The Great Train Robbery Hardcover
Published in 1975
by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Paperback
Re-Issued in November 2002
by Harper Collins
Lavish wealth and appalling poverty live side by side in Victorian London — and Edward Pierce easily navigates both worlds. Rich, handsome, and ingenious, he charms the city's most prominent citizens even as he plots the crime of his century — the daring theft of a fortune in gold.
But even Pierce could not predict the consequences of an extraordinary robbery that targets the pride of England's industrial era: the mighty steam locomotive. Based on remarkable fact, and alive with the gripping suspense, surprise, and authenticity that are his trademark, Michael Crichton's classic adventure is a breathtaking thrill-ride that races along tracks of steel at breakneck speed.
The Great Train Robbery Produced by: United Artists Directed by: Michael Crichton Written by: Michael Crichton Based on a novel by: Michael Crichton Starring:
Sean Connery
as Edward Pierce
Donald Sutherland
as Agar
Lesley-Anne Down
as Miriam
Alan Webb
as Edgar Trent
Originally Released: 1979 Runtime: 110 minutes
In 1855, a group of thieves in Victorian London plan a daring crime: to steal gold bullion from a moving railway train. Based on a true story.
Note From Michael
Finally we are shooting along take where Sean comes running up the length of the train, jumping from car to car. Because we are shooting in all directions, the camera operator and I are hanging out on a side platform, and everyone else is inside the train. I am trying to watch the scene and also to remember to duck down at the right time so the camera lens can swing over my head.
Filming begins. Sean runs up the length of the train. I smell a harsh acrid odor. I feel a sharp pain on top of my scalp. I realize that my hair has been set on fire by the cinders from the locomotive. I am frantically brushing at my hair, trying to put the fire out, because I don't want smoke coming from my head when the camera swings over me.
While I am doing that, Sean jumps to the nearest car, stumbles and falls. I think, Jeez, Sean, don't overdo making it look dangerous. He is carrying a bundle of clothes, a story point. He drops the clothes as he falls and I realize Sean would never do that, that he must have really fallen. Meanwhile, I am still trying to put the fire out on my head. Sean scrambles to his feet, retrieves the clothes, and moves on, wincing in genuine pain. I get the cinders out of my head as the camera swings over. We make the shot.
Afterward we stop the train; everybody gets off. He has a bad cut on his shin that is being attended to.
"Are you all right, Sean?"
He looks at me. "Did you know," he says, "that your hair was on fire? You ought to be more careful up there."
And he laughs.
