The Flying Scot [Mailbag Robbery] *** (1957, Lee Patterson, Kay Callard, Alan Gifford) – Classic Movie Review 12,864

Compton Bennett’s suspense-packed 1957 British black and white B-movie crime caper heist thriller film The Flying Scot [Mailbag Robbery] stars Lee Patterson, Kay Callard and Alan Gifford.

Producer/ director Compton Bennett’s suspense-fuelled 1957 British black and white B-movie crime thriller film The Flying Scot [Mailbag Robbery] stars Lee Patterson, Kay Callard and Alan Gifford. In the original story by Jan Read and Ralph Smart, with the screenplay written by Norman Hudis, a gang plans to steal £500,000 in banknotes from the Flying Scotsman express train on its overnight journey from Edinburgh to London.

The Flying Scot is a short (it runs 70 minutes), tough-toned for its day, well done and not too predictable British crime caper about gang members Ronnie, Jackie and Phil (Patterson, Callard and Gifford)’s perfect plan to rob the Flying Scotsman express train going surprisingly wrong at every stage. Ronnie and Jackie pose as newlyweds and board the train, and settle in to a private ‘just married’ compartment. Older crook Phil also boards, but he is ill with a bad stomach ulcer.

Their simple plan is to remove the bags with the £500,000 in banknotes through the  plywood panel back of their next-door compartment seat and then throw the bags from the train to their waiting accomplice Gibbs.( Mark Baker). Other people on the train include an infuriating bratty little boy called Charlie (Jeremy Bodkin), his awful parents (John Dearth as Father and Patsy Smart as Mother), an intrusive drunk (Kerry Jordan), a sympathetic middle-aged former nurse (Margaret Withers), the train Guard (Gerald Case) and a priggish young man (John Lee).

Given that it’s a busy line, the train seems wildly under-populated, and given that it’s coming from Edinburgh it’s odd that there’s not a single Scotsman aboard the Flying Scotsman. It’s also strange that folks think it’s OK to leave £500,000 in banknotes unattended in the locked domestic carriage compartment, especially when the gang has committed six previous heists. But the film moves fast enough to stop you thinking of these logical things, And, yes; it’s only a movie.

Though it lacks Hitchcock’s style and the slickness of an American production, it is easy to enjoy watching The Flying Scot. There is plenty of tension and intrigue throughout, as we try to guess if they will get away with it or not, and Compton Bennett directs at express speed, building up a nice head of steam. The plot is pretty neat and Norman Hudis’s screenplay is quite strong, though it can’t have been a mega task as the first 15 minutes play (very effectively) in silence.

The Flying Scot is good value for a 50s Brit B-movie heist/ train movie, with some precious train and rail station stock footage of the day, time-warp glimpses of the way we were.

However, the train in the film starts and ends with images of London’s Paddington Station, whereas the train in the story starts in Edinburgh and would have to terminate at London’s Kings Cross Station. As the train moves off, the words ‘Paddington, Birmingham and Shrewsbury’ are seen on the coach. Shots of the train steaming through the countryside at night are not of the Flying Scotsman, but feature different locomotives and coaches of different regions of British Railways. But, yes; it’s only a movie.

No doubt for transatlantic sales, two Canadian celebrities, Patterson and Callard, and America’s Gifford are the main names involved, coming up trumps performance-wise and giving this notable little British B-movie further distinction. All three actors enjoyed successful long-term British-based careers.

It was released as Mailbag Robbery in the US.

Norman Hudis was a prolific freelance screenwriter of B-movies during the 1950s. The following year Norman Hudis wrote the screenplay for Carry On Sergeant, the first Carry On movie. Hudis wrote a further five Carry On films: Carry On Nurse, Carry On Teacher, Carry On Constable, Carry On Regardless and Carry On Cruising.

The cast are Lee Patterson as Ronnie, Kay Callard as Jackie, Alan Gifford as Phil, Margaret Withers as middle-aged lady, Mark Baker as Gibbs, Jeremy Bodkin as the boy Charlie, Gerald Case as Guard, Margaret Gordon as drunk’s wife, John Lee as young man, Kerry Jordan as drunk, and John Dearth as Father, Patsy Smart as Mother, Geoffrey Bodkin as Neat Boy, Fred Davis as Security Man Locking Train Compartment, and Victor Harrington as Passenger at Edinburgh Station.

The Flying Scot [Mailbag Robbery] is directed by Compton Bennett, runs 70 minutes, is made by Insignia Films, is distributed by Anglo Amalgamated Film Distributors (UK) and Tudor Pictures (US), is written by Norman Hudis, based on an an original story by Jan Read and Ralph Smart, is shot in black and white by Peter Hennessy, is produced by Peter Rogers (executive producer) and Compton Bennett (producer), and is scored by Stanley Black, with Art Direction by Jack Stevens.

Release date: November 1957.

It was released on DVD  in the UK on January 19, 2015.

It is shot at Beaconsfield Film Studios, Station Road, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, UK.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 12,864

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