The Ghost Train

"This article is about the play. For other uses, see Ghost train (disambiguation)"

"The Ghost Train" is a British play, written in 1923 by Arnold Ridley, who much later played Private Godfrey in "Dad's Army".

The play was first produced at the Eltinge Theater [French's Standard Drama] . Ridley was inspired to write it after becoming stranded overnight at Mangotsfield railway station in Bristol, a now disused station on the Midland Railway main line. It took him only a week to complete, but it played to packed houses at St Martin's Theatre for 2 years and became a staple of the British theatre for many years to come.

Plot

The plot revolves around a party of passengers who find themselves stranded in the waiting room of an isolated station. The station master tries to get them to leave citing the local legend of a ghost train that dooms all who see it to death. It is revealed later in the plot that the train is in fact smuggling arms and the story has been concocted to frighten away strangers. The play was very unusual for its time in using elaborate special-effects to simulate a train running through the station; garden-rollers running over wooden lats, thunder sheets etc. Ridley later wrote a sequel called The Wrecker, which ends in a rail crash using similarly spectacular special effects, but it was not a great success.

Film versions

There was a film version made in 1931 starring comedian Jack Hulbert, of which five reels of picture and two reels of soundtrack survive. It was remade in 1941, starring Arthur Askey, with the story updated to the Second World War.

The 1937 Will Hay comedy "Oh, Mr Porter!" is loosely based on the plot of this play.

Radio version

A radio version of "The Ghost Train" has been broadcast by the BBC, most recently on BBC7.

Trivia

In 1925, Arnold Ridley's theatre company went bust, and in a way to clear his debts, he sold his rights to the play, for reportedly £200.

References

External links

* [http://www.britmovie.net/gallery/index.php?cat=2 Britmovie — Locations: Ghost train]
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