The Railway Children

The Railway Children is a children’s adventure story. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Edith Nesbit and was the directorial debut of Lionel Jeffries. The cast includes Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett, Gary F. Warren and a very young Bernard Cribbins and was also a TV dramatisation.

The film has a lasting quality that has made it one of the most watchable films. The plot is gentle and suits the beautiful landscapes of the Yorkshire dales. Although there are no villains and barely a bad word is spoken throughout the film it is not overly sentimental or gushy and the characters are simply portrayed as good, kindly people whom one would wish to meet.

This may seem to make the roles stereotypical pre war English types, and this may be true but it still makes the film definitely one to make you feel better about the world. The acting is superb throughout and all of the cast are strong and believable.

When their father is wrongly imprisoned a previously wealthy family has to move to Yorkshire where the mother writes stories to make a living. The children spend their time watching the trains on the railway line at the bottom of the hill and befriend the station porter. They have some mild adventures including rescuing a Russian dissident and then are eventually reunited with their father.

Cinema release 1970

Certificate U

Available on DVD and Blue Ray