The perfect fusion of bus spotting and film trivia.....
Buses on Screen - Films 0-9
8 1/2 (1963, Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimee)
"Starts with a car jamming in a tunnel in Rome; a route 99 bus or trolleybus is clearly visible, also overhead lines." (thanks Carlos Wallberg)
15 Minutes (2001, Robert De Niro, Edward Burns, Kelsey Grammer)
Steve Bunce notes: "A thriller starring Robert de Niro as a New York cop. A street chase about half an hour in shows good views of a Bristol VR semi-open topper. The bus is halted and the camera moves around the bus at various angles. Others who know these vehicles may be able to ID." There are a couple of early views of RTS transit buses, the first with the faintest hint of a Bristol VRT semi opentopper in the distance.:
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A Bristol VRTSL3 semi opentopper with Grayline New York is glimpsed during the chase:
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....but my guess would be this is the same bus (D228)that appears almost immediately after. Note the conversion of the bus to a single offside (from a UK perspective) centre entrance door, also that the bus is described as a 68 seater, rather than the 74 seat capacity it was originally built with.
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23 Paces to Baker Street (1956, Van Johnson, Cecil Parker)
Several general London street scenes with RT-family buses, but also RTL783 (KYY753) is shown on route 73, mostly seen from the rear. There's a brief shot of the rear of a Duple-bodied coach, believed to be HYNxxx.
24 Square Miles (1946, documentary narrated by John Arlott)
A classic in its field, this is a survey of an area centred around the market town of Banbury in Oxfordshire, analysing the assets and needs of the area and its likely future. I don't believe these two views are of the same Short-bodied Midland Red BMMO SOS SON, but the bus arriving at the bus stop is definitely AHA526:
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There are also views of buses arriving at a factory; the only one clearly seen is this. I suggested this as Thornycroft A1/Hall Lewis, TX598, but Bob Telfer (who knows much more about Stratford Blue than I do!)notes "I think this is a case of mistaken identity - TX 598 had been sold by Stratford Blue in 1933. It is unlikely to have lasted as a bus through the war, and probably became a lorry immediately upon sale. I would suggest the bus in question is actually VT 580, a TSM Express which Stratford Blue acquired in 1936 and kept in service until 1950. That would fit with the dates and the presence of the Stratford Blue fleetname and relevant adverts suggests the bus was still in use with Stratford Blue at the time of the film."
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The film is available on DVD; however Pete Annells, who has viewed the original film, advises that another sequence of buses in Banbury has been omitted from the DVD, possibly because it's damaged.
28 Days Later (2002, Christopher Eccleston)
A scene in deserted London shows ex-London Transport AEC Routemaster/Park Royal RM1245 (LDS210A, originally 245CLT) lying on its side in Whitehall.
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The bus was reregistered by Bluebird Buses, but acquired by Transport For London in 2001 for refurbishment. This evidently didn't happen, as filming took place with this vehicle in July 2001. (from my own observation, detail provided by Graeme Selway and Peter Relf. Graeme also notes a slightly odd look about the bus: "looking from the rear end of the bus, you can see right through the top deck to a wall in front of the bus, but there would appear to be no front dome or upper deck windows although the rear dome etc is complete!" ). There is an unusual view of the underside of the bus:
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The 39 Steps (1935, Robert Donat)
First version of this thriller, made by Alfred Hitchcock, has a brief close-up view of a Bluebird-type London Transport LT-class AEC Renown:
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(thanks Colin Read)
The 39 Steps (1959, Kenneth More)
Two coaches are seen in background in one brief sequence, both are probably Bedfords, at least the second appears to be an OB.
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The 39 Steps (1978, Robert Powell, David Warner)
Includes a scene with a replica of London General B340 - can anyone id which replica it is?
40 Days and 40 nights (2002, Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon)
Girl and boy ride a San Francisco Muni Flyer trolleybus, stay on board till the depot. Lots of footage, mostly inside.
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I would guess this is the same bus, fleet number 5140, seen inside and out in a daydream sequence in which Hartnett's character sees large numbers of unclothed or undressing women. The second of these is a 'before' shot, if you see what I mean:
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... cable car 52 also appears:
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The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005, Steve Carell, Catherine Keener)
Ben Goldstein supplied these screen captures of Los Angeles/San Fernando Valley Metro Neoplans:
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48 Hours (1982, Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy)
Richard DeArmond notes at least four (San Francisco) Flyer trolleybuses. Has a chase scene with San Francisco MUNI Fishbowl 3092 - it's a 1970 GMC TDH5305N
51st State AKA Formula 51 (2001, Samuel L Jackson, Robert Carlyle)
Foulmouthed drugs comedy thriller set in Liverpool notable for Jackson's kilt and blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearances by a Wright-bodied single decker and an Alexander-bodied double decker, both of Arriva. The saloon is Arriva Merseyside 6588 (N588CKA), a Volvo B10B/Wright.
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84 Charing Cross Road (1986, Anthony Hopkins, Anne Bancroft, Judi Dench)
Two often-filmed buses appear here, former London Transport Leyland Titan PD2 RTW75 (KGK575) and Mervyns Coaches Bedford OB/Duple HOD75; there's a second 'decker, a Leyland RTL, but it's not well enough seen to identify conclusively. It appears to be LYFxxx or LYRxxx:
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101 Dalmatians (1961 (cartoon), Rod Taylor)
Children's favourite has a cartoon red double decker bus seen only from the side in the opening credits.
102 Dalmatians (2000, Glenn Close)
A red London AEC Routemaster is seen from the side on service 36, no fleetnames:
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Soon afterwards a hallucinating Cruella de Ville sees a Dalmatian-spotted Routemaster passing on service 6 among other Dalmatian-spotted traffic and even people.
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As can be seen from the screencap this is RM10 (VLT10):
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Hugh Padden notes Routemasters RM70 (VLT70) and RM429 (WLT429); the latter also appeared in Shiner
. Screencaps provided by e kline.
80,000 Suspects (1963, Richard Johnson, Claire Bloom et al)
Val Guest's documentary-style account of an outbreak of smallpox in Bath, made more realistic by being filmed in wintry weather.
In one scene the staff of a bus garage receive vaccinations. Eight Eastern Coachworks-bodied Bath Services Bristol Ks are seen in the background, both highbridge and lowbridge, also an unidentifiable single decker. Almost immediately following this, as Dr Monks (Johnson) arrives at an immunisation centre, two more Ks are seen on a busy street as members of the public queue for immunisation; one has a 'Chipmunk Crisps are OXO flavoured' side advertisement. As Monks leaves the centre with his wife (Claire Bloom), only one of the Ks remains, but a Bristol LS/Eastern Coachworks coach of Bristol Greyhound arrives and a group of children gets off.
A later scene shows a Bath Services Bristol Lodekka FS/Eastern Coachworks unloading passengers in the snow. (thanks Alan Sinclair and Nigel Furness) This film was identified from the mystery page by Scot Fergie, who found it "a very good example of British realism of the early 60's, compounded by a real smallpox epidemic in Bradford in 1962."

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