The Runaway Bus

1954
U
1h 18m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Heavy fog grounds flights at London airport. A group of passengers board an airline bus to reach an alternative airport, hoping to depart from there instead.Heavy fog grounds flights at London airport. A group of passengers board an airline bus to reach an alternative airport, hoping to depart from there instead.Heavy fog grounds flights at London airport. A group of passengers board an airline bus to reach an alternative airport, hoping to depart from there instead.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.1/10

847

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

User reviews23

Featured review

7/10

there was a heist....right?

England, post war, rebuilding. It must be the brit sense of humor, calling it a runaway bus, when it spends most of the movie either traveling at one mile per hour, and just sitting on the side of the road. Similar to Quick Change, where they can't make it out of the city. Everyone fulfills their stereotype.. the pilots are hitting on the ladies, the poor, overworked bus driver (Frank Howerd) never stops grumbling and complaining. And pushy, old Miss Beeston (Ruthorford) tries to boss her way around the whole film. If you have watched her play the same personality type as Miss Marple, you'll see the humor, and why they cast her. The customer service rep has figured something out, since the driver's name doesn't match up... but what's really going on? And where did the stolen gold end up? It all has a fun sense of adventure about it, with the scary fog. Then throw in trip-wire bombs that keep going off. Written and directed by Val Guest. Won a BAFTA in 1961. Wrote many projects, directed many projects. Good one!

ksf-2
Sep 20, 2021
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+ 7

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Storyline

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Trivia
At the time, for a U.K. cinema release to be classed as a main feature, it had to be at least 75 minutes long. On the last day of filming, with only 30 minutes of studio time left, the crew realized that they only had enough footage and script to stretch to 72 minutes. This would have meant that this movie could only be used as a supporting feature, which would have meant a financial disaster for the backers. Frankie Howerd spotted a phone box prop and, with the clock counting down, improvised on the spot a three-minute scene of him calling his old grandmother. With no time for a run-through, the entire sequence was used unedited in the final movie.

Goofs
In the actual movie, Mr. Schroeder is continually referred to as Edward as his given name. In the end credits, the character's given name is listed as Ernest.

Quotes
2nd Transport Officer: We still have Emergency Relief No. 13. Is it an emergency?
1st Transport Officer: It's a large woman running around with an umbrella.
2nd Transport Officer: That's an emergency at any airport. Page the relief driver.