Buses on Screen - Films Lm-Lz

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962, Tom Courtenay, Michael Redgrave)

Lester May notes "About one-third of the way into this classic British film of the 60s - some of which, I believe, was set in Nottingham - appears an AEC double-decker bus on route 38 or 58 to Bradford (I think). The bus is not dissimilar to a London Transport RT but is clearly not an RT and has provincial front bus blinds." Chris Hough adds "If it is indeed set in Nottingham it is just possible that the vehicle seen is in fact an AEC Regent III of Nottingham Corporation which carried Park Royal bodywork which had a vaguely RT outline. There is also a suburb of Nottingham called Radford which could be what the destination blind read. Certainly in the 1960s Bradford's RTs were never known to appear on interurban routes and Bradford always used City when running into the town centre from outlying suburbs. Many of the RTs in Bradford did not have their London destination boxes removed and ran for years with them blanked to accomodate Bradford's blinds indeed a preserved example HLW410 still sports a roof mounted number box!" Can anyone add to this?

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987, Maggie Smith, Bob Hoskins, Wendy Hiller)

Dublin-set movie features CIE R788 (OIK984) and R827, both Leyland Titan OPD2/10 with CIE body (thanks Gary Manahan)

The Long and the Short of It(2003, dir Sean Astin)

During filming in New Zealand of 'The Two Towers' (second in the Lord of the Rings trilogy) some of the stars of the movie got together to film this short, and a Stagecoach singledecker got in on the act.

"It was filmed in Wellington in June around the remaining part of the former trolleybus yard. Peter Jackson, the director of the Lord of the Rings movies, himself plays a cameo role as the bus driver and the bus concerned is a 2001 MAN 12-223 diesel with Designline Ashburton bodywork, fleet number 1302" (thanks Bryce Pender) For good measure the bus carries poster advertising for 'The Lord of The Rings'on its side:

A companion short film, 'The Making of The Long and the Short of It' has better footage of the bus, and also a passing MAN 11-190 SLF, 627:

Evidently the weather was indifferent!

The Long Arm AKA The Third Key (1956, Jack Hawkins)

London Transport STD14 (DLU324), an all-Leyland Titan TD4 built 1937, on route 13 to London Bridge follows the camera in an atmospheric after dark shot under the opening credits. This could well be stock footage shot much earlier than than the main body of the film, since all STDs had been sold out of service by the end of 1955:

Various AEC RTs are glimpsed in street scenes, including RT3930 (LLU729) on route 159, and an unidentified RTW

....but it's a shame we don't see more of two unknown 'deckers glimpsed in a scene in a scrapyard:

The Longest Hundred Miles AKA Escape from Bataan (1967, Doug McClure, Katharine Ross, Ricardo Montalban)

Set in World War II; a group of refugees flee the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in a rickety jitney type bus.

The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996, Geena Davis, Samuel L Jackson)

Several Oakville Transit GM New Looks were used.

The Looking Glass War (1969, Christopher Jones, Ralph Richardson, Anthony Hopkins)

Brief view of an East Lancs-bodied Daimler Roadliner of Eastbourne Buses.

Lost AKA Tears for Simon (1955, David Farrar)

"Semi-documentary style film about the police hunt for a missing/abducted baby interspersed with steps the parents take outside those of the police. In colour and with some woeful acting along the way." (thanks Jon Price) The film has much of interest, including a good selection of Wolseley police cars! The opening scenes feature a London Country Green Line AEC Regal RF among the red London buses:

This Leyland RTL is seen on route 6

Two more pass on route 73:

Later a roofbox RT passes on route 27:

A further RTL on route 6:

Two RTWs on route 11, one of which is seen here:

A distant green London Country RT is glimpsed, and also what appears to be an Aldershot and District Dennis Falcon.
A scene shot opposite the exit to Victoria Coach Station uses back projection; it shows a Southdown Beadle rebuild leaving the station....

....followed by Midland Red 3349 (KHA349), a BMMO C1:

As the missing child's parents cross the road and enter the station they are nearly run down by NBH496, a full fronted Dennis Lancet of Denham Coaches:

"There is also a good shot of the interior of Victoria from the coach exit which shows a Park Royal bodied coach of East Kent. [identified by Bob Wingrove as a Guy Arab LUF/Duple] and a nice Harrington coach as well as several that cannot be identified clearly." (thanks Jon Price) This screenshot suggests these are three AEC Reliance/Harrington of Maidstone and District:

As the parents then walk across the station NBH496 drives past again on its way out.

To compound this continuity confusion the couple interview a coach driver who says he's about to drive out on the Cambridge service. When we see the Cambridge coach ot on the open roaf it's again NBH496, this time with 'Cambridge' in the destination box!

(Thanks also to Paul Denyer for starting this paragraph off!)

The Love Bug (1969, Dean Jones, Michele Lee)

Richard DeArmond notes a brief side view of a San Francisco St.Louis or Marmon-Herrington trolleybus.

A Love Divided (1999, Orla Brady, Liam Cunningham)

Irish movie features CIE P220 (ZJ5960), a 1951 Leyland Tiger OPS3/1 with CIE body. (thanks Gary Manahan)

Love Field (1992, Michell Pfeiffer, Dennis Haysbert)

Movie about a Dallas housewife who takes a Scenicruiser to Washington DC in Nov 1963 to attend JFK's funeral. any more information? (thanks Alan Aron)

Love From a Stranger (1937, Basil Rathbone)

London Transport AEC Renowns LT784 (GT7425)and LT832 (GT7436) are seen in a rainy Whitehall on service 12. (+Colin Read)

Love in Waiting (1948, David Tomlinson)

Close-up view of a London Transport LT-class AEC Renown in the first few minutes. (+Colin Read) Any more information?

Love On Wheels (1932, Jack Hulbert, Edmund Gwenn, Gordon Harker)

A musical with more bus sequences than 'Summer Holiday'! The titles include a stylised Green line coach:

Following this there is a line-up of eight Green Line T-class AEC Regals at Watford Leavesdon Road garage:

....and we see 1930-built rear-entrance T134 (GF218) being washed and prepared for a day's service, juxtaposed with domestic scenes:

There's also a quick shot of similar T113 (GF7280) being started up.

Once on the road there is much footage both inside and out of T134, running supposedly Bushey-Redhill-Croydon; included is a musical number sung by passengers and crew:

Also seen is this coach station, possibly the shortlived Poland Street Green Line coach station in London. New in 1930, it was closed in 1933. Another T-class is seen leaving alongside T134; this is a 1931 front-entrance coach. The footage is unclear but it appears to be on route D to Dorking.

The Duchess Street Underground Station is fictional.

There are also views of Metropolitan trams

(Thanks Eric Scott, Dick Gilbert and Bob Martin)

Love Thy Neighbour (1973, Jack Smethurst, Rudolph Walker)

The film of the TV sitcom "features two London Transport doubledeckers, the registrations of which are hard to catch on film. One is just about readable as JXN325." (thanks Vic Gackowski) - this would be I'd guess AEC Regent III RT935 (JXN 325) can anyone confirm?

The Luck of Ginger Coffey (1964, Robert Shaw, Mary Ure)

"Shaw rides in a 1960 Canadian Car city bus (TD-43 or TD-51)" (thanks Tony Perodeau)

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