The American film critic and historian Leonard Maltin gave the film four out of four stars in his "Movie Guide" and included the film in his list of 100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century. "The Guardian" called the film "one of the greatest train movies from the genre's golden era", and a contender for the "title of best comedy thriller ever made". The film frequently ranks among the best British films of all time. On "Metacritic", it has a score of 98 out of 100, based on reviews from 17 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".