The Ghost Train (1941)

the audience applauded

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

BBC radio comedian Arthur Askey's most popular movie foray, was undoubtedly his version of "The Ghost Train". Like the 1931 movie, this one was also directed by Walter Forde. The powers-that-be at J. Arthur Rank Distributors have always claimed that they have the 1931 negative nice and safe in their library. Thirty years ago, they even sold the broadcasting rights to Swedish and Australian television networks. Despite repeated requests by both broadcasters to supply the contracted prints, Rank failed to comply. The print had either got lost or stolen, or even worse, it may have deteriorated. Fortunately it has now been found and has actually been issued on a DVD!Anyway, getting back to Arthur Askey's version: Thanks to Walter Forde's adroit direction and Askey's inspired performance (Herbert Lomas too, generally wasted in nothing roles, is absolutely unforgettable here) the 1941 picture is an exceptionally happy marriage of mystery and comedy. Nowhere and in no place do we ever get the impression of a photographed stage play. It's an absolutely must-see movie through and through! (Good prints are available on both Network and ITV DVDs).

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.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.4/10

From the first few minutes of the film it was clear that the main character, Arthur Askey, was an obnoxious person that would have been better left on the tracks after pulling the emergency cord on the train. Because they waited for him to pick up his hat and return to the train we are forced to listen to a man that should have been beat with a large stick until his mouth was so swollen that he could not speak. But since none of this happened, we are forced to watch a performance by Askey where he tries to hog every scene by what some call humor.Askey was like a case of herpes- he would just not go away. He kept inserting himself in every third line by means of something like juvenile humor. (I do not mean to speak bad of juveniles)I know I am being rough on Arthur Askey. I have seen other comedy films from this period that is just as dated as this film. But that does not make a poor performance any better to watch. Some will say that this is classic humor. If so, thank goodness we do not live in a time where we think classic humor needs to be obnoxious and unfunny.Actually this story is not a bad idea for a film. If you took Askey out of this and inserted another comedian, that was not so obnoxious, then this would be a good film. The last half of the film could have been a good film on it own merit except for one character.This film does contain the beautiful actress Kathleen Harrison. I have never seen a film where Ms Harrison gave an unpleasant performance. She is the only one that deliveries in this film. But with Askey, it was hard for anyone else to do anything but listen to his rants.It is clear that Askey was better in front of a live audience. He could play and mingle with the people. He relied on the interaction of people to be funny. In front of the camera that did not play well. In this film it did not play well - at all.

Ghost Train, The (1941) ** (out of 4) British comedy/horror film has comedians Arthur Askey and Richard Murdoch among a group of people who misses their train at an old station. The group have to spend the night there when they learn of a mysterious ghost train, which apparently appears at night with the souls of people who were killed on it forty-years earlier. This is a rather strange film that once again follows that "old dark house" theme and tries to mix the horror and comedy elements. These types of films always depend on whether or not the comedians make you laugh and the team here didn't do that for me. For the most part Askey takes the lead with Murdoch only throwing in a few lines and it got to the point where it was really hard to tell that they were actually working as a team. Askey's brand of humor just wasn't for me, although I did find myself laughing at a few jokes but overall he just struck me as annoying. What does work however are the horror elements, which are pretty thick and contain some wonderfully dark atmosphere. The film reminded me a lot of the Val Lewton produced horror films that would follow within the next few years. The horror elements are all right on the mark but for the most part the film goes for all laughs. This certainly isn't a bad movie and I'm sure many will enjoy it but it didn't quite do the trick for me. Future director Val Guest is credited with the dialogue.