Warm Nights On A Slow Moving Train

Written by director Bob Ellis with input from Denny Lawrence and Patric Julliet, who also was one of the producers, Warm Nights On A Slow Moving Train was disowned by him after principal producer, Ross Dimsey, cut the original version by 35 minutes for commercial release. As it stands, the film is interesting as a concept (an attractive woman, played by Wendy Hughes, uses an overnight train as a way to solicit men) and Ellis's non-naturalistic, characteristically epigrammatic prose gives the film a slightly offbeat flavour.

Hitchcock might have made something fine of this but in Ellis's hands it is wanting in style, failing to develop either its erotic or thriller potentialities, reiteratively peppering proceedings with tongue-in-cheek incongruities such as cheery sing-alongs around a piano and production-wise looking pretty awful as only low budget 1980s films can. Ms. Hughes creates sympathetic character and gets to show her skills as her character in turn plays other characters whilst Colin Friels, sporting a dubious Irish (?) accent, impresses in a relatively short appearance.

 

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