A two-reel version of Play Safe (1927) showing only the train chase.A two-reel version of Play Safe (1927) showing only the train chase.A two-reel version of Play Safe (1927) showing only the train chase.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to the website Patch: "Roughly seven minutes of the 22-minute "Chasing Choo Choos" silent movie features dramatic runaway train scenes showcasing the San Diego & Arizona Railway (SD&A) locomotive and freight cars with scenes of San Diego's rural backcountry."
- GoofsWe see the heroine Virginia Craig several times in a Union Pacific boxcar when Monty is chasing the runaway train. When he finally catches the train and gets on board, he runs across the roofs of the boxcars to the boxcar in which she is trapped. When he lowers himself to the door, the boxcar has become one belonging the Pennsylvania Railroad.
- ConnectionsEdited from Play Safe (1927)
Featured review
The well-crafted and amusing chase sequences in "Chasing Choo-Choos" are among the better such scenes of their era and genre. The feature was excerpted from the longer movie "Play Safe", and the idea works well. As it remains, there are a few minutes of decent material left at the beginning that set up the main action in a generally efficient manner.
Monty Banks does well in the lead, as a character vaguely similar to those played by some of the more famous screen comics of the 1920s. The story sets up a romance between him and Virginia Lee Corbin, which her guardians are determined to break up. All of the introductory material is really just to set up the lengthy action/comedy sequences, which involve various means of conveyance ranging from horse carts to automobiles to trains - especially trains. As with the best of such sequences, it has portions that combine comedy and suspense.
Overall, it's a movie that works very well as a short feature. There's not actually much to it, so it can hardly rank anywhere near movies such as "The General" that include brilliant chase scenes as part of a movie that is also brilliant overall. But "Chasing Choo-Choos" does provide nearly 20 minutes of decent action and humor, and that is just what it set out to do.
Monty Banks does well in the lead, as a character vaguely similar to those played by some of the more famous screen comics of the 1920s. The story sets up a romance between him and Virginia Lee Corbin, which her guardians are determined to break up. All of the introductory material is really just to set up the lengthy action/comedy sequences, which involve various means of conveyance ranging from horse carts to automobiles to trains - especially trains. As with the best of such sequences, it has portions that combine comedy and suspense.
Overall, it's a movie that works very well as a short feature. There's not actually much to it, so it can hardly rank anywhere near movies such as "The General" that include brilliant chase scenes as part of a movie that is also brilliant overall. But "Chasing Choo-Choos" does provide nearly 20 minutes of decent action and humor, and that is just what it set out to do.
- Snow Leopard
- Dec 5, 2004
- Permalink
Details
- Runtime21 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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