Fri 7 Oct 2011
A Review by Stan Burns: LADY ON A TRAIN (1945).
Posted by Steve under Mystery movies , Reviews[11] Comments
LADY ON A TRAIN. Universal Pictures, 1945. Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, David Bruce, George Coulouris, Allen Jenkins, Dan Duryea, Edward Everett Horton, Jacqueline deWit, Patricia Morison. Original story: Leslie Charteris. Director: Charles David.
This is a fun little comedy with noir elements, made late in Deanna Durbin’s career when she was trying to escape from the girl next door roles she apparently felt trapped in. After only a few more films she pulled a Garbo and retired from public life. (Durbin later married the film’s director and they retired to live on a farm outside Paris.)
Debutante Nicki Collins (Durbin) is on a train from San Francisco, on a visit to her aunt. When the train is about to pull into Grand Central Station in New York she glances up from the mystery she is reading and out the window of the train. She sees into the window of the building opposite and watches as a man with his back to her strikes another man in the head with a blunt object.
When she reaches New York she goes to the police (William Frawley as the desk sergeant) to report a murder but he thinks she is a crank. She contacts Wayne Morgan (David Bruce), the writer of the mystery she was reading, but he doesn’t want to help her either.
So she decides to investigate on her own. Here she becomes Nancy Drew — she discovers the identity of the victim, and goes to his house, where during the reading of the will she is mistaken for a night club singer who was having an affair with the victim and who also is his major heir.
She gets to meet the victim’s nutty family and his sinister servants, one of whom may be the killer. This mistake allows her to assume the identity of the singer at the nightclub The Circus and seamlessly sing several numbers including “Night and Day.”
What is very rare for a movie of the period, she is not the companion of the male writer; she leads the investigation, and shows no fear even when she gets herself into dangerous situations. It doesn’t hurt the story any that she is also very pretty and has a terrific voice.
The black and white photography is very good, with major noir overtones featuring scenes of dark shadows, unlit rooms, and sections filmed outside at night. About the only drawback to the movie is some very mild racial stereotyping of the writer’s black servant. If you have never seen this before, give it a try.
Rating: B Plus.
October 7th, 2011 at 10:39 pm
Oh, for the days when people traveled like that!
October 7th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
Movies taking place on trains is one of my favorite sub-genres, especially when there’s a mystery involved. I don’t know how I’ve missed this one for so long.
October 8th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
I saw this movie for the first time in the early fifties with wet hands and much strain
and admiration for beautiful Deanna Durbin,who played her role as a female detective so well.
Her acting talents and singing so magnificently in all of her 22 movies, made her the best paid actress in the thirtes and forties.
Thank you very much Steve for paying attention to this excellent Deanna Durbin movie.
October 8th, 2011 at 2:46 pm
Jan
Thanks of course really go to Stan Burns, who wrote the review and made me aware of the noirish aspects of what I must have assumed all along was just another of Miss Durbin’s musicals, which I always enjoy, but not as much as a movie in which she plays a detective too!
Steve
October 8th, 2011 at 3:02 pm
If I’m not mistaken, the score for this fine film is by Miklos Rozsa. I’m a great fan of the Durbin musical and I was surprised, some years ago, to find a noirish film in her later work.
There’s another crime film in her filmography, “Christmas Holiday,” in which her co-star is Gene Kelly and the director is Robert Siodmak. I was introduced to the film by Dan Stumpf and I must confess to having been rather critical of it after my sole viewing. Maltin gives it three stars, not a rating to make me change my opinion, but anything recommended by the estimable Dan, whose movie acumen I value highly, shouldn’t be dismissed as summarily as I did this film.
October 8th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
Walter, I was not aware of Christmas Holiday. I will do a search for it.I found Train in Maltin’s movie guide when I was doing a search for any 40s mysteries I hadn’t seen (that were rated 2 or higher and available from Netflix). And wondering why movies like Blue Dahlia are not available (I hope I’m getting the title right, its the one Chandler wrote that feature William Bendix as a WWII solder who comes home with a steel plate in his head).
October 8th, 2011 at 6:12 pm
Stan, you have the title right, and no, I don’t know why THE BLUE DAHLIA isn’t out on DVD either. I must have a copy on a home-made video tape, but I haven’t watched it in years.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY either. The search is on, in earnest!
October 9th, 2011 at 7:57 am
Charteris also novelized his screenplay. The book(really a novella)was published as a digest-sized paperback by Bonded in 1945. As far as I know, this is the only printing and copies of the book tend to be rather pricey.
October 9th, 2011 at 8:24 am
Stan i’am glad to give you in this way the credits too. I found it a very good and honest review.
I’am not an authority on this pount but i can recomment you Christmas Holiday too.
I was amazed seeing a “lazy” Deanna in that movie. Sofar she was such a “spring in the field”. My admiration for Deanna increased the more because she mastered that genre so pure and easely TOO.
You certainly know that her many fans wanted a teeny-Deanna, while Deanna in her twenties wanted to be a mature actress.
I think that her too early retirement in 1948 had all to do with this.
October 10th, 2011 at 6:18 am
This is livened up considerably by Woody Bedell’s ticky photography (he also did PHANTOM LADY, THE KILLERS, THE UNSUSPECTED…) which adds a lot of flair to an essentially obvious story. I also liked the bit of kink at the end provided when the “surprise” killer reveals himself.
October 11th, 2011 at 4:05 pm
I believe I saw this many MANY years ago. But since I remember very little about it, I would love to see it again. Thanks for the reminder.
I’ll keep a look out. Great review.