claudg1950 I cannot imagine what people saw in this film. Frankie Howerd is irritating to me, not because he was more gay than Liberace (no problem there) but because the movie is not about him being gay. His character is supposed to be straight, but he was such a bad actor that he behaved all the time like a drag queen. The first few minutes of him --coming in and out of a window while complaining like Jim Parsons on steroids-- painfully last forever. Clumsy Howerd wasn't even capable to decently imitate driving; the mimic he does with the bus' steering wheel is incredibly idiotic. And throughout the film he keeps playing his one-note supposedly funny character, which manages to ruin the other film-noir plot the producers threw in. If forgiveness is granted to Howerd on the argument of his not being an actor but a comedian, then he should have been a comedian (i.e. funny). He wasn't. At some point the screen writers seem to find hilarious to make him fall in a ditch of dirty water. It is clear this type of pie-in-the-face humor is strictly for blue collar types. This is not what we foreigners have in mind when we praise British humour. Margaret Rutherford adds another insufferably rude character to the screen. The sole redeeming factor here is the beauty of an unrecognizable young Petula Clark as the stewardess, and Belinda Lee's sex appeal. Regrettably not reasons enough to like the film.

ianlouisiana Remember Smogs?Those terrifying combinations of factory smoke and fog that were eventually eradicated by the Clean Air Act?Well,if you're old enough to have experienced them,"The Runaway Bus" may be just up your street. Set in the halcyon days when London only had one airport and it was actually called London Airport,"The Runaway Bus" relies heavily on plot no 5 in the Movie Writers' Handbook,the travelling companions in peril perhaps best exemplified in its earlier incarnation "Stagecoach". A bus containing a master criminal on the run with gold bullion gets lost in the fog.The bus is driven by Mr Frankie Howerd,a comedian of such peculiar talents that he is almost sui generis.His outrageous personae are only approached by those of his near contemporary Mr Kenneth Williams who lacked Howerd's bombastic streak. Outstanding amongst the passengers is the equally eccentric Miss Margaret Rutherford who,strangely,a few years later was to win an Oscar for her performance in another film about London Airport in the fog - "The V.I.P.s". Stalwarts of British stage,screen and TV happily rhubarb around adding to the fun. In 1957 Mr Howerd found the transition from his true medium - radio - to the movies an uneasy one and "The Runaway Bus" suffered as a consequence.Watched with half a century's hindsight and nostalgia it seems an amusing,and,considering that almost all the cast have gone to the great rehearsal room in the sky,almost poignant. It fills a gap between the innocence of "Doctor in the house" and the sauciness of the rapidly approaching "Carry On" franchise,and fills it very pleasingly.

Neil Doyle If the sight of MARGARET RUTHERFORD poking everyone around with her umbrella and making an overbearing nuisance of herself is your idea of a fun comedy, THE RUNAWAY BUS is your ticket.A British comedian by the name of FRANKIE HOWARD mugs his way through most of the broad comedy which involves a group of passengers stuck in the London fog at an airport where nothing is functioning. He's the bus driver who gets them away from the airport in heavy fog. The plot gets thicker when some gold bullion is stowed aboard the bus along with a bunch of odd passengers. PETULA CLARK, in a non-singing role is a perky airlines clerk. GEORGE COULOURIS adds a bit of menace as a mysterious man.The absurd ending is completely incredible. Typical British misfire with its humor only engaging enough in uneven stretches of comedy.An easy one to skip, even if you're a Margaret Rutherford fan. Definitely not a comedy for all tastes.

alexgreig Certainly not one of the classic 50s comedies, but it allows Frankie to give full reign to his unique talent. There are rather too many unbelievable plot twists and many of the characters are two dimensional, but there are some good chuckles. Nice to see a young Petula, and also Belinda Lee, one of the many blonde bombshells of the 50s who were hyped as Britain's answer to Marilyn Monroe. Disappointingly, if you enjoy watching 50s films for their shots of towns and villages in the post war period, this one seems to have been shot almost exclusively in the studio and backlot Verdict : If you are a big fan of Frankie Howerd's style, go for it.