A mild-mannered, somewhat mousy man is astounded when his reflection in a mirror comes to life and begins to do all the wild and crazy things that he always wanted to but never could.
Bob Holt's last journey as a Railway engine driver before his retirement, a journey disturbed by his distress at leaving the Railway, and his suspicions of the relationship between his wife and his fireman. Aboard the train are a pair of pickpockets, a honeymoon couple, a drunk, a temperance pamphleteer and a host of familiar types, all more-or-less bizarre in characteristically English ways. Bob takes an unexpected course of action, and the characters start interacting in varied and unexpected ways. When, at last, the train stops, all has been resolved, but not as might have been expected at the beginning of the journey.
Third Time Lucky" was released in February 1931 and was the first film to star Bobby Howes in a leading role. Based on a play by Arnold Ridley, who also wrote "The Ghost Train", and later went on to star in "Dad's Army", "Third time lucky" tells the story of a timid parson (Howes) who steps in to protect his ward from blackmail at the hands of Garry Marsh and Gordon Harker.