Jamaican Railways (1993)
Rod Taylor appears in behind-the-scenes clips from
the filming of "Dark
of the Sun" (The Mercenaries).
"Jamaican Railways: The Friendliest Line in the
World" is a nostalgic documentary about the island's
railroad system, which was one of the oldest in the
world. Jamaica ceased operation of its national railway
in 1992.
The documentary was made in 1993 and released on DVD
in 2010. The final two chapters of the DVD are
devoted primarily to one of the highlights of the Jamaican
railway's long and storied history -- the filming of
"The Mercenaries."
The documentary explains that most of the
filming was done on the railway's Frankfield branch near
Suttons.
Rod is shown several times, including buttoning his
shirt in preparation for a scene and talking with
producer George Englund. Another shot shows Rod and
Peter Carsten being filmed in a prelude to the chainsaw
fight scene.
The documentary also shows:
- Activity shot at the railway's Albany station,
particularly the scene where Jim Brown is holding the (doomed)
children.
- A scene of the train passing through a U.N.
checkpoint on a bridge. The narrator says this scene
took several days to film but was never used in the
movie.
- The arrival of Yvette Mimieux.
- The attack on and subsequent wreck of the train.
The documentary shows a rehearsal of "rebels"
running toward the train and then the actual filming
of the scene.
- Jamaica's Richmond Station standing in for the
Congo's Port Reprieve.
The documentary describes the destruction of an
actual engine as part of the filming of the movie. "Old No. 55" was pushed onto some
undermined track at Grange Lane. As the narrator states,
"It came to a final end in real blaze of glory."
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