Time Bomb (1953)

Director:

Ted Tetzlaff

Writers:

Kem Bennett (novel)
Kem Bennett (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 July 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Plot:

When a terrorist plants a bomb on board a train, the police call in an army bomb disposal expert to find, and dismantle it, but after it has been made safe, he has another shock in store. |

Plot Keywords:

Bomb | Railway | Train | Based On Novel

Cast

Glenn Ford	...	Maj. Peter Lyncort
Anne Vernon	...	Janine Lyncort
Maurice Denham	...	Jim Warilow
Harcourt Williams	...	Vicar
Victor Maddern	...	Saboteur
Harold Warrender	...	Sir Evelyn Jordan
John Horsley	...	Constable Charles Baron
Campbell Singer	...	Inspector Brannon
Bill Fraser	...	Constable J. Reed
Herbert C. Walton	...	Old Charlie
Martin Wyldeck	...	Sergeant Collins
Arthur Hambling	...	Train Driver
Harry Locke	...	Train Fireman
Frank Atkinson	...	Guard
Ernest Butcher	...	Martindale

Also Known As:

Terror on a Train (USA)

Runtime:

UK:73 min | USA:72 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #16043) | Norway:12 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios

Soundtrack:

Sue les quais du vieux Paris

Minor British thriller stirs up a modest amount of suspense...

It's really hard to see what GLENN FORD saw in the role of a man who is an expert at detonating explosives because his role in TIME BOMB (or TERROR ON A TRAIN--U.S. title), is one that any halfway decent actor could do blindfolded. Why did he go to England to appear in this insignificant little post-war film that hangs its plot on one simple theme--a bomb planted on a train with all passengers out of danger.

A sub-plot has his worried wife (with whom he argues incessantly), seeking a reunion and returning home to find him gone--whereby she spends the rest of the film fretting over his safety.

Wisely, the film runs only an hour and twelve minutes. Unfortunately even at that brief length, it runs out of steam before it's halfway through and what should be the final excitement of the closing scenes amounts to little more than a thud.

Very tepid thriller directed by Ted Tetzlaff who shows none of the skill he had when he had a good script (THE WINDOW--1949). Should have been much more suspenseful and looks like the sort of film that was intended to play the lower half of double bills.

The humorous element of a demented old man repeating over and over again that "he loves trains" and can't stay away from them--even when they contain explosives--gets a bit tiresome.