i wanted the 2000 film version of the railway children because i'd seen somewhere that the chap who played the hound in the red jersey was the same handsome dandy who murdered his wife in a poirot movie from last year, and i wanted to see him play bobbie's love interest. but i'm glad that what i got hold of was the 1970 version of the railway children, with dinah sheridan. some elisions(peter's coalmining) and omissions (the doctor telling peter about being gentle to his womenfolk.) but reasonably close to the book, and some gratuitous bits of humour that do not work in the least (the bandmaster) and some that do terribly well (the hound taking bobbie's hand and peter saying to phyllis wisely - they''ll have to get married now" and ) and a thoroughly embarrassing cheesy reunion scene on the platform (it's the steam lah. nesbit's ending at least had her cry go through the hearts of every passenger like a knife. that always makes me cry. "my daddy, oh my daddy!" ) but the rest of it was lovely and not over-saccharine and i cried a great deal, especially when bobbie finds the newspaper, and when she faints on the railway track trying to stop the train. dinah sheridan is magnificent she couldn't be more mother-like. i'm going to get hold of the 2000 version although i do not approve of jemima rooper she looks all wrong. i have much more faith in jenny agutter, who was an ideal bobbie those 30 years ago and who will, i trust, play mother equally well in the remake. oh and i refuse to belief that the new perks can be better than bernard cribbins's. .