The Great Locomotive Chase

1956
Approved
1h 25m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

During the Civil War Union spy Andrews and his men volunteer to steal a Confederate train and drive it to Union territory while destroying the Confederate railway system along the way.During the Civil War Union spy Andrews and his men volunteer to steal a Confederate train and drive it to Union territory while destroying the Confederate railway system along the way.During the Civil War Union spy Andrews and his men volunteer to steal a Confederate train and drive it to Union territory while destroying the Confederate railway system along the way.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 nomination total

Trivia
The real General, the locomotive stolen in the movie, is on display in Kennesaw, Georgia, at the Kennesaw Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History.

Goofs
Pete Bracken's train, hauled by the "Texas", was actually 21 cars long, rather than the 2 cars depicted in the film.

Quotes
William Campbell: What do we tell the Johnny Rebs when they ask who we are and where we're from?
James J. Andrews: Tell them you're Kentuckians escaping the rule of the Yankees to join a Southern Regiment. If they press you closely, tell 'em you hail from Fleming County, Kentucky. I'm from Flemingsburg myself. No man from that county has ever joined the Southern army... As for you, Mr. Buffum, it might be wiser if you didn't speak at all. I never met a Kentuckian so plainly from Massachusetts.

Alternate versions
A shortened pan/scan-version was shown on Danish and Swedish TV in the early/mid 90's. Interestingly when it was re run on Swedish TV shortly after the first airing, a complete letter-box formatted copy was used.

Connections
Edited into The Magical World of Disney: Andrews' Raiders: Secret Mission (1961)

Soundtracks
Sons of Old Aunt Dinah
Lyrics by Lawrence Edward Watkin
Music by Stan Jones

User reviews29

Review

Featured review

7/10

Disney doesn't pull punches in this Civil War story

For a 1956 family film based on a true story, Walt Disney didn't pull any punches. "The Great Locomotive Chase" doesn't skirt the fact that the northern raiders were captured and the leaders executed. The film handles this carefully and without undue gore or bloodshed.

The story is based on a true event, and as other reviewers have noted, it sticks close to the actual details. The train chase is portrayed somewhat longer here than it was, but otherwise this is a decent treatment of an historical event during the American Civil War.

Fess Parker handles the role of James Andrews very well. Parker will always be known for his role as Davy Crockett in the Wald Disney TV series. But, he was a talented actor and played in a variety of films. Jeffrey Hunter is good as William Fuller, and all the roles are done very well. Hunter was an excellent actor whose career was cut short when he died of a stroke at age 42 in 1969.