Excitement rides the Rails!

The terrific train ride 'Silver Streak' is a fast-paced buddy comedy directed by Arthur Hiller (1923–2016).
Highly entertaining from the start with a bunch of Stars in the best mood.
Gene Wilder, Jill Clayburgh, and Richard Pryor, with Patrick McGoohan, Ned Beatty, Clifton James, and Richard Kiel in supporting roles. 
This film marked the first of four Star teamings of actors Richard Pryor (1940–2005) and Gene Wilder (1933–2016).
The most hilarious suspense ride of your life - Fun for everyone!

Rare promotion photo, shot in Toronto. You can spot a part of the famous CN Tower behind the train.
Director Arthur Hiller ('Tobruk') is on top of the '4070'. Executive Producer Frank Yablans greets out of the window.
Executive Producer Martin Ransohoff stands on the right in front of the locomotive.
At the ladder hangs writer Colin Higgins (1941–1988), wearing a black jacket. 
The guy to the left of him on the ladder looks like the celebrated composer Henry Mancini (1924–1994).
And, of course, the stars Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor and Jill Clayburgh (1944–2010).

German Lobby Cards. 
Spearfishing on the roof of the 'Silver Streak' on big tunas (Richard Kiel).
George (Gene Wilder) dancing on the roof.
A helicopter seems to crash into the train. Grover, Hilly and George in panic...
35mm Kodachrome slide of the scene. Looks like a studio shot with rear projection or blue screen composition.
George is trying to decouple a few wagons from the locomotive.
Tricky scenes that require some preparation and a suitable rail course.
Gene Wilder did a lot of the stunts himself.
DOP David M. Walsh ('The Sunshine Boys') and a technician stand on a narrow scaffolding 
which is attached to the outside of the train. The Tickets please!
After decoupling the front part of the train, George jumps to the slower wagon.
You can clearly see that this is not Gene Wilder. It's a stuntman in different clothes and with gloves on (hanging on the left).
The 'Silver Streak' races into the terminal station of Chicago at full speed.
Fasten your seat belts and enjoy a great show!
Brilliant scenes, a perfect Station setting and very well-made effects!
The '4070' locomotive 'plows' through a large souvenir shop. 
Not the best Studio Set and effects work here, but look at this...
In the end the train reaches the main hall of the Station - An great Set built in the Lockheed hangar in Burbank.
A very effective scene - The breaking pillar, the dust, wow, excellent 'studio' work. 
Thrilling scenes with a full-sized mock-up locomotive. 
German Lobby Card - Set in the Lockheed hangar. 
We can see a blue wall/screen, room for photographic effects (matte)? 
For the spacious Chicago Set the crew used two adjoining hangars at the Lockheed Aircraft Plant in Burbank, California.
The Chicago Station set up for the climactic ending of the movie spanned several acres.
The train crash was filmed using nine cameras and amounted to just a few seconds of screen time. 
The costs of the set, its filming and equipment totaled $500,000. These are very expensive seconds...
Most of the crash scenes set in Chicago actually show different parts of Toronto's Union Station, except for a brief sequence 
immediately prior to the crash, where the train is rapidly approaching a bumper at the end of the line. 
That sequence was filmed from a Hi-Rail truck entering the Chicago and North Western Railway's downtown Chicago terminal.
All exterior train shots were filmed on the Canadian Pacific Railway in Alyth Yard, Calgary, Alberta and Toronto.
German Lobby Card - Set in the Lockheed hangar.
A photographic effect shot which involved live action in the Union Station of Toronto (doubling for Chicago) 
and a linking matte of the crash (locomotive, pillar, backing,...).
A nice but not perfect composite of 'Van der Veer Photo Effects'(?).
The shop of optical and visual special effects artist Frank van der Veer (1921–1982) did special photographic effects 
(opticals,mattes,..) for an incredible number of great films and TV Shows.
The original Star Trek series, movies like 'The Towering Inferno', 'Star Wars' or Clash of the Titans'.
Frank van der Veer won a Special Achievement Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for the film 'King Kong' (1976).
One of the last movies Frank worked on was 'Conan the Barbarian', 1982. He did the Titles and Opticals for the show.
His 'Van der Veer Photo Effects' shop existed until the 90s.
Photo of the Toronto Union Station for comparison.
The brilliant 'train-heist' flick is available on blu-ray. Highly recommended!
Excitement rides the rails at lightning speed!
Here is your first class ticket to a very special behind-the-scenes ride exclusively on 
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A triple rail ride to comedy and murder!
See Director George P. Cosmatos playing with small toys! See Director Mark Robson orchestrating the full-sized engine!

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