Buses on Screen: Superhero (1982, Ray Winstone, Koo Stark)

Leon Daniels notes,

"I don't think I have ever told you about 'Superhero' - a 'short' film made with British Film Finance Corporation funding starring long before they were famous Ray Winstone and Koo Stark. Producer was Brian Eastman who is famous now as the man behind Poirot on TV.

We used an RT from Ted Brakell for this film - not only did I drive but was Ray's double. Ray is in a dream and is his own comic book superhero - Nightrider (no not the one with the car). He is chasing some crooks so steals a bus - actually I do. In fact we are both dressed in this 'tights and mask' outfit. Really funny. For a joke the film crew bundled me in my costume and dumped me outside Kings Cross Station in the height of the evening peak. Yep - I looked a real idiot!

Anyhow we do this chase sequence under the arches at London Bridge Station - pursuing a Rover 3500! To keep my Nighrider logo on my chest illuminated, a UV light was taped to the spoke of the RT's steering wheel. First move and it got stuck on the gear lever turret and the bus went off in a gentle arc across the road - 'stop, stop, stop...' cried the director.

We did the chase sequence well enough. Because Ray was portraying a decent superhero he was worried about intending passengers so he winds the ultimate blind from a destination to PRIVATE. This was awful. I made the blind despite protestations that PRIVATE was never an ultimate panel. The shot of that action was made with the vehicle stationary but Ray was also pretending to be driving so was winding the handle without guidance - very difficult to get it set correctly. Also to convey movement ten of us were rocking the bus from side to side by pushing on the lower deck window pans. Sadly we did it on one of those nights when we couldn't film much because of the rain, so during this rocking shot loads of rain ran up our sleeves and made us soaked from the inside!

In one sequence Ray as Nightrider runs out and hides behind a post before then running out to steal the RT from a crew chatting on the pavement. The first run is Ray, the second is me. We used to watch the rushes every evening at a studio near Centrepoint. In the first attempt Ray runs behind the post, knocks into me and we fall out in opposise directions. It looks like Nightrider has become two people in an instant!

Ray and Koo went on to be famous........!!"

Buses on Screen > Films > Films S > Superhero (1982, Ray Winstone, Koo Stark)