When the family move to Yorkshire in 1905, the children run through the field and stand at the gate to wave to the train.
There is a vapor trail in the sky.
When the children run down the meadow towards the railway line (near the end of the film) you can clearly see a white car going along a road towards the top of the screen.
This film is set in 1905.
When the children are walking along the railway line it clearly has modern concrete sleepers which were not used in 1905.
The childrens' father dresses in the 'traditional' red and white Father Christmas outfit in order to hand out the presents.
Father Christmas has a long and rich history, but up until 1931 he had been portrayed most often in black and white, or green and white.
It was in 1931, that Coca-Cola created an image of Father Christmas in red and white, for a Christmas advertising campaign.
So although theoretically possible, it is unlikely that red and white costumes would have been used in Edwardian England.
As the locomotive approaches Bobbie in the 'landslide sequence', modern overhead power-lines are visible.
The film is set in 1905 The rail-level shot of the train approaching the children in the 'landslide sequence' is a different location to the remainder of the scene, having been shot at the northern portal of the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway's Mytholmes Tunnel, with the parapets of Mytholmes viaduct visible in the middle-distance - the remainder of the scene was filmed several hundred yards further along the line in visibly different surroundings.
As the engine approaches Bobbie in the 'landslide sequence' and comes to a halt, drifting steam is seen coming down from the sky and entering its funnel, indicating the shot is actually reversed footage of the train backing away from Bobbie so as to not endanger the actress by attempting a precision stop inches away from her.
When the children catch their first view of the 'Green Dragon' express thundering out of the tunnel adjacent to their home, a shot of the fireman stoking the locomotive shows a stationary bush in the window behind him, indicating the sequence was shot on a halted engine.
When the toy train blows up we see the dog running out of the house into the bushes on a clearly spring or summer's day.
However, it is supposed to be at Christmas time.
The next time we have an outdoor shot, it is snowing heavily.
At the end of the film as the children go through the gate into the field a tree "falls over" the stone wall on the right hand side of the picture.
A bed-knob on Bobby's bed is loose and changes positions between shots in the scene where she and her mother discuss the newspaper report on her father's sentence.
This movie is set in 1905, Yet after Perks opens the crossing gates to let an express train through, it's hauled by an 0-6-2 N2 class locomotive, these type of locomotives were not built until the early 1920s.
Proudly and defiantly working class porter Perks(Mr B.Cribbins)is eventually won over by upper middle class family down on their luck.
A rather idiosyncratic 70s film from the mind of the great Lionel Jeffries. My partner and I watch his insane adaptation of the water babies every Christmas so I should have been expecting the strange vibe and weird, occasionally grotesque, characters but it still took me by surprise.
As I suggested, or at least hinted, in my reviews of The Razor's Edge, 1946, and Limelight, 1952, Somerset Maugham may have seen himself as Larry Darrell, and Charlie Chaplin may have seen himself as Calvero. And so now, we may be seeing Edith Nesbit portrayed as Mrs.
An impromptu (but timely, as will become apparent) look at BBC iPlayer brought me to this movie. As the 50th anniversary of the release draws near (20th December), my own is days away also.
For many, this 1970 production is the definitive version of E. Nesbit's perennial classic family novel, it was also actor Lionel Jeffries first attempt at directing a feature film.
I was 14 when I saw this film for the first time but it has remained one of my favourites for 50 years. Funny how it's the sentimental ones that you remember fondly, not the blockbusters or the ones with all the special effects.
It's hard to find fault with Lionel Jeffries' film. Considering it's almost 50 years old, the execution is pretty much flawless and the casting is superb.
50 years on & it still leaves an indelible mark on my soul and spirit. A time when life was simpler , gentler and people had more respect for one another.
Adapted from E. Nesbit's much adored novel, this filmic version is directed by Lionel Jeffries and stars Dinah Sheridan, Bernard Cribbins, William Mervyn, Iain Cuthbertson, Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Gary Warren.
