Movie Review: The Runaway Bus (1954)
Synopsis: When a thick and persistent fog cancels all flights at the London Airport, bus driver Percy Lamb is given the task of transporting several passengers to Blackbushe Airport. The hapless Percy almost immediately gets lost in the fog and already unable to figure out his bearings, he learns stolen gold bullion has been stashed on his bus, along with one of the robbers.
Who's in it? The movie stars Frankie Howerd, Margaret Rutherford, Belinda Lee, Petula Clark and Terence Alexander.
Review: Due to a time crunch this morning, I looked for a movie that was relatively short and picked The Runaway Bus as a result. I wasn't sure what to expect from the film, other than it was a comedy. After seeing it, my opinion was mixed. because this was one of those movies that, while not terrible, would have been considerably better if filmed for a different genre.
The film had two good things going for it. First, the getting lost in the fog part added an intriguing element because it left the passengers on the bus exposed. If the unknown robber grew desperate, there was no telling what steps that person would take to ensure their escape and, since they had no idea where they were, not much the passengers could do to get help.
Secondly, the film had a solid mystery regarding the identity of the robber. There were some last-second passengers on the bus as well as passengers who continued to act suspiciously. I also wasn't convinced the airline officer, Peter (Alexander) wasn't just someone in disguise. While I had my guesses and one did turn out to be correct, I never reached a point where I had a firm suspect.
Unfortunately, the decision to make the movie a comedy lessened the impact of an otherwise good plot. I'm not saying I hated the film, I just don't think the relatively tame and sometimes repetitive jokes were good enough to justify that decision.
Instead, I think this movie would have been a lot more memorable had the filmmakers realized the plot worked better as a thriller. It wouldn't have even required that much in terms of changes. You could have still kept the inept Percy (Howerd) as comic relief along with the rest of the cast but just kept things more somber and suspenseful overall. In fact, if I were to be the one to remake this movie, that would be how I would do it.
Final Opinion: As a thriller, I think this would have been a great and memorable movie. As a comedy, it was just OK.
My Grade: C
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