolific director of British b-pics throughout the fifties and early sixties) manages to generate some tension from the situations in Mark Grantham's screenplay. For instance, Scotland Yard's hunt for Ted is complicated because his father has left a false trail of evidence behind which sends them on a wild goose chase checking all the airports as they are lead to believe that they are fleeing to Ireland. Another plus is that the characterisations are better realised than one might normally expect of a second feature. For instance, Roy and Ann's marriage suffered because of Mrs Wall's (convincingly played by Irene Arnold) domineering nature. Frustrated by the fact that he and his wife and son had to live under the same roof as her and not being able to save enough money to get a place of their own, Roy turned to crime. In addition, while he was in prison, Mrs Wall destroyed all the letters he wrote to his wife leading her to believe that he never wrote. It was always all about what Mrs Wall wanted and Ann never had the courage to stand up to her and when she finally does, her mother still refuses to accept she was wrong and storms off. Thanks to convincing performances from Arnold, Wooland and Francis you can sympathise with the family's situation and this works in the film's favour even if the plot becomes a little predictable towards the end. Also deserving praise is Jane Hylton, a sadly underused actress, who offers a good performance as Roy's ex girlfriend Marion. Fans of Minder and The Sweeney will be interested because the child, Ted, is played by none other than Dennis Waterman here making his acting debut.