The perfect fusion of bus spotting and film trivia.....
Buses on Screen - Films S-Sl
Sabotage AKA A Woman Alone (1936, Sylvia Sydney, Oskar Homolka)
Hitchcock thriller set in the London suburbs. Glimpses of numerous London Transport STs, LTs and STLs. Early night view of a tram with 'Bloomsbury' as its destination:
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A man boards an STL, but we don't see more than a fraction of the registration plate - it's Cxx2xx:
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A young boy is seen boarding an STL while unwittingly carrying a bomb intended for Piccadilly Circus. The bus shown among the crowds appears to be STL34 on route 6 with garage plate AC, bearing a plate reading 'The Country By Green Line', and the boy boards it.
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However, the bus then seen in traffic is STL301 (AUC558), although the interiors are studio shot, presumably at Gaumont British studios in Shepherd's Bush.:
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Numerous STs, STLs and LTs are seen during his journey:
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One bus identifiable in traffic is STL789 (BXD450):
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....but this isn't:
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The device then explodes, wrecking the bus. The chassis seen in the aftermath is not an AEC, however, so presumably no STLs were harmed in the making of the film:
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Towards the end of the film another bomb destroys a cinema. An STL is seen in the ensuing chaos. We only catch part of the registration plate (599), suggesting it's STL331 (AUC599).
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Safety Last (1923, Harold Lloyd)
One of the great silent classics. In one scene Lloyd tries to jump on a moving Los Angeles trolley. Short clips from this movie can be seen at Getty Images: Film Page - key 'Safety Last' into the search box.
Salt and Pepper (1968, Sammy Davis Junior, Peter Lawford)
The stars play two Soho nightclub owners in what turns out to be an energetic but decidedly odd movie. Reportedly features former London Transport RT1431 (JXC194), a Craven-bodied AEC Regent III RT. However, it's never clearly seen, and I haven't been able to see a registration or fleet number. Note the shadow of the roofbox in the second interior shot:
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This glimpse confirms it as Cravens bodied:
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Better seen is Bedford J2/Plaxton HAR209C. our heroes drag a body aboard and watch it drive away:
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The Sandwich Man (1966, Michael Bentine)
"Near the beginning of the film Bentine is seen boarding RTL362 (KGU438) on route 22, and there follow several internal and external shots (including one with a Duple Donington coach behind in traffic)" (thanks Jon Price) This sequence starts with a queue at a bus stop - and RTL362 can be seen parked in the background awaiting its cue. This RTL also appears in The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)
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Sadly we don't see much of the Duple Donington bodied coach:
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Bentine is then seen alighting from RTL1183 on route 44(LYF124)!
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....while RTL362 continues to lurk in the background, this time on route 74:
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....but when next seen it's back on 22. This time it's in the company of a pair of Bedford SB/Duple Bella Vega:
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The whimsical nature of the comedy can be seen from this glimpse of a green Country RT, then a red RM in the background of a bizarre altercation:
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Another RM on route 19, and a closeup of RM2031 (ALM31B):
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A runaway lawnmower sequence (Jon Price suggests at Hyde Park Corner)features various passing buses, including a United Counties Bristol MW/Eastern Coachworks:
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......followed by a Leyland Leopard/Plaxton of Black and White Motorways:
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.....and another Bristol MW, this time with Bristol Greyhound:
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Another Routemaster passes, RM2165 (CUV165C)
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Bob Wingrove also recalls an Amphicar driving down the Thames - here it is!
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Sapphire (1959, Nigel Patrick, Yvonne Mitchell, Michael Craig)
London-set and features RTL1087 (LUC264) on route 24 to Pimlico:
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The bus stop is on a trolleybus route. Sadly we don't see a whole trolleybus!
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We do however see another RTL under trolleybus wires:
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....also a Green Line AEC RF in back projected footage:
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(thanks Paul Denyer)
FILM: The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing)
"Red AEC Routemaster in Piccadilly Circus during opening titles and brief shots of AEC Merlins in street scenes." (thanks Jon Price)
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960, Albert Finney, Shirley Anne Field)
Has glimpses of Nottingham buses. Clearly seen is 176 (OTV176) a 1954 AEC Regent III,
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also a Trent Leyland Titan PD3 and a Nottingham Corporation trolleybus, and footage of the Raleigh bicycle works.
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There's also a night view of another Nottingham Corporation Regent III, 164 (OTV164)
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Scarlet Thread (1951, Lawrence Harvey, Sydney Tafler, Kethleen Byron)
Has London street scenes, including an RT on route 3 at Piccadilly Circus, and another on route 1:
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A roofbox RT and two STLs:
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Part of the movie was shot in Cambridge, and this Eastern Counties Bristol K/Eastern Coachworks passes:
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....this coach is also seen; I believe it's a Bristol L/Eastern Coachworks:
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The Saving of Bill Blewitt (1937, Crown Film Unit)
"It's all about how Bill saved up to buy a new boat when his was wrecked. All the parts are acted by the villagers of Mousehole in Cornwall. There are 2 buses seen. The first one is ACV350, a nice glorious close up (a Morris Commercial???).
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The second one is really distant and I have no idea what it can be. (Something from Western National perhaps?)."
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(thanks Bob Wingrove)
Saving Silverman AKA Evil Woman (2001, Jason Biggs, Steve Zahn)
Set in Seattle, but filmed in Vancouver - hence the BC Transit Flyer E900 seen reflected in a porn shop window! (thanks Richard DeArmond)
The School of Rock (2003, Jack Black, Joan Cusack)
The children's rock band travels to the Battle of the Bands competition aboard a yellow Bluebird school bus.

School for Scoundrels (1960, Ian Carmichael, Alistair Sim, Terry-Thomas) has its own page - CLICK HERE

Schulmädchenreport (various from 1970)
"This series of films was produced in the early 1970s and is late-night entertainment (at least by German 1970s standards) about school girls in their late teens. In one film I can't identify now, there is a scene in which a MAN 750HO Metrobus is seen running down a street. From what I recall, the bus is in Munich livery (blue and cream with red front grille)." (thanks Stefan Baguette)

Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964, Richard Attenborough, Kim Stanley) has its own page - CLICK HERE

Sea Wife (1957, Joan Collins, Richard Burton)
Alex reports: "Richard Burton travels to London to trace an old flame (Joan Collins) and in the early minutes of the film there are several London street scene clips, including Trafalgar Square, in which red RTs are seen passing the camera. Probably around a dozen RTs are seen in total."
Sebastian (1967, Dirk Bogarde, Nigel Davenport, John Gielgud, Susannah York)
Bow Wingrove supplied these captures; we glimpse a Duple-bodied coach and a London Transport AEC RT, but there is also an overhead view of a BEA AEC Routemaster with trailer:
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Second Nature (2003, Alec Baldwin, Powers Boothe, Louise Lombard)
Brief appearance by a Dennis Trident of London United on route 88. More significant are a London United Volvo Olympian with Alexander body from the batch NxxxUHP - it's on Airbus route A2 to Heathrow Airport, and is in the company of a Mercedes Vario/Plaxton Beaver 2 registration T93GGO from Central Parking, Heathrow
The Secret Partner (1961, Stewart Grainger, Bernard Lee)
One scene has a London Transport Leyland Titan PD2 RTL crossing Tower Bridge. Towards the end a roofbox AEC Regent III RT is seen on service 53.
Secret People (1952, Audrey Hepburn)
A London Transport ST is seen near the beginning. (+Colin Read)
See No Evil, Hear No Evil (1989, Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor)
Unbelievably stupid film has appearances in New York by motorcoaches of Carefree Lines and Academy Lines in the opening credits. At least 9 New York RTS plus 2 GM New Looks appear through the rest of the movie. Watch on fast forward (actually fast backward might be more entertaining).
See Spot Run (2001, David Arquette)
A bus (MCI?) slides backwards off a muddy mountainside
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Oops!
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Selena (1997, Jennifer Lopez)
The story of Mexican singer Selena Quintanilla; "while touring in a red/silver Eagle coach it suffers an accident and a Chevrolet cabriolet tries to tow it unsuccessfully" (thanks Carlos Wallberg)
A Sense of Freedom (1980, Scottish Television TV movie)
"Features preserved Glasgow Corporation D216 (FYS 999), a Daimler CVD6-30/Alexander and Leyland Atlantean LA1, a Leyland Atlantean PDR1/1/Alexander(FYS998)." (thanks Alan Sinclair)
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Also seen is this in-service Glasgow Leyland Atlantean AN68/Alexander:
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The Seven Ups (1973, Roy Scheider)
"A short scene with a Greyhound MCI MC-7 bus" (thanks Bruce Korusek) The driver is Bob 'Tex' Marrs.
Seven Years in Tibet (1997, Brad Pitt)
"Filmed in Argentina, it´s about a German man who spends seven years in Tibet. An ex Uruguay Old Look appears at City of La Plata railway station, pretending to be a 1930s Austrian bus! A steam loco and a Curtiss C46 Commando featured." (thanks Carlos Wallberg)
Shadowlands (1993, Anthony Hopkins, Debra Winger)
A scene in the Randolph Hotel, Oxford has a highbridge City of Oxford AEC Regent passing outside the window - it's not well seen and one wonders why the filmmakers bothered:
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Later, in a scene set in London, a roofbox AEC Regent III RT is glimpsed in heavy rain.
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Shadow of a Man (1954, Ronald Leigh-Hunt)
Features two views of Hastings trolleybuses. (+Colin Read)
Shaft in Africa (1973, Richard Roundtree, Frank Finlay)
Shot in Ethiopia, an extended scene has a blue left hand drive bus (registration xx7145) travelling across country
The Shaggy Dog (2005, Tim Allen)
Regional Transit Service, California, Flxible Metros 2558 and 2847 were used in filming; 2558 for interiors; 2847 for exterior shots - an extensive album of photographs from the shoot can be viewed on the Regional Transit Service website, but this is what you see in the movie:
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The Shamrock Conspiracy (1995, Edward Woodward, Eilzabeth Hurley)
In a movie dating from the time when Hurley was astonishingly pretty rather than just glamorous, Woodward plays a similar role to his 'Equalizer' character. Seen is a GM Fishbowl in New York City colours and numbered 8135, although the majority of the movie is shot in Toronto.
Shaun of the Dead (2004, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost)
Silly and clever zombie Britflick has several appearances by a Redroute Leyland Lynx, although I've not identified which one:
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....and a fleeting glimpse of a Metroline 'decker:
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The Shawshank Redemption (1994, Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman)
Briefly features a prison bus.
At the end of the movie, Red heads out of Maine en route to Fort Hancock in Texas on a Trailways bus number CSS-476 (thanks Geoff Cook). This was a Blue Ridge Trailways GMC 4104 restored as a Carolina Scenic Trailways bus. The driver was Bob Bryson. The tinted windows were replaced for the film with clear glass and reinstated afterwards. (from correspondence on Yahoo groups)
The Sheltering Sky (1990, Debra Winger, John Malkovich)
Carlos Wallberg notes "At the opening titles, black and white street scenes in New York City are shown with some buses and a subway, may be around the 1940s. Later the action is in a French colony in northern Africa, may be Algeria; a green tram passes by."
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code AKA Dressed to Kill (1946, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce)
"A close-up of an early LGOC bus - possibly K424 which you show on your site as featuring in a more recent film."[Star! with Julie Andrews] "Later there is a sequence filmed through the rear window of a car travelling through London. Another early car follows close behind, and there are some people posed in period costumes to create the atmosphere of the Sherlock Holmes era but the give away that the film was made as recently as 1946 comes from a glimpse of a more modern London bus, possibly an RT." (thanks Alex)
Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943, Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce)
Has brief but quite clear footage of London trams
Shiner (2000, Michael Caine)
Unpleasant film nevertheless has a strong performance by Michael Caine. A Big Bus Company Daimler Fleetline appears briefly early on, and there are glimpses of other London buses, including what appears to be Stagecoach London VA67 (R167VPU), a Volvo Olympian/Alexander, one of two seen on route 8.
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- also Metroline, the Original London Sightseeing Tour and First London, and Clarkes of London and Coopers (?):
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The standout sequence from a bus fan's point of view has to be the sight of RM642 (WLT642), apparently on Route 68 pursuing Caine down the road (or so it seems) past a second Routemaster although it's incidental to the action. At first we see only the registration plate, then the bus itself!
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Jon Price was in the right place at the right time to identify the second RM: "the scenes with the Routemasters were shot on Sunday 13th February 2000 on the Aldwych just by the junction with Catherine Street. Luckily I was in London that day and just walked round the corner from the Strand into a crowd of people watching the filming, there were two, WLT642 with blinds for route 68 was driving round the block and chasing Michael Caine, whilst the other parked by the kerb for it to pull up along side was XMD81A blinded for route 6.". RM642 was in preservation; RM429 (XMD81A) was at that time owned by Capitalise of Battersea, and also appeared in 102 Dalmatians.
Shirley Valentine (1989, Pauline Collins, Tom Conti)
Scenes in Mikonos, Greece feature a Mercedes 35-seater in a white & blue 'Manoulas Travel' livery. (thanks Bill Mellor)
A Shot in the Dark (1964, Peter Sellers, Elke Sommer)
"There's a Paris traffic scene in which a crowd on a RATP Renault peer down into Clouseau's Mini in which he and Sommer are stark naked. The bus is a TN series, and the last two digits of its fleet number are xx23, cut out, stencil-wise, on the rear platform valance." (thanks Mike Lloyd)
The Shout (1978, Alan Bates, Susannah York, John Hurt)
Shot in North Devon. A cream and brown Bedford OB is glimpsed twice: once parked in the distance, and once through a window as it passes outside.
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Showboat (1951, Howard Keel, Kathryn Grayson)
A glimpse of horsedrawn trams.
The Singing Streets (1952)
Several Edinburgh Corporation buses and a tram appear, mostly in the edge of the frame, but we do get to see these Daimler CVD6 singledeckers:
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Sitting Target (1972, Oliver Reed, Ian McShane)
At the end of film, the chase scene (using a Hillman Avenger!), through the National Carriers depot and railway yards at Battersea, includes background shots of an East Kent Park Royal coach in maroon/cream (an AEC Reliance?), three Bristol RE/ECW in green/cream, a red/cream BET style single decker (Trent?), Alexander Y type & Mark 4 Duple Commander (North Western?), Royal Blue Bristol RELH/ECW and a white Plaxton Elite. (thanks Jon Price)
Siu Lam Juk Kau AKA Shaolin Soccer (2001, Stephen Chow)
Carlos Wallberg notes an appearance by a Chinese double decker in the trailer for this movie - more information needed!
Sixty Six (2006, Helena Bonham Carter, Stephen Rea)
Bob Wingrove saw this being filmed in October 2005 and buttonholed a prop man!
"The film is called 66 and is set in 1966 when a boy has his Bar Mitzvah on the same day as the World Cup Final. The bus being used was a tatty RML (JJD---D i just didn't get the reg number in time) but it has day-glo yellow blinds for the 14 (deffo not in 66!) and to be honest it looks like they just got a bus at random. No fleet name and just looked awful." The trailer for this film also shows a grey coach. More information needed!
The Skulls II (2002, Robin Dunne, Nathan West)
Features Oakville Transit 903, a 1990 Orion V 05.501. Photographs of this bus can be seen in the Oakville Transit gallery at Felix Tse's Greater Toronto Bus Page
Slap Shot (1977, Paul Newman)
Aaron Blackburn notes "The featured team in Slap Shot, the Charlestown Chiefs, were in fact were riding aboard a 1960s-era Flxible Flxliner" and provides these screencaps:
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Sleepers (1996, Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon)
Margaret Stuski notes a Greyhound Mack MV-620D
Slither (1972, James Caan, Peter Boyle, Sally Kellerman, Louise Lasser)
Caan's character escapes a holdup by boarding Greyhound 7624 to Marlboro. Later in the movie he and Peter Boyle arrive by car at a bank in Los Angeles (towing an Airstream motor home) and are overtaken by GM New Look 6006; two other Fishbowls appear in the scene.
Back to the top of this page - updated 6 May 2010