I’ve been meaning to get around to watching this movie to see if it was any good for a while. I have now watched it and I’m damn glad that I did, as it is an excellent crime caper comedy. The Runaway Bus was made in 1954 and stars Margaret Rutherford playing an annoying battleaxe type of character, Petula Clark as an air stewardess and Frankie Howerd in his first lead movie role as a hapless ‘cheeky chappie’ coach driver.

The plot of the film is that a consignment of gold bullion has been stolen from a warehouse London’s Heathrow Airport during a night of very heavy fog that has prevented any aircraft from either taking off or landing. The police do not know how the gold got out of the airport but they realise that there would be little alternative to the stolen gold, and the mastermind behind the raid, leaving by road as there are no aircraft movements.

Because of the weather conditions passengers at the airport need to be moved to other airports that are not affected so much by the fog so that they can embark or continue on their journeys. Many coaches are employed to do this and one of the coaches, the relief coach, is driven by Percy Lamb, played by Frankie Howerd.

The bus is then apparently highjacked, but Percy Lamb gets lost in the fog and ends up in what looks like a village with no people living there. He then realises that he’s in a bit of a trouble as he’s stuck in the middle of nowhere, with a coach load of passengers at least one of whom may be the bullion robbers.

This was a highly entertaining film and I’m glad to have finally got around to watching it. If you want 75 mins of comedic diversion from our current troubles with this movie from Britain’s past then this film is for you.