A terrorist plants a bomb on a train carrying military explosives. Officials call in an ex-Army bomb disposal expert, Peter Lyncort (Glenn Ford), to help with the situation. The first hurdle is locating the bomb. The train is carry several cars, each loaded with ten or so mines. Lyncort's got his work cut out for him just finding the device. To make matters worse, the bomb is outfitted with a timing detonator. If he can't find it in time – BOOM!Overall, Terror on a Train was a disappointing experience. My rating would seem to indicate that I found the movie about average, but that rating is a little misleading. The plot here is horribly dull. There really aren't any twists and turns or other surprises to make things interesting. It's all presented in an incredibly linear fashion. There's a bomb, there's a bomb disposal expert, Lyncort looks for the bomb – that's about it. All the extra plot bits involving Lyncort's wife are so unnecessary to the film. These scenes felt like little more than padding. And at less than 75 minutes in length, you must not have much of a plot if you need filler. What I liked and what elevated Terror on a Train's rating from being below average was the English countryside slice-of-life. I love this stuff. Sure, it felt like more filler, but it was enjoyable filler. The policeman making tea in the evacuated pub, the senile old man wanting to see the train, the old woman being evacuated from the hospital, the interesting 1950s era locations – that's what I enjoyed.

It is rather difficult to know exactly where this film fits.At 72 minutes long it is clearly either a B feature or a co feature,except for the fact that it stars Glenn Ford,and not the usual fading American star.One can only assume that he was making this solely for contractual reasons.He doesn't appear for the first 15 minutes and his first scenes are with Anne Vernon in a rather dull domestic dispute.The film itself makes little sense.We have to accept that we are not going to be told the motives for placing the bomb.However the idea that an officer would be called in to handle such a job is to say the least fanciful.It would normally be handled by the army bomb disposal squad.Nice to see a lot of familiar faces though.

A real blow-up of the film literally. This British film is boringly made.What an exciting plot! A terrorist places bombs on a train. How could the writers and producers of this stinker turn this into such a dull story?Glenn Ford, as the expert called upon to defuse the bomb, is given awful writing material to work with. Naturally, just as he is called in, his wife, Anne Vernon, is about to leave him. No wonder we never heard of Miss Vernon. After such a film, it would be enough to end her career.That elderly man who loved trains and interferes is our 1953 version of senile dementia. I thought it was highly insulting to show this man, even at the end.

"Terror on a Train" or "Time Bomb" is a black and white British film made in 1953. The entire budget seemingly went to pay Glenn Ford's salary, and one wonders why he's in it at all. The story concerns a bomb planted on a train; the Ford character is called in to find it. The secondary story, completely unnecessary, is about his unhappy home life.This film could have been much more interesting, atmospheric, and suspenseful. Unfortunately, it isn't. The handsome Ford has nothing to do - a chimpanzee could have played the part. Did he need the money or was this to fulfill a contractual obligation? The ending is somewhat suspenseful but raises a question about the Ford character's expertise. I won't spoil it in case you want to see the film, but surely you can find something better to do with your time.