The Last Bus (film)

[LBObserver]

Has anyone else seen this film starring Timothy Spall? It is about an elderly gentleman travelling by bus from John O'Groats to Lands End.

It was mainly for the bus interest that I watched it, to see where it was filmed and the buses used. I like Spall too.

It started with a McDade Coaches minibus supposedly in the Highlands. They are based near Glasgow. Among other buses, way down south in the setting, was an ex-Lothian Dennis Trident from no later than 2001 judging by the number screen on the rear.

It was apparently filmed in Ayrshire, among other central Scotland locations, and the Glasgow Vintage Vehicle Trust garage. Presumably they supplied some vehicles.

 

[GusB]

The film is on BBC iPlayer at the moment and is apparently available for over a year. I'll maybe have a look later on.

 

[TR673]

I've seen this. A couple of the same buses reappeared at different points in the film, digitally recoloured so they looked like different ones.
I remember there was one bus that for the exterior shots was an ex-Dublin Alexander Olympian, and for the interior shots was a Stagecoach ALX or Enviro 400. It got de-roofed by a driver "1st day on the job".

Most of the drivers were portrayed as dismissive, or in the case of the one who hit the bridge, downright careless, plus an angry inspector forcing the pensioner off the bus in the middle of nowhere for having the wrong sort of pass. It didn't paint the bus industry in a very positive light. I don't know if it was done like that just for the story, or if that's what the whole writing/directing team believe bus travel is like.

In the overall field of buses featuring in entertainment media, I wonder how many show a helpful and friendly service compared to those being run by miserable jobsworths? It won't encourage more people to use buses if film and television perpetuates the idea of unpleasant passengers/vehicles/drivers.

 

[Busaholic]

I've seen this. A couple of the same buses reappeared at different points in the film, digitally recoloured so they looked like different ones.
I remember there was one bus that for the exterior shots was an ex-Dublin Alexander Olympian, and for the interior shots was a Stagecoach ALX or Enviro 400. It got de-roofed by a driver "1st day on the job".

Most of the drivers were portrayed as dismissive, or in the case of the one who hit the bridge, downright careless, plus an angry inspector forcing the pensioner off the bus in the middle of nowhere for having the wrong sort of pass. It didn't paint the bus industry in a very positive light. I don't know if it was done like that just for the story, or if that's what the whole writing/directing team believe bus travel is like.

In the overall field of buses featuring in entertainment media, I wonder how many show a helpful and friendly service compared to those being run by miserable jobsworths? It won't encourage more people to use buses if film and television perpetuates the idea of unpleasant passengers/vehicles/drivers.

I haven't seen the film yet, but as said pensioner lived near John o' Groats his pass issued in Scotland would not be valid in England, so it's quite possible a bus inspector might act like that, although the majority probably wouldn't. As for drivers, he'd have encountered humanity in all its myriad guises, though I wouldn't think you could draw too many conclusions from such momentary interactions.

 

[Titfield]

I've seen this. A couple of the same buses reappeared at different points in the film, digitally recoloured so they looked like different ones.
I remember there was one bus that for the exterior shots was an ex-Dublin Alexander Olympian, and for the interior shots was a Stagecoach ALX or Enviro 400. It got de-roofed by a driver "1st day on the job".

Most of the drivers were portrayed as dismissive, or in the case of the one who hit the bridge, downright careless, plus an angry inspector forcing the pensioner off the bus in the middle of nowhere for having the wrong sort of pass. It didn't paint the bus industry in a very positive light. I don't know if it was done like that just for the story, or if that's what the whole writing/directing team believe bus travel is like.

In the overall field of buses featuring in entertainment media, I wonder how many show a helpful and friendly service compared to those being run by miserable jobsworths? It won't encourage more people to use buses if film and television perpetuates the idea of unpleasant passengers/vehicles/drivers.

I believe that this sub consciously reinforces the stereotypical view that travel by bus is an unpleasant experience only used by losers, the delinquent and the elderly (who are of no consequence).

A further example of this is when companies provide a "smoking shelter" for smokers referring to it as "the bus shelter". Yet again associating "buses" with behaviours now seen as less desirable.

Slightly off topic but back in the early 1980s Sir Michael Edwardes wrote to the Two Ronnies to ask them to stop continually showing BL in a poor light as it was harming sales. The power of the TV and film can not be understated informing opinions and reinforcing attitudes.

 

[LBObserver]

I've seen this. A couple of the same buses reappeared at different points in the film, digitally recoloured so they looked like different ones.
I remember there was one bus that for the exterior shots was an ex-Dublin Alexander Olympian, and for the interior shots was a Stagecoach ALX or Enviro 400. It got de-roofed by a driver "1st day on the job".

Most of the drivers were portrayed as dismissive, or in the case of the one who hit the bridge, downright careless, plus an angry inspector forcing the pensioner off the bus in the middle of nowhere for having the wrong sort of pass. It didn't paint the bus industry in a very positive light. I don't know if it was done like that just for the story, or if that's what the whole writing/directing team believe bus travel is like.

In the overall field of buses featuring in entertainment media, I wonder how many show a helpful and friendly service compared to those being run by miserable jobsworths? It won't encourage more people to use buses if film and television perpetuates the idea of unpleasant passengers/vehicles/drivers.

I agree. My thoughts exactly regarding the portrayal of the staff, passengers and bus travel in general.

 

[Towers]

Interesting, might look this up. Did the ‘deroofed’ bus actually lose its roof, or was it just creatively filmed to suggest it?

 

[Peter Philips]

Interesting, might look this up. Did the ‘deroofed’ bus actually loose its roof, or was it just creatively filmed to suggest it?

Creatively filmed to suggest it.

 

[KevinDks]

I watched this last night. Timothy Spall was excellent and made up for parts of the story which were unconvincing.

If you wanted to plan a route using multiple local buses like those portrayed in the film, how would you go about it? What websites and online tools would be useful?

 

[Hullian111]

If you wanted to plan a route using multiple local buses like those portrayed in the film, how would you go about it? What websites and online tools would be useful?

I seem to remember reading a series of Buses magazine feature articles over the course of 2023 following the author doing a North-South trip through Scotland and England based off this film. Have to see if I've still got the magazines with those articles in.

 

[KevinDks]

Thank Hullian. If I know which editions on the magazine had those articles then I will get them.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Jan 2024 ==

Thank Hullian. If I know which editions on the magazine had those articles then I will get them.

Well, 5 minutes on Google and I found the articles, archived on Bob Hind's own website.

John O'Groats to Land's End | Buses

www.bobhindtravelsbybus.com

 

[Russel]

I've just watched this on iPlayer, ignoring some of the bus continuity errors that 99% of people watching won't notice, it's quite a good film, I found the end quite hard to watch as it's rather sad.