# Great Train Movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 10, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201 "2006-06-10T14:12:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/21 "2006-06-11T09:56:20Z")
The award winning documentary [Riding the Rails](http://www.ridingtherails-themovie.com/) about teens in the depression. Maybe early Scorsese - [Boxcar Bertha](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068309/) had plenty of railway moments. ---
**Author:** ![TPWombat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbce88/32.png) [@TPWombat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TPWombat)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/22 "2006-06-11T11:56:15Z")
[The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046436/) Villagers start their own steam train service when British Rail cutbacks close their station. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/23 "2006-06-11T12:04:26Z")
_From Russia With Love_ has quite a large section set on the Orient Express. _Lawrence of Arabia_ isn’t set on trains, but they blow up enough of them! _The Wild Bunch_ has a couple of sections involving train robberies and the like… ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/24 "2006-06-11T12:04:33Z")
The classic children’s film [The Railway Children.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066279/) ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/25 "2006-06-11T15:56:08Z")
The Little Rascal’s _Choo-Choo_ mined the comedic possibilities of the old Pullman sleeper cars better than most other movies that come to mind (Jack Gilford’s Cracker Jack commerical excepted), as well as featured a common sight from the Great Depression: kids traveling alone with cardboard tags hung around their necks. Pity nobody’s made a movie of Robert (Psycho) Bloch’s short story _Hellbound Train_. Or maybe it’s a good thing, since they’d put Jim Carey in it. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/26 "2006-06-12T10:23:44Z")
[This one](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079056/) rules. William Fucking Shatner. On Amtrak. 'Nuff said. ---
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/27 "2006-06-12T10:35:15Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > What better cast? All three actors were fantastic. Roberts and Voigt got Oscar nods. Any remake would pale, no matter who the cast was. 4 great actors…don’t forget the “Ahab” warden! ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/28 "2006-06-12T11:05:38Z")
[Galaxy Expres 999](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Express_999), an anime movie about a boy who wishes to travel to the planet La Matel to get a robot body so that he can kill the robot who hunted and killed his mother. Apparantly exists in the same universe as a number of other animes, including StarBlazers and Captain Harlock. [Under Siege 2: Dark Territory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_Siege_2), about a guy who plans to use a satelite-based nuclear weapon to blow up the Pentagon, triggered from a passenger train. Unfortunately for him, former Navy Cook Casey Ryback happens to be traveling with his daughter, and doesn’t take kindly to criminal masterminds sharing his mode of transportation. [The Polar Express](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Polar_Express_%28film%29), a very good CGI kid’s movie with Tom Hanks about a train that picks up kids in the middle of the night and spirits them away to the North Pole, most likely without their parents’ permission or knowledge. Also features some mad leet hole punching skills. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/29 "2006-06-12T11:39:20Z")
There’s the Charles Bronson western, [Breakheart Pass](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/breakheart_pass/) , set on a train journey through the Rockies… ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/30 "2006-06-12T14:09:51Z")
Another anime mostly on a train is [Ginga-tetsudo no yoru/Nokto de la galaksia fervojo de](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089206/) (known in English as “Night on the Galactic Railroad” – those original titles are Japanese and Esperanto). As a tribute to that, a train also appears in [Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/) (“Spirited Away”). ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/31 "2006-06-12T14:25:09Z")
This far and no one’s mentioned **The Cassandra Crossing**? Ok, maybe it’s not _Great_, but it is a train movie. There’s also \*\*Atomic Train \*\* with Rob Lowe (complete with nuclear blast!) and the last part of **Broken Arrow** , with a nuke (but alas, no blast, although there was one earlier). I have to agree with Robot Arm - \*\*The General \*\* is an education in what you can do with a train. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/32 "2006-06-12T15:37:38Z")
> [@stuyguy](#): > > Here’s an off-beat one for you: [The Emperor of the North [Pole]](http://imdb.com/title/tt0070030/). It basically pits Depression-era hobos against the railroad dicks and goons. How’s _that_ for a winning movie plot? Loved this move. My dad took me to see it when I was 7. Scared the crap out of me but I sit down to watch it whenever I catch it on. I’m not surprised that no one has mentioned [Under Seige 2: Dark Territory](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114781/) but it was set on a train. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/33 "2006-06-12T15:41:09Z")
If you’re really lucky, TVLand might show an ep or two of the 1979 one-season wonder [Supertrain!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078697/) It occurs to me I’ve never seen a film or TV show set on a [high-speed train](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail) – like they have now in Europe and Japan. Wonder why not? ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/34 "2006-06-12T16:02:55Z")
> [@Lamar Mundane](#): > > …The best ever performances by all three main actors. I’d like to see it remade with a better cast. ??? My own candidate: **Horror Express** , a Hammer movie about a 'demon" who gets loose on a Siberian train. Pretty cool. Has Telly Savalas as a half-mad Cossack. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/35 "2006-06-12T16:05:35Z")
> [@Malienation](#): > > I agree with: > > _The Taking of Pelham 123_. May the great Walter Matthau rest in peace. > _Runaway Train_. Electrifying performances by all, especially Jon Voigt. > _The Narrow Margin_, the original with Charles McGraw (terrifying voice could make a man piss himself), is superior to the remake (amiable Gene Hackman just can’t cut it here) Oh, geez, yes, **The Narrow Margin**. Marie Windsor’s finest hour. What a sexy tough gal. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/36 "2006-06-12T16:30:45Z")
What’s the one where there’s two hoods terrorizing a subway train? It was made in 60’s I think, in that gritty New York style. A couple of famous actors & a director early in their careers. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/37 "2006-06-12T17:16:22Z")
Isn’t there a new one coming out – _Snakes on a Train?_🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/38 "2006-06-12T20:23:29Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > [Murder On The Orient Express](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071877/) = just check out the cast! A nice whodunit by Agatha Christie, and some great train interiors of the real way to travel in style. [Travels With My Aunt](http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll) also features the Orient Express. AMG doesn’t rate it very highly, but I found it entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/39 "2006-06-12T20:24:35Z")
> [@mack](#): > > What’s the one where there’s two hoods terrorizing a subway train? It was made in 60’s I think, in that gritty New York style. A couple of famous actors & a director early in their careers. It’s been mentioned. _The Taking of Pelham 123_. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2006, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201/40 "2006-06-12T20:55:25Z")
I’d like to second **From Russia With Love**. Two other Bond movies feature trains prominently, but to much lesser effect. “I’ve led a particularly fascinating life.” Wotta movie! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-train-movies/360201.md?page=3)