The Finishing Line

 

Described by the BFI as “among the most audacious public safety films ever made” The Finishing Line is a twenty-minute horror story warning children about the danger of trespassing, vandalising and playing on train lines.

The film depicts a boy’s fantasy of a school sports day event held on the railway tracks and its gory consequences. What starts out as a bucolic summer fete with a brass band and refreshments ends in blood-stained carnage. The first five minutes here shows the first casualty, by the end of the film all the children are either dead or horrifically injured, and lined up on the tracks.

Made in 1977 by British Transport Films, it sparked immediate controversy and prompted a national televised debate about the potential effect on children. I was one of those children who saw it (I was nine at the time) and I can safely say that whilst it was traumatic, I’ve never forgotten it or it’s message.

David Rainbird
Posted on Friday, 21st of August 2009 Permalink Comment (3)