Runaway! (1973 TV Movie) User Reviews (15)

Remember it fondly

[jrichardn · 7/10 · 8 January 2006]

I saw this movie when it first aired, 33 years ago. Eek! But still it sticks in my mind. I hated the GRAND HOTEL or, if you prefer, TOWERING INFERNO trope of having various folks in various personal crises (the disaffected long-married couple & al.; now that I think of it, GRAND HOTEL may be the only movie of this type I think ever worked, SHIP OF FOOLS included), but the runaway-train problem itself, and how it's solved, still sticks in my mind.

I know it's probably no better than a time-wasting movie, but the ending is a glorious, happy surprise. And Ben Johnson does his patented underacting to bring a smooth, calm centre to what would otherwise be a hysterical disaster movie.

I was pleased to note (thanks, IMDb!) that the screenwriter for this non-epic also wrote one of my favourite recent movies, THE FORGOTTEN.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

[ejvmev · 7/10 · 4 December 2010]

I fully enjoyed this movie. Having once worked for a railroad I am aware of some technical inaccuracies, but it's worth overlooking to enjoy the premise. I especially love Ben Johnson as the engineer. I used to love the railroad the way his character does and totally relate to him. Some people have said there are no stars in it besides him, but Vera Miles was nice to see. Martin Milner's character is a little annoying to me though. I liked seeing the young boy from "Ben" too. I love those old diesel locomotives too! I have a grainy copy I recorded from TV. I wish they would release this on DVD. And yes, it is short and sweet.

Good little film!

[lin-black · 7/10 · 13 December 2010]

I've now seen this film twice on television over the years and there is nothing wrong with it. For a TV movie I think it is quite good and it whiles away a pleasant couple of hours. I would love to get it on DVD.

In an out of control train hurtling back down the mountain at 70mph, Ben Johnson doesn't bat an eyelid, and gets off the train at the station as if it is all in a days work!

In a comparison with "Unstoppable" which I have just seen and which is apparently being tipped to win an Oscar (why! how?) I know which of the two films I prefer!

The Runaway Train, as a TV movie, was made on a shoestring in comparison with films made for the big screen by the movie moguls in the large studios. Special effects were virtually non-existent in this film, where as today CGI effects are on tap and can produce anything the produced or director wish.

This might have been one of the likable Ben Johnson's more smaller films in his illustrious career, but it certainly wasn't his worst.

Great escapist fun!

[Fareed-2 · 4 January 2001]

A passenger train is runaway (the brakes have frozen) on a winding, mountainous snow covered railway! Despite the fact that this is a made for TV movie, it was theatrically released overseas under the title "The Frozen Passage" and deservedly was a hit. It's unfortunate that it's not currently available on any format since it's an exciting suspenseful film that you can see with your family. The finale it also very satisfying.

Oh come on Universal and release this one at least on VHS (DVD and of course Blu-ray Disc is ideal!).

The "Unstoppable" of the 70s

[Coventry · 7/10 · 3 March 2022]

When on skiing holiday with the family, what better to watch as evening-entertainment than a disaster movie about a runaway train ... in a ski-resort!

"Runaway!" is one of the more obscure ABC Movies of the Week, I reckon. I never even heard of it when I accidentally stumbled upon it on YouTube (the picture quality is poor but certainly watchable). Nevertheless, it's a very entertaining and exciting thrill-ride that has quite a lot in common with the 2010 blockbuster "Unstoppable". So much even that I wonder if the late Tony Scott perhaps found some inspiration here, like the head-machinist's forced retirement or the attempt of stopping the train by connecting another one at the rear end.

For the rest, it's a typical 70s TV-movie, with typical 70s TV-movie characters. The only difference is that they are rushing down a snowy mountain at 60mph on a train of which the brakes have given up due to the ice and cold. Will the life-threatening ordeal save the marriage of a bickering couple? Shall the young student overcome the forbidden love for her professor? Will the careless and selfish rebel develop some humanity and help the other passengers? Etc. It's incredibly clichéd, but I loved it. And besides, remember the unwritten rule of disaster movies: when there's an exclamation mark in the title (!), the situation is very, very serious!

Quite good but inauthentic.

[jubilee77 · 6/10 · 5 February 2014]

For railway enthusiasts like me, this made-for-television film looked to be at first, quite good. It was originally shown on the living room box back in the 1970s but I first saw it a decade latter while family viewers would sometimes dismiss the film as poor. And it's many years since I last viewed this low budget TV film but was able to see it online. Interesting enough, it features the casting of Darleen Carr better known as the sister of The Sound of Music's Charmain Carr. It's quite good but sometimes inauthentic and a bit silly. The plot is about the ski train that takes 200 passengers on an outward run from the city up through the mountains to the ski resort but the return leg became a different affair and hence, the title "Runaway" or "The Runaway Train" given to this film and with the passengers again on board, is doomed due to brake failure and one of the leading question about the train locomotives and carriages being fitted with handbrakes to advert a major crash or were they too frozen stiff to handle? The other alternative option would've been to divert the train onto a different route as speed eases off. Instead a rescue loco couples up at the back but the nitpicking bit is that there's no way the train air hoses and electrical sockets could be connected while the train's still running at speed. Overall, its not too bad-a-film for its time.

Terror on a tight TV movie budget

[mls4182 · 3/10 · 1 April 2022]

By 1973, the disaster genre had conquered the skies and the sea. I guess a move to train transportation was iinevitable.

This TV movie has all the elements necessary for a disaster film: panicking passengers, absolutely stupid dialogue and an all has-been cast. Unfortunately, the special effects are virtually nil and it has very low camp value.

The terror, however is very real. These actors know their careers are OVER.

If a train's brakes fail in the first 10 minutes of a film...how can you possibly go on for another 60+ minutes?!

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 8 March 2017]

So here's the story. Within the first 10 minutes of the picture, the train's engineer learns that he has no brakes AND they're going downhill through the mountains. Now you'd THINK this would mean the movie would be at most 15-20 minutes long...yet somehow they pad it out to full length for a made for TV film! So what do they do? Pad, pad and pad!

You have to understand the context for this picture. The 1970s were HUGE for disaster pictures and this is one of about 19,000,000 such films that were made about impending doom during that time. Earthquakes, floods, fires, boats, airplanes, you name it...and so why NOT make a film about a train full of passengers waiting to die?! Well, common sense would indicate they shouldn't but it was the rage at the time.

Ways they padded some films was make a few characters with some silly backstory...and the one they invested the most energy on was the divorcing couple who hate each other and you KNOW what is going to happen with them by the end of the movie!! Overall, a dumb premise and a film I can't see watching unless you are some sort of disaster movie groupie.

Put The Brakes On This

[Theo Robertson · 2/10 · 21 July 2003]

Ah yes disaster movies a favourite film genre of the 1970s when megastars and prestigious character actors would all slum together on a film featuring lots of exciting and spectacular deaths . RUNAWAY is a disaster movie ( Well TVM ) from the 1970s but suffers from three major flaws :

1 ) There`s no megastars

2 ) With the exception of Ben Johnson there`s no prestigious character actors

3 ) There`s very little in the way of spectacular or exciting deaths

In many ways RUNAWAY is like THE CASSANDRA CROSSING without the megastars , prestigious character actors or shootouts . Oh well it could have been worse - It could have lasted a lot longer than 70 minutes

I Love This Movie

[dispatcher484 · 10/10 · 2 September 2003]

I'm an avid railroad fan, and for all of its inadequacies, I feel that this movie still rates as excellent. I first saw this as a child, and have been searching for it for over fifteen years. I was lucky enough to find someone on Ebay that has a 35mm copy of it and does sell videos of it, so for all the true fans of this movie, check out Ebay.

As for the technical end of it, the plot is probably something that could not happen, at least in the magnitude depicted here. ALL diesel locomotives have something called a TRACTION BRAKE, which, like the reversal of an airliners engines to slow an aircraft, does essentially the same thing. The traction brake reverses electrical polarity to the motors, causing them to act AGAINST forward motion. This is comparable to downshifting an automobile transmission into first or low gear when descending steep hills. By itself, the traction brake could not have stopped the train, but the locomotive could have slowed the train down to a less than fatal speed. Also, a helper locomotive added to the rear of a train would probably not have the power to stop a train travelling 70+ mph by itself. It would need the assistance of the air brake throughout the train to accomplish that - which was useless in the movie plot, and even if it weren't, there's no way the air hoses could be connected on a moving train.

Despite these flaws, the movie is very entertaining, and at 70 minutes, it is like a sweet and satisfying snack, compared to a 120 minute main course.

Fun for killing 73 min, but one too many flaws

[maxvox-96919 · 3/10 · 26 February 2019]

I don't mind the technical errors that would make the train this type of runaway impossible. I don't think people should get too hung up about that. A runaway train is always an emotional, drama-building subject for a film so I'm fine with it if they stretch reality.

But after coming down the mountain, the last stretch of the train's out-of-control journey is 20 minutes of careening down level track. Nothing just "keeps going" on level ground. It would have to lose a lot of speed, even if absolutely nothing were done to try to stop it. They should have at least made some attempt to explain this.

With few exceptions, the cast is dominated by pretty low-skilled B-grade actors and the over-acting and over-emoting get hard to take after a while. The engineer rides through the whole film like a kindly old grandpa sipping lemonade on the porch, while 200 people behind him in his train are about to die, which is just plain ridiculous.

It's only a little over an hour, and if you don't mind mixing a few laughs at the silliness of it with the fun of a train and some "railroady" scenery, you'll have fun watching this.

But don't expect much drama or character development. It's not there.

Disaster Movie About People Not Special Effects: Outstanding!

[StuOz · 23 September 2016]

A passenger train in the snow is a runaway.

I am a 1970s disaster movie-lover, my childhood was in that period, and I am now very surprised to find a movie of this genre now today in 2016 (on YouTube)! Why has this movie been kept on the shelf away from TV re-runs and DVD??? How dare they!

Well anyway, the review. This movie is all about interesting people like Vera Miles, Martin Milner and others. Don't expect any lavish special effects or anything like that, in fact some scenes are very obviously filmed in a studio. You will not even get a decent musical score. This is all about people and suspense, and done is a very pleasing way!

Find this TV movie on YouTube, I hope they don't take it down!

please please please release this on dvd

[brianrg-99433 · 9/10 · 22 July 2021]

There is a free copy on utube but its very poor quality.

200 train passengers are about to die but dont worry

[derekparry · 21 August 2002]

Channel 5 decided to give this a showing yesterday - I remembered enjoying it as a B Movie in my youth and decided to record it. Ummmmm. Could I really have enjoyed something so corny and predictable. Ben Murphy plays Kid Curry but without the Cowboy Hat. Ben Johnson drives the train and shows absolutely no cause for concern that his train, carry 200+ passengers, is about to leave the rails at Jackson City and cause massive carnage. A completely unrealistic movie albeit with some good scenery. As satisfying as an episode of Love Boat.

Trains and snowy mountains and pending disaster are a great mix.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 22 July 2022]

There's little unnecessary soap opera in this TV movie of the week that at 75 minutes takes a viewer engaged with its intense situation involving a train coming out of the mountains that has lost its breaks. The two engineers, Ben Johnson and Ben Murphy, call ahead, and the emergency team (led by a great Frank Maxwell) prepares for a possible disaster involving the lives of 200 people aboard.

You briefly get to know the characters in the last car before they discover what awaits them, and that includes a middle-aged couple on the verge of divorce (Vera Miles and Ed Nelson) and a young father (Martin Milner) with his son who nearly jumps off the train before being talked out of it. There are others who think about jumping, and heroic actions by other passengers prevents that from happening. Miles, obviously a very wealthy woman, shows her humanity by comforting a grown man fearing death, and various young people see their lives flashing by as if their moments are numbered.

While consistently riveting, it's at its best when flying down the mountain top, nearly going over an embankment, which gives the viewer some great helicopter shots of these gorgeous vistas. The plan to stop the train before it crashes is pretty ingenious, and as a viewer, I was praying for them to succeed. A very entertaining thriller that doesn't waste its time on unnecessary filler and that makes it above average and highly recommended.