Time Bomb (1953)

Too much of everything

So much average

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Truly awful film made by cinematographer-turned-director Ted Tetzlaff. Decent enough looking film but for a time-bomb movie totally devoid of any tension whatsoever. Ford, as someone put it here, sleepwalks though this one with his characteristic smirk. There are some details thrown around- Canadian ex-army or RAF, defused bombs in the war, his wife is leaving him- but none of these back stories add up to much. The bomber himself is a complete mystery. Why is he trying to blow up this shipment of mines? For that matter, what time period are we talking about here? WWII or postwar?? I assumed the latter which makes bomber's motive even more salient. Generally, though, just a horrible film. There are plenty of good time-bomb flicks to skip this one. Watch any episode of "Danger UXB" for a more exciting time, at about the same running time.

"Terror on a Train" or "Time Bomb" is a black and white British film made in 1953. The entire budget seemingly went to pay Glenn Ford's salary, and one wonders why he's in it at all. The story concerns a bomb planted on a train; the Ford character is called in to find it. The secondary story, completely unnecessary, is about his unhappy home life.This film could have been much more interesting, atmospheric, and suspenseful. Unfortunately, it isn't. The handsome Ford has nothing to do - a chimpanzee could have played the part. Did he need the money or was this to fulfill a contractual obligation? The ending is somewhat suspenseful but raises a question about the Ford character's expertise. I won't spoil it in case you want to see the film, but surely you can find something better to do with your time.

Nicely made British suspense thriller with a twist in the tail that would have looked very realistic at the time of production when it was quite common to transport unprimed explosives by railway. The British bobbies although in the "Dixon of Dock Green" mould behave as we remember them at the time. Walking or maybe pushing a bicycle. Steam enthusiasts will enjoy the well researched train movements except Redhill suddenly popping up in the vicinity of Birmingham! The only thing that does NOT ring true is the use of a North American who it appears is suddenly an expert in British anti-shipping mines because he works for the Anglo-American Machine Tool Company! Suppose even in those days they had one eye on the American audiences who as we know cannot accept that any incident can be brought to a satisfactory conclusion without their help. The sub plot of his marriage break up being resolved by her fear for her husband might have been true in the 1950s. It doesn't today!

This British film is truly awful, and it's hard to believe that Glenn Ford is in it, although he pretty much sleepwalks through it. The idea of a bomb on a train sounds good...but it turns out this train ends up parked for the majority of the film! No action, no movement, just a static train. The area where the train is parked is evacuated, so it's not like there's any danger to anyone either. In fact, this film could be used in a film class to show how NOT to make a suspense film. True suspense is generated by letting the audience know things that the characters don't, a fact apparently unknown to the director. SPOILER: the train actually has two bombs on it, but we are led to believe there is only one. After the first bomb is defused, it feels as if there is no longer a reason to watch the film any more. But at the last minute, the villain, who has no apparent motivation for his actions, reveals there are two. Nor are we certain WHEN the bombs will go off, so we don't even have a classic "ticking bomb" tension sequence. A good 10 minutes or more are spent watching Glenn Ford's French wife thinking about leaving him, and then wondering where he is . She's such an annoying character that we don't care whether she reconciles with him, so when she does, there's nothing emotional about it. Most of the other characters are fairly devoid of personality, and none have any problems or issues. It's only 72 minutes, but it feels long because it's tedious and dull. Don't waste your time.