Leofwine_draca THE RAILWAY CHILDREN is the most famous film to have been based on a book by the great Victorian author Edith Nesbit, a woman who was equally happy writing ghost stories and stories for children. This 1905-set story see a trio of children with an unhappy background going to live in a run-down house in Yorkshire. They befriend a local station master and most of their adventures are centred around a local railway line and station. The attention to detail is spot on and there's instant nostalgia from the depiction of a long-forgotten world.Lionel Jeffries was an expert at his craft and this was obviously a labour of love for him, given that he served as both writer and director. And THE RAILWAY CHILDREN is a classic for a reason: it's a pure feel-good film that manages to create a cheerful, joyous atmosphere without ever coming across as twee or schmaltzy. Jenny Agutter and the other children are the focus of the story, but it's Bernard Cribbins as the lovable Perks who really steals all of the scenes in which he appears.What I particularly liked about this story is that it isn't sugar coated. Injustice, illness, and injury all play a big part here, and it's noticeable how all the best children's films deal with adult themes alongside the kiddie stuff. One scene, involving an injured boy on the line, is more than reminiscent of a public safety film from the 1970s. Overall THE RAILWAY CHILDREN is pure feel-good entertainment and a film it would be tough for anybody to dislike.

Hotwok2013 Based on the book by Edith Nesbit & the directorial debut of Lionel Jeffries, "The Railway Children" is a movie of immense charm. After the arrest & imprisonment of their father on charges of spying, a middle-class mother, (played by Dinah Sheridan), & her three children are forced to move to humbler surroundings. The Waterbury family move to a cottage in the Yorkshire Dales close to a railway which the three children Bobbie (Jenny Agutter), Phyllis (Sally Thomsett) & Peter (Gary Warren) frequently visit most days. They befriend the local station porter Mr. Perks (Bernard Cribbins) & an "old gentleman" passenger (William Mervyn). The latter helps to secure the eventual release of the children's father from his incarceration. Towards the films end when the father (Iain Cuthbertson) travels to Yorkshire to be re-united with his family, we witness what is probably the most moving "tear-jerking" scene in movie history. His eldest daughter Bobbie awaits at the station uncertain as to what is about to happen. Her father alights from a train in thick smoke from the steam engine. As the smoke clears & Bobbie slowly realises who it is standing on the platform she runs toward him & shouts "Daddy, my daddy". I must have seen this scene 20 times & it still brings moisture to my eyes. Jenny Agutter many years later narrated a documentary on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway at Howarth in Yorkshire where the movie's railway scenes were filmed. We learnt from the people in charge of its preservation that this movie was the single biggest shot in the arm for tourism that it has ever had in its short history!.

Philip Powell Perhaps once in a generation a film comes along that is perfection. For me, "The Railway Children" is that film - a timeless classic that was directed and performed most beautifully. It depicts all that is worthwhile in humanity and climaxes in the conquest of love and faith over cruel injustice. Every performance is a gem, though Bobbie stands out and, like Judy Garland as Dorothy before her, Jenny Agutter makes it impossible for us to imagine anyone else in the role.The world is all the better for this film and the children of today would be much the better for watching it.Of course, like so many young men of my generation, I fell hopelessly in love with Jenny Agutter and her hold was as strong when I had the great good fortune to meet her a few days ago - the bewitching smile and voice like dripping honey were still there to send me weak at the knees as they first did all those years ago!

bob the moo The Waterbury children have a great live; a wonderful home with all mod cons in London town, a loving mother, a fun father and servants in every room. One night their father is taken away to do some "business" and things are turned upside down. Forced to move away from London and up to Yorkshire, the children suddenly find themselves with a lot less money, no hired help and a strange new culture to deal with. They try to keep their heads up and continue to be friendly and kind no matter what the challenges and learn the importance of keeping outward focused.Although it has been decades since I last saw this film, I had it in my mind that this was a rather stiff and clunky film – not sure why I thought this but I decided to watch it again before unfairly writing an opinion on it. However I was very pleasantly surprised to find that, for all its unreal "niceness", this is a comforting, sweet, amusing and charming little film that is well worth seeing. The narrative is simply about the importance of having a good heart and it has enough stuff going on to keep it moving forward without getting bogged down – I didn't find it sentimental in a sickly way mainly because it did feel quite fresh. Of course many will rightly say that this is pure sentimental fantasy, with everyone being lovely to each other, goodness winning out, idyllic childhoods, sweetly innocent children and so on – certainly it does tend to make you reminisce for an England that may never really have existed (and definitely doesn't anymore). This was a slight problem but I think I was in the right mood to watch it because I found it charming rather than syrupy but if you are in a bitter or cynical then I would suggest you put off watching this till later.The cast are all good – too sweet to be convincing perhaps but they don't overdo it and everyone has good humour. Agutter, Thomsett and Warren are the kids that everyone wants, they play wholesome really well without turning themselves into real annoyances in the way some "All-American" performances by kids recently have done; they are still quite real people. Support is good from the cast, in particular a nice performance from Cribbins.Overall this may not represent a reality or even politeness that many of us will recognise (nowadays the kids would be in baseball caps and would be chucking stones and cans at the train) but it is sweet and sentimental without overdoing it and making it sickly so and, although not hilarious, has a nice touch of humour and a fresh pace that makes it a very enjoyable family film.