End of the Line (1987)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Jay Russell

Writers:

Jay Russell (writer)
John Wohlbruck (writer)

Release Date:

28 August 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

In the name of progress ... one magnificent step backward.

Plot:

When the closure of a railway is announced, employees commandeer a locomotive to get to corporate headquarters and confront the president.

Plot Keywords:

Railway | Train | Independent Film | Title Spoken By Character

Cast

Wilford Brimley	...	Will Haney
Levon Helm	...	Leo Pickett
Kevin Bacon	...	Everett
Bob Balaban	...	Warren Gerber, President of Southland
Barbara Barrie	...	Jean Haney
Judy Benson	...	Lucille
Michael Beach	...	Alvin
Carroll Dee Bland	...	Chester
Henderson Forsythe	...	Thomas Clinton, Southland Chairman of the Board
Dan DeMott	...	Travers, Security Guard at Southland Headquarters
Clint Howard	...	Les Sullivan
Trey Fancher	...	Tommy
Holly Hunter	...	Charlotte
Armando Garza	...	Gonzalez
Howard Morris	...	Drunk Hobo

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG | Australia:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Benton, Arkansas, USA

Company:

Guadalupe-Hudson Productions

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In the scene where they run through the police car on the track, first a boom mic is seen on the bottom on the screen, then a dolly track and boom mic again.

Quotes:

[in the locomotive's cab speeding towards a cop car]
Leo Pickett: Better slow up, they ain't moving.
Will Haney: Oh they'll move.
Leo Pickett: [looking around] There any selt belts in these things?

Soundtrack:

Don't say you love me

Derailed

As much as I love trains, I couldn't stomach this movie. The premise that one could steal a locomotive and "drive" from Arkansas to Chicago without hitting another train along the way has to be right up there on the Impossible Plot lines hit board. Imagine two disgruntled NASA employees stealing the "crawler" that totes the shuttles to and fro and driving it to New York and you get the idea.

Having said all that, it's a nice try. Wilford Brimely is at his Quaker Oats best, and Levon Helm turns a good performance as his dimwitted but well-meaning sidekick. Bob Balaban is suitably wormy as the Corporate Guy, and the "little guy takes on Goliath" story gets another airing.