genet-1 Moore Marriott, bumbling, blustering old buffer of the next generation of British comedies, shows his origins in drama as Bob White, about-to-retire driver of the elite "Flying Scotsman" express between London and Edinburgh. Fireman Crow (Alec Hurley) is fired after White reports him drinking on duty, igniting a feud that culminates in Crow's attempt to wreck the Scotsman. Stirred into the mix are his replacement on the footplate, cocky young fireman Jim (Ray Milland) and a romance with Bob's daughter Joan (Pauline Johnson)."The Flying Scotsman" is essentially a silent, with a few dialog sequences, mainly in the love story, which takes up more than half the action with a chance meeting in a dance hall and subsequent visit to a posh restaurant, where Jim scandalizes everyone by ordering sandwiches and beer. Action picks up in the last two reels, with Crow and Joan inching along the outside of the speeding train and then onto the roof, the actors doing their own stunts, without any apparent safety harness. The impossible way Crow, with a single flip of his knife,separates the locomotive and carriages, obviously offended the rail service, since the producers apologize in the opening credits for making it look so simple. Aside from the stunts, the film is mainly interesting for the early Milland, who, though still too exaggerated in his gestures, shows a sure grasp of screen comedy.

bkoganbing The fireman of the fabled British train The Flying Scotsman gets reported by the engineer for being drunk on the job and he's given the sack as they would say in the UK. In the USA he'd be picking out a weapon of choice and going back to his job to start a massacre. But over there, being the civilized folks they are all he's going to do is wreck the train in vengeance while it's on it's run from London to Edinburgh.Two things The Flying Scotsman is known for. The first is some very daring stunt work done on the train itself. The second is for the presence of young Raymond Milland in the role of the young engineer in love with the old engineer's daughter. It was only Milland's second film and there are certainly traces of the amiable light leading man he was throughout the Thirties in Hollywood.The film was started while films were silent and midpoint in the story the players start to speak. Though it doesn't add or detract from the story in a dramatic sense and it isn't done with any sense of style as Blackmail was by Alfred Hitchcock, it makes far better sense than say the first sound version of Showboat where in certain scenes the players just speak and go silent without rhyme or reason.The Flying Scotsman is a curious antique good for those who love old trains and old films.

Chris Gaskin I recently picked up a VHS copy of The Flying Scotsman and found it rather interesting. It is available in the UK on VHS as part of the Steam Cinema Series on DD Video.The first half of this obscure movie is silent and we don't see any railway action. This starts in the second half, as does the sound. The engine's fireman sets out on his last trip before retirement. The previous day, he reported his driver for being drunk and gets suspended for this. He is on the train to get his revenge. The driver's daughter is also aboard. The suspended driver gets out of his carriage and goes to the engine by walking along the roof of the train, followed by the fireman's daughter. A fight breaks out when he arrives and the loco is uncoupled from the rest of the train, a points change just avoids a collision. After things have calmed down, the train continues its journey and arrives in Edinburgh on time, despite the delay.This movie used the correct loco, 4472 Flying Scotsman as well as the train of the same name. I believe some of the stars did their own stunts, including walking down the side of the coaches when it was at speed.The cast includes a young Ray Milland in one of his first movies.This is a must for railway enthusiasts and fans of old movies like myself. A treat.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.

boblipton Decent British part-silent about the life and love of cockney Ray Milland -- yes, that Ray Milland at the beginning of his career -- as the new fireman aboard the 'Flying Scotsman.' Of course he falls in love with the daughter of the Flying Scotsman's engineer, unbeknownst to any of the parties, and of course the old fireman, fired for drinking on the job, has vowed vengeance on everyone. The whole movie is photographed by Theodore Sparkuhl is Germanic, moody, shadowy lighting that produces an air of foreboding in every scene.