Riden' the Rails (in long red flannel Underwear)

This past year I read a very entertaining book by Michael Crichton, a now deceased author, one of the very best.  He wrote this 1975 novel, based on a real life 1855 incident in London, titled The Great Train Robbery.  I learned he also wrote a screenplay first released in England in 1978. It co-starred one of my two or three favorite actors, Donald Sutherland. Sutherland played the petty crook and pickpocket Robert Agar. The film also starred Sean Connery as Edward Pierce, the main character. The production company of this near classic was Starling Films and was distributed by United Artists. 

Pierce, a well known 19th century socialite, was never convicted of conniving to steal a very large gold shipment from a major railroad in Britain. He had dreamed up and elaborate scheme to get his hands on that treasure.

Part of the procedure was to smuggle his acquaintance, Agar, into the baggage car where the gold was stored. Agar was convinced to hide in a coffin which would be placed inside with the mail, packages and, most importantly, the gold shipment. Pierce secured a place in one of the elegant private train car cabins. 

Later, Pierce climbed out the window of his cabin, made his way walking rapidly on top of the train cars back to the baggage car. By doing do he was covered from head to toe in the smoke soot of the engine. His clothes were torn and ruined.

Eventually, he was able to break into the baggage area from the outside, sliding the door open he joined Agar, holding the attendant who was guarding the gold by gun point. The crooks replaced the gold with lead bars. They then threw the bags of gold out through the train doors onto the ground at a predetermined place in the country, before arriving into town, their destination. They would return later to retrieve their bounty.

It dawns on Pierce that he can not return to his cabin in his ruined clothes. He tells Agar to give up his clothes so their theft can be completed without drawing suspicion. Hagar curses Pierce but then reluctantly strips out of his attire, down to his red union suit. 

 

 

With help from Agar which involves using a rope inside the baggage car, Pierce exits the area, closing the door and heads back with Agar's clothes bundled under his arm:

Assisted by the guard, Agar climbs back into his coffin, wearing now only his long red underwear,

 

 he lays down and awaits the end of the line while the coffin lid is closed down on him.

My thanks to Starling Films and United Artists for producing and the actors for acting in a very entertaining film. 

Rural Long Johns

After posting Ian Sanderson's memoir and family pictures of him as a little boy in rural Wyoming this past December 10, 2024, I heard from several of you. Seems a fair number grew up on farms and ranches, wearing union suits to bed rather than pajamas, just like Ian. 

For example, Barry from rural Johnson County, Iowa emailed that he wore union suits as a boy on his family farm. He wore them "around the clock," a good part of the year, including to bed. Barry mentioned he remembered seeing a farmer in his union suit in the original Back to the Future film. The farmer and his family were awakened late at night when Marty's DeLorean accidently crashed into their barn!

Although I had forgotten this farm scene in the original movie, I surmised that Marty McFly was not the first person to appear in a union suit in the classic Back to the Future trilogy.  Here he is having just woken up in the old west, practicing for a shoot out after climbing out of bed in this long-handled union suit: Back to the Future III (see my posting of October 31, 2023):

In the original Back to the Future, the farmer before rushing out of his farm house, threw on a bathrobe over this red union suit. The family accompanied him out the door in their various forms of night time dress. 

Duane suggested I work up a posting based on this scene in one of his favortite films. With a little research, I captured a few shots of the family's night time adventure as they appeared in the 1985 Universal Pictures' classic, written and directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd.

Marty, having jumped in Doc's DeLorean, in haste left the JC Penney parking lot after being chased by terrorists. He ended up himself "back to the future" - 1955. He raced down a country highway and into farm land, running into a barn before he could get the DeLorean under control! The loud commotion woke up the farm family who shortly came running out of the house. 

 

The farmer's son was the first one out of the house. Before, he ran outside, the boy had thrown on his overalls over his yellow plaid nightshirt, under which he wore a union suit. The farmer took time to pull on his bathrobe and boots before following his son out the front door towards the barn. His wife and daughter soon followed the men folk to see what woke them up. 

The four of them carefully made their way to the barn.... 

 

What's this?!?!  

 

Secure in his bathrobe and long red underwear, the farmer held 

his lantern up high and gazed with the family into the barn...

Oh my gosh....Ahhhhhhhh!!!?!

Could it be an alien from outer space?! 

Or a space zombie from Pluto?!

This scene for many, including me, has been long forgotten unless you've happened to have viewed this movie recently. If you haven't seen it lately, take another look.  You'll catch a glimpse of rural life in the 1950's.

A Special Thanks to Universal Pictures, the director and actors, 

and to Barry for bringing this to Union Suit Fan.