Lionel Jeffries’s The Railway Children (1970) is rightly considered a classic of British cinema and a key title in the pantheon of great children’s films. In view of this, it is tempting to be cynical about an attempt to formulate a sequel set during World War II, but screenwriters Jemma Rodgers and Daniel Brocklehurst’s attempt isn’t terrible, as some have claimed. I do have some criticisms that I’ll come to in a moment, but on the whole, The Railway Children Return emerges as a solid if unremarkable piece of entertainment that can be enjoyed by all the family.
The original film, based on the novel by E Nesbit, was set in 1906. This fast-forwards to 1944, with Jenny Agutter reprising her role as Bobbie, now a grandmother, living with her kindly headmistress daughter Annie (Sheridan Smith) and their son Thomas (Austin Haynes). They take in three evacuees from Manchester: Lily (Beau Gadsdon), Pattie (Eden Hamilton), and Ted (Zac Cudby). The children become friends quickly and countryside adventures ensue, centred around the discovery of young, injured African American soldier GI Abe (KJ Aikens), who is hiding in a railway yard.
Unlike some critics, I have no issue with American racial politics being injected into this story, as it handles the subject of prejudice well, considering the target audience. It also sort-of echoes the Russian immigrant subplot in the original. However, I felt a little uneasy at the airbrushing of British racism, pretending it simply didn’t exist in Yorkshire villages. When local pubs and other businesses are asked by American military police to segregate, they are told “we don’t do that here”. Historically, that’s a little bit of a leap, considering before the Race Relations Act of 1968, it wasn’t that uncommon to see signs like “No Blacks or Irish” on room-to-let advertisements and various other places.
On the other hand, the film doesn’t duck the painful realities of life during wartime. Stray bombs and bereavements are woven into the narrative, including the discovery that Bobbie’s husband and her brother Peter are also both dead as a result of war (presumably World War I). The children aren’t spared bad news or bereavement either. At one point Thomas tearfully states how much he hates war and just wants it to be over, ensuring the stoicism and courage displayed by the children elsewhere isn’t mere glib wartime spirit platitude.
The young cast is engaging, and it’s a delight to see Jenny Agutter return to one of her most iconic roles, despite a few misjudged moments (it’s perfectly believable that she was a suffragette, but an exchange about lack of women in top government jobs feels like it was cut and paste from a different script). Tom Courtenay also turns up in the supporting cast, as Thomas’s beloved uncle Walter, and John Bradley’s stationmaster echoes the equivalent role in the original, played by Bernard Cribbins.
In some ways, this reminded more of Bryan Forbes’s Whistle Down the Wind (1961) than The Railway Children, in the way the children help Abe without telling the grown-ups, despite the fact he is not all he seems. However, there are still echoes of narrative vignettes from the original (including the dramatic halting of a train). Director Morgan Matthews helms with opulent visuals, courtesy of cinematographer Kit Fraser, and the beautifully shot result will doubtless boost tourism in the Yorkshire villages of Haworth and Oakworth.
In short, whilst The Railway Children Return doesn’t match the original’s charm or emotional heft, it passes the time perfectly well, even if it is unlikely to be remembered in the same way.
UK Certificate: PG
US Certificate: N/A (but will be PG, I daresay)
Simon Dillon Books 