Tue 6 Sep 2016
A Movie Review by Jonathan Lewis: UNION STATION (1950).
Posted by Steve under Crime Films , Reviews[7] Comments
UNION STATION. Paramount Pictures, 1950. William Holden, Nancy Olson, Barry Fitzgerald, Lyle Bettger, Jan Sterling. Based on the Edgar-winning novel Nightmare in Manhattan by Thomas Walsh. Director: Rudolph Maté.
Maybe I’m missing something because, as far as I can tell, a lot of my fellow film critics seem to really think that Union Station has a lot going for it. Apart from an exquisitely choreographed gritty chase scene at the end, this lackluster 1950 crime film plods along with uninspiring characters and stale dialogue. There’s some good on location photography and if you like train stations, Union Station does have a lot to offer. But overall the film really just pales in comparison to the myriad other crime films and films noir released in the same era.
Directed by Rudolph Maté, the movie features William Holden as William Calhoun, a train station police lieutenant. After a passenger named Joyce Willecombe (Nancy Olsen) sees two men with guns in the same car as her, she reports it to Calhoun. Turns out that Joyce has stumbled upon a kidnapping plot in which her boss’s blind daughter has been snatched and is being held for ransom.
The plot then follows Lt. Calhoun as he and his men, all under the watchful eye of Inspector Donnelly (Barry Fitzgerald), seek to identify and root out the kidnappers. They’re more than willing to play rough and go so far as to threaten one of the criminals with death should he refuse to cooperate. This, unlike the romance between Calhoun and Joyce, gives the police procedural realistic feel to it.
Overall, what Union Station feels like is a movie with an identity crisis. Is it supposed to be a character study of Lt. Calhoun, a police procedural, or merely a set piece about a train station where the crime story is merely secondary? Although some of my fellow critics seem to regard the movie as a stellar film noir, I must confess that I viewed it as a rather clumsy crime film more akin to late 1930s crime themed B-films than the stellar works of Richard Fleischer and Anthony Mann.
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September 6th, 2016 at 10:30 pm
I agree with Jonathan Lewis: this film is terrible.
So is Mate’s overrated “D.O.A.”
Mate was an outstanding cinematographer.
But when he switched to directing, he showed no talent for this new role.
Jack Cardiff is another good cinematographer turned bad director.
While I like several of Thomas Walsh’s short stories, didn’t like this novel either.
September 6th, 2016 at 10:37 pm
According to my notes I last saw this film in 2008 and I liked it. It has a lot going for it with two of my favorite actors: William Holden and Barry Fitzgerald plus it’s based on an Edgar winning novel. I also like films about trains.
I would not call it terrible by any means. IMDB gives it a good rating at 6.8 and many film noir critics like it. I like D.O.A. also.
September 6th, 2016 at 11:14 pm
I’m with you, Walker.
September 7th, 2016 at 1:27 am
I wouldn’t call it terrible, either, but from the movie’s reputation, I was expecting something a whole lot better. I’m siding with Jon on this one.
September 7th, 2016 at 5:34 am
I liked the train station stuff, but Nancy Olson is blah and it was disappointing overall.
September 7th, 2016 at 10:45 pm
It falls a bit between the cracks as to what kind of noir it is, but has a genuinely frightening villain and an attractive cast.
I have to vote with Walker and Barry on this one.
August 11th, 2022 at 3:21 pm
Hi. I just watched this for about the 3rd or fourth time. But it’s probably at least 25 years since I last saw it.
I believe it has gone down in my estimation.
one sequence I found ridiculous. It’s the first scne where they are waiting in the station for the kidnapper. Holden’s character glances at the kidnapped girl’s so often. he might as well have a label saying “cop” pinned to him.
But it got better and tighter after the sequence with the kidnapper’s girfriend in the hospital.
The part I liked the best was with Holden and Fitzgerald in the latter’s residence.
I still give it a 7/10.