Cinema
The Railway Children
Lionel Jeffries · 1970
Synopsis
In 1905, a well-off family lives in a villa in the suburbs of London; the father is a civil servant at the Foreign Office. Shortly after Christmas, two strangers come for him and take him away. The mother does not tell the children what has happened. Left without resources, she leaves with the three of them for a modest house in Yorkshire, near a railway line, where they discover a poorer life.
Context
Edith Nesbit's book had appeared as a serial from January 1905 to January 1906, then in volume form in 1906. Public television had adapted it three times, in 1951, 1957 and 1968; the first version was not recorded, and only the last is known to survive. Jenny Agutter already played the eldest child in it; thirty years after the film, she plays the mother in a television film produced for a private channel. The father is accused of espionage, which the children at first do not know. Filming began on 10 May 1970 at Oakworth station, on a small steam line in Yorkshire, and Bryan Forbes, then head of production at EMI, supported the project.
Who it is for
One hundred and eight minutes, in English with subtitles or in a French version. The story follows the three children in their new life in the country.
Prizes and reception
The ninth biggest box-office success of 1971 in Britain, with three nominations at the British Academy awards; it has become a classic of Christmas television programming.
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