The duo's move from the BBC to Thames in 1978 was a much publicised media event,[2][3][4][5] and one of the main reasons for their move was to make films and move away from the format of The Morecambe & Wise Show that had proved so popular in the previous decade.[6][3][4] The film was completed in March 1983, but not screened until after Morecambe's death the following year. It was originally made with a laughter track, but this was absent when broadcast, and again so when later released on both VHS and DVD.
The film features a plot of family members dying in strange circumstances and the two leads are drawn into this when Eric's niece Kathy (Lysette Anthony) is visited by the family's lawyer, played by Fulton Mackay. It was made largely on location, produced on videotape,[citation needed] and was originally broadcast on ITV on 3 January 1985.[6][7] The closing moments of the film see Eric and Ernie walking off together, onto the next gig, making it their final screen image together.
Richard Last, reviewing for The Daily Telegraph, wrote "I would have preferred to keep my memories of the great Morecambe and Wise partnership without the help of Thames's dismal Night Train to Murder... Very, very occasionally the old Eric and Ernie magic peeped out. Mostly it was smothered".[8]Philip Purser in The Sunday Telegraph described the film as "a desperate parody of pre-war English thrillers".[9] John Oliver in Screenonline calls it "lumbering, poorly filmed, unfunny".[6]Patrick Stoddart for The Sunday Times was more favourable: "an elegant, underplayed, witty little gem... conclusive proof that Morecambe and Wise were quite simply the most proficient comedians of the age".[1]
night, train, murder, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, febru. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Night Train to Murder news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2024 Learn how and when to remove this message Night Train to Murder is a 1984 British comedy television film directed by Joseph McGrath and starring Morecambe and Wise It was the last work that Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise worked on together before Morecambe s death in 1984 the comedian being in poor health at the time of filming It was written as a pastiche of the works of writers including Agatha Christie and Edgar Wallace and is set in 1946 citation needed featuring Morecambe and Wise ostensibly as 1940s versions of themselves 1 Night Train to MurderDVD coverWritten byEric Morecambe Ernie Wise Joseph McGrathDirected byJoseph McGrathStarringMorecambe and WiseOriginal languageEnglishProductionRunning time89 minutesProduction companyThames TelevisionOriginal releaseNetworkITVRelease3 January 1985 1985 01 03 The duo s move from the BBC to Thames in 1978 was a much publicised media event 2 3 4 5 and one of the main reasons for their move was to make films and move away from the format of The Morecambe amp Wise Show that had proved so popular in the previous decade 6 3 4 The film was completed in March 1983 but not screened until after Morecambe s death the following year It was originally made with a laughter track but this was absent when broadcast and again so when later released on both VHS and DVD The film features a plot of family members dying in strange circumstances and the two leads are drawn into this when Eric s niece Kathy Lysette Anthony is visited by the family s lawyer played by Fulton Mackay It was made largely on location produced on videotape citation needed and was originally broadcast on ITV on 3 January 1985 6 7 The closing moments of the film see Eric and Ernie walking off together onto the next gig making it their final screen image together Contents 1 Cast 2 Reception 3 References 4 External linksCast editEric Morecambe as Eric Morecambe Ernie Wise as Ernie Wise Margaret Courtenay as Dame Flora Kenneth Haigh as Cousin Milton Cousin Homer Fulton Mackay as Mackay Pamela Salem as Cousin Zelda Lysette Anthony as Kathy Chalmers Roger Brierley as Chief Superintendent Rivers Edward Judd as Knife Thrower Ben Aris as Theatre Manager Tony Boncza as Joe Frank Coda as Stage Manager Mike Crane as Big Jim Robert Longden as Vicar Penny Meredith as Mrs Manzini Tim Stern as Tiny Big Jim Richard Vernon as Uncle FelixReception editRichard Last reviewing for The Daily Telegraph wrote I would have preferred to keep my memories of the great Morecambe and Wise partnership without the help of Thames s dismal Night Train to Murder Very very occasionally the old Eric and Ernie magic peeped out Mostly it was smothered 8 Philip Purser in The Sunday Telegraph described the film as a desperate parody of pre war English thrillers 9 John Oliver in Screenonline calls it lumbering poorly filmed unfunny 6 Patrick Stoddart for The Sunday Times was more favourable an elegant underplayed witty little gem conclusive proof that Morecambe and Wise were quite simply the most proficient comedians of the age 1 References edit a b Stoddart Patrick 30 December 1984 Previews The Sunday Times No 8369 p 48 Andrews John 28 January 1978 Eric and Ernie take their sunshine to ITV The Guardian p 26 a b Knight Peter 28 January 1978 ITV Film Bait Lures Eric and Ernie from BBC The Daily Telegraph No 38151 p 17 a b Morecambe and Wise move to Thames TV The Times No 60222 28 January 1978 p 2 Eric and Ernie s first for ITV The Sunday Times No 8101 15 October 1978 p 52 a b c Oliver John Morecambe Eric 1926 1984 and Wise Ernie 1925 1999 Screenonline Retrieved 7 February 2024 Waymark Peter 29 December 1984 New Year television and radio The Times No 62023 p 16 Last Richard 4 January 1985 Television The Daily Telegraph No 40292 p 9 Purser Philip 6 January 1985 Popping up all over The Sunday Telegraph No 1233 p 13 External links editNight Train to Murder at IMDb nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Night Train to Murder amp oldid 1210252689, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
