BFI

A remake of G.A. Smith's film of the same title and year, Bamforth's version has a similar three-shot structure, but the two bookending shots show the exterior of the train itself, as opposed to Smith's point of view shots that required the audience to use its collective imagination.

The central shot is very similar in terms of content to Smith's film, but the presentation is somewhat different - both the slatted wooden interior of the train (noticeably more realistic than Smith's painted backdrop) and the clothes of the couple suggest that they were a few notches lower on the social ladder than the top-hatted aristocrats of the earlier version, almost certainly providing contemporary audiences with a rather more identifiable mirror image of themselves (and possibly their secret desires).

And, like most remakes, the Bamforth version ups the ante with regard to overall passion - the couple's encounter is noticeably steamier, starting with a kiss but quickly moving into a full-blown embrace.

Although anyone familiar with the closing shot of Alfred Hitchcock's North By Northwest (US, 1959) will find it hard to suppress a giggle at the apparent sexual symbolism of the opening shot (especially given the content of the rest of the film), there is no evidence that this was intentional.

Michael Brooke

*This film is included in the BFI DVD compilation 'Early Cinema: Primitives and Pioneers'.

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