American writer and film-maker Michael Crichton has, thanks to his prolific work in the genre, built a reputation as the father of the modern “techno-thriller”. This makes the 1978 period action comedy *The Great Train Robbery* look like a somewhat odd entry in his filmography. On the other hand, this film can be described as some sort of “techno-thriller”, at least in the context of the period when the plot takes p…