Grimerlana
Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike
Merolliv
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
Bob
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
moonspinner55
Terrible vehicle for Universal's resident singing star Deanna Durbin (here, at 23, still finding her footing as a womanly actress rather than as a teen starlet) attempts to combine a noir scenario with a comedic, screwball script, keeping Deanna breathless, illogical and dithering for nearly 95 minutes. Arriving in New York City by train to visit her relatives, Durbin witnesses a murder from her passenger window; naturally, the police are of no help, so she enlists the expertise of a detective stories writer to help her solve the crime. Screenplay by Edmund Beloin and Robert O'Brien, from a story by Leslie Charteris, is full of fast, silly talk--most of it more annoying than amusing--and off-putting characters. Deanna alternates between inquisitive kid and grown-up fashion plate. The rest of this 'mystery' is just as uncertain. *1/2 from ****
PamelaShort
Lady on a Train offers a change of pace for actress Deanna Durbin. A mystery story played with adequate elements of comedy, suspense and music. Miss Durbin plays a small-town girl visiting New York and as her train pulls into the station, looking out of her window she witnesses a man being bludgeoned. The police are notified but dismiss her story as the product of an overactive imagination. Amazingly she is able to acquire the help of a mystery writer ( David Bruce ) who helps her piece together the complicated facts of the mysterious murder. When this picture was made film noir was in full swing, and this story cleverly uses a screwball comedy approach that is most suitable for the lovely, young Deanna Durbin. The story of course allows the star most popular for her amazing singing ability to delight audiences with the songs " Silent Night " and a most sultry rendition of " Night and Day." There is also a good amount of suspense focused on the shady murder mystery, which involves a series of strange suspects and some very interesting ulterior motives. The film has an impressive assortment of actors of the time including, Ralph Bellamy, Dan Duryea, Edward Everett Horton, Allen Jenkins, Patricia Morison, and William Frawley all help to keep the story moving at a good pace. Although the film seems dated now, it's still worth a curious look at the talented Deanna Durbin who charms with a very sexy close-up to end the film.
john-morris43
Any allusions made here to similarities to an Agatha Christie plot are inadvertently correct. Up to Nikki Collins' (Deanna Durbin's) departure from the train at the outset of the story, the plot line closely follows Agatha Christie's "4.50 from Paddington," (1957). The story was published in the United States with the title, "What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!" In 1961, Margaret (later Dame Margaret) Rutherford, filmed her first of five Miss Marple roles, "Murder, She Said," based on "4.50 from Paddington." Although audiences across the globe adored Miss Rutherford's indomitable antics, Agatha Christie took a dim view of the comedic aspect of her Miss Marple as rendered by Margaret Rutherford. One must wonder what the author had to say of the farce made of her story in this 1945 Universal Pictures version. Under various titles, and subsequent to the aforementioned Rutherford film, "4.50 from Paddington" was presented by the BBC in 1987 and starred the woman who played Mrs. Kidder in the original movie, Joan Hickson. In 2004, ITV presented"4:50" in a series of Miss Marple stories which featured Geraldine McEwan in the principal role. A 2008 French film, Le crime est notre affaire, is a late adaptation of the same Christie story
GManfred
Never thought I'd say that. Ordinarily, I don't like comedy combined with mystery, or vice versa. In these cases, I always feel that one genre detracts from the other.But "Lady On A Train" works. It was entertaining in the truest sense of the word, a film with an excellent script, an appealing cast with several very familiar faces and even some singing interludes by Deanna Durbin. As stated, I feel this type of film doesn't usually work but here was a happy symbiosis of the best of both types. Just overlook or ignore a couple of plot contrivances - it's easy here since the picture is well-paced and keeps moving.This picture is fun for the whole family and most films made since the 70's can't say that, unless they are animated features. And it keeps you guessing right up until the last scene which is almost a lost art in itself.And congratulations to Universal for finally releasing some of their old movies on DVD. They've also been sitting on their Paramount collection (1929-48) and have recently loosened their grip on some of those. It's about time.
