Genres

Visitors Review

jpdoherty 2012-05-24 15:05:20

Finally, Another Classic Noir Unearthed.

Paramount's UNION STATION (1950) is another memorable noir fromHollywood's golden past making its belated DVD debut. A gritty andcompelling thriller it was adapted for the screen from the violentnovel "Nightmare In Manhattan" by Thomas Walsh. Daniel L. Fapp's starkBlack & White cinematography brought a great style to it with itsshifting use of light and shadow and the genuine locations, especiallyin the bustling Union Station itself in Los Angeles, added a realisticlook and feel to the whole thing.A girl (the resistible Nancy Olson) sees a man (Lyle Bettger) on atrain wearing a gun under his jacket and immediately suspects him ofbeing up to no good (how it never occurs to her that he could perhapsbe a cop is conveniently glossed over). She however reports the matterto the conductor who in turn alerts railway cop William Calhoun(William Holden). It soon comes to light that the man with the gun andanother have kidnapped a blind girl and are holding her hostage for aransom of $100,000 from her well to do businessman father (HerbertHeyes). Things really hot up when Calhoun, with help from the citypolice headed by Inspector Donnelly (Barry Fitzgerald), stakeout UnionStation - the nominated drop zone for the ransom. The picture ends witha climactic chase sequence as Holden pursues Bettger through a maze ofdark tunnels underneath the station for the inevitable and excitingshootout.Performances are generally fine throughout. Holden is terrific in itbut it is unusual to see him as a cop. He plays the part well butwatching him you can't help thinking he is an actor of a much highercalibre than is called for here and deserving of classier and moreartistically challenging parts such as his Acadamy Award winning roleas Sefton in "Stalag 17" (1953) or his perfect Joe Gillis in "SunsetBoulevard" which he and his co-star here Olson would embark on rightafter UNION STATION. Also kicking around his thick Irish brogue againBarry Fitzgerald repeats his role, almost verbatim, from "The NakedCity" (1948) the only difference being his name here is Donnellyinstead of Muldoon. But there's little doubt the movie belongs to LyleBettger as the heartless and sadistic kidnapper. Beside Jack Elam hasthere ever been a meaner or nastier baddie in movies? Born in 1915Bettger made a full career out of playing menacing characters. He had asinister smirk and a scary glare that was positively unnerving. Hisfirst film was Barbara Stanwyck's "No Man Of Here Own" just beforeUNION STATION and with the exception of only one time playing the heroin "Carnival Story" (1954) he continued throughout a busy career to beevery moviegoer's favourite baddie "you loved to hate". Lyle Bettgerretired in 1979 and died in 2003 at the age of 88.Unusually there is no one composer credited with scoring the picture.But there are minor contributions from Heinz Reomheld and stock musicfrom Victor Young and Hugo Friedhofor. There is a spirited main titleover the credits which sounds very much to me like something the greatVictor Young could have written. The score was compiled and supervisedby Irvin Talbot.The DVD release is an impeccable transfer with sharp as a button imagesand smooth sound. Clearly they had access to a new print of the movieand it shows. But there are no extras - not even a trailer. But now fora word of caution! Watch out for the most ridiculous and irritatinglogo you are ever likely to see which comes at the start of the DVDfrom a crowd called Olive Films. This has to be some kind of gag! Butafter all is said and done you can be confident, this silly intro. doesnothing to diminish the excellence of the movie which remains atimeless classic.

bkoganbing 2012-05-24 09:22:30

The Psycho/Phantom of Union Station

Union Station is the locale of a kidnapping and in its labyrinth oftunnels that bare no accidental resemblance to the catacombs of Rome,the victim, Allene Roberts, is snatched and held captive by LyleBettger.Allene is the blind daughter of wealthy industrialist Herbert Hayes andsince the crime happened on railroad property William Holden as thechief railroad detective has the case. Of course the LAPD is brought inin the person of Barry Fitzgerald. Holden is alerted to the kidnap by Nancy Olson who is traveling withRoberts. She's Hayes's secretary, but Bettger eludes them. It's a raceagainst time to apprehend him before a payoff is made.This was Lyle Bettger's third film and the one where he first gotnotice. During his career, Mr. Bettger played some of the loveliestpsychotics ever put on film. This one is one of his best and in hislittle hideaway where he keeps the terrified Ms. Roberts, Bettger baresno small resemblance to the Phantom of the Opera. Bettger really stealsthe film from the good guy stars.Union Station is one tightly constructed film with not a second ofwasted footage in it. I wish it were out on VHS or DVD. Don't miss itif TCM ever broadcasts it.

Jonathon Dabell 2012-05-23 08:51:57

A lost classic which should be rediscovered and hailed as the masterpiece that it is.

I suppose that every movie lover and every film critic has one filmthat they love which makes everyone else shrug in bewilderment. Iremember Barry Norman once publishing a book about his 100 favouritemovies, and no-one could fathom why a well-made but totally disposableentry like "Gregory's Girl" was on his list. Similarly, many years agoBBC2 ran a short film series in which famous actors and directorsrevealed and spoke about their favourite film. Everyone was taken abackwhen Martin Scorcese came up with "Duel In The Sun" as his choice!Well, for me, the oddity among my list of all-time favourites wouldhave to be Union Station. Since the first time I caught this fantasticcrime thriller on Channel 4 one rainy afternoon, I've considered it oneof the finest films of its type that I've ever come across. Not onlydid the story engross me, but the film inspired me to become a lifelongfan of William Holden, and also made me develop a serious crush on thelovely Nancy Olson.Railway police man William Calhoun (William Holden) is having a fairlyroutine day at work when he is approached by an apprehensive passengernamed Joyce Willecombe (Nancy Olson), who believes that two travellersaboard her train may have been up to no good. It transpires that Joyceis the secretary to a rich man called Henry Murchison (Herbert Hayes),whose blind daughter, Lorna, has been kidnapped and held for ransom.The railway station where Calhoun works has been chosen as the locationfor the pay-off of the ransom. Calhoun and fellow cop InspectorDonnelly (the atypically-cast Barry Fitzgerald) race against time tofind the kidnappers and bring them to heel.Pacy, exciting, surprisingly violent and very well-acted, Union Stationis 80 minutes of terrific entertainment. Sydney Boehm's script isfilled with incident, and Rudolph Mate directs the proceedings with asense of urgency and a real talent for building the suspense. Holden -fresh from his masterpiece Sunset Boulevard - is in fine form and Olson(also from Sunset Boulevard) is an ideal leading lady, who not onlygets the hero involved in the action but also pressurises him into notjust nailing the bad guys but rescuing the abducted blind girl too.Impressive performances are also to be found from Barry Fitzgerald asHolden's colleague, and (especially) Lyle Bettger as the kidnapmastermind, a snarling and exceptionally nasty villain for a film ofthis era. The climax, involving a frenzied shootout and a chase throughunderground tunnels, is truly heart-stopping. Union Station is afirst-rate thriller.... if ever a film needed rediscovering, then thissurely is it!

2012-05-22 21:13:02

The star of this movie is Union Station itself

I found this movie riveting although I would agree that it is flawed in some of the ways other reviewers here have pointed out.To me, the star of this movie is the main setting itself -- Union Station. (It's supposed to be Union Station-Chicago tho it was actually filmed in Union Station-L.A.) So much of the action takes place amidst the corridors and passageways and train tracks and tunnels underneath Union Station. (And at one point the action shifts to the Chicago "El" train.) And since every cop in the movie (with one brief exception) is in plain clothes (which in 1950 apparently meant a dark grey suit and tie), there is a constant sense of tension and suspense as they try to follow and trap the criminals amongst the hustle and bustle of the ordinary folks commuting or working in the vast train station. The station cops have hidden offices on a sort of mezzanine level overlooking the station and constantly spy on the throngs below, trying to spot the kidnappers and ransom bag guys. An ordinary train station is converted into a eerie locale of spying and cat-and-mouse between cop and criminal.In fact, the setting is more noir-ish than the characters. To me, the main characters in the film are not "true" film noir characters, it's more an ordinary "good guy" vs "bad guy" sort of crime movie. But the film transforms an ordinary busy big-city train station into "Dark City Central."

David 2012-05-22 03:03:50

A little disappointing the second time around

I saw this movie on local TV maybe 25 years ago and thought it superb.But Paramount movies, with a few exceptions, aren't shown much anymore.So I was excited to find it resurfacing.Watching it was a little less exciting. It's not really a film noir.It's a thriller. William Holden is good, very good, but the supportingcast leaves something to be desired.I've seen Nancy Olson only in this and, also with Holden, in "SunsetBoulevard." She has a quality that can bring June Cleaver into thedarkest, most cynical movies.The actress playing the kidnapped blind girl overdoes it. That may wellnot have been her fault. It may have been the script and the directionof the usually superb Rudoph Mate'. However, she is played as foolishas well as blind. I wish to state with authority that the two do not gohand-in-hand -- though maybe they were perceived more as doing so in1950.The film is suspenseful. Sort of. But I have to say I anticipated itsevery step -- and not because I'd seen it decades ago: All I rememberedbefore today was that a young blind woman is kidnapped and that ittakes place in a train station. There, I was correct.Oh! And that strange Murchison name appears again. I'd thought this wasan MGM in-joke, but here we find it at Paramount too.

miriamwebster 2012-05-21 17:23:55

Station Identification

Unjustly over-looked B-movie kidnap caper marred by geographicalheresy. Although landmark title locale is unmistakably famous downtownLos Angeles train station of same name, other scenes supposedlyoccurring in same vicinity involve elevated railways and nearbystockyards with no connection to actual LA landscape. Sort of liketitling a movie Empire State Building, then having sequences take placein surrounding deserts, ski resorts and palm-studded sandy beaches. HadParamount simply called it something like Train Station Confidential,this wouldn't have been an issue.Great location photography, though, and a terrific (if somewhat tritelyused) cast including William Holden, Nancy Olsen, Barry Fitzpatrick,Lyle Bettger, Jan Sterling and solid roster of supporting players ofthe era. (With notable exception of justly-obscure one-note actress whoportrays kidnap victim at the top of her lungs.)Well worth a look for film noir fans, LA history buffs and architectureaficiandos.

dougdoepke 2012-05-20 09:16:01

Depots are for More Than Trains Only

Back when America took the train for out-of-town travel, depots werefull of hustling, bustling travelers, rather like today's airports.Judging from the opening scenes of this movie, you might think half thefolks in those stations were petty criminals and the other half werethere to catch them. Actually, the movie's a pretty good thriller. Therailroad cops are led by Holden who's after a kidnapping gang who'vegrabbed a blind girl (Allene Roberts), while Barry Fitzgerald heads thelocal cop contingent.There are some good imaginative touches, such as the stockyard scene,and the final chase through an underground tunnel. These, along withsome good location photography and a documentary style approach, helpbuild a general air of suspense. However, the documentary style is alsointerrupted by rather obvious studio sets, a none-too-convincingromance between Olson and Holden, and the un-cop like musings ofFitzgerald as comedy relief. Thus we're also reminded at criticalpoints that this is, after all, only a movie.The film has gone down in history books for one particularly memorablescene. In the train station, the cops have caught a gang confederateand need to make him tell the where-abouts of the kidnapped girl. Atfirst, the suspect feigns innocence. Now, in standard films of the day,sentencing pressure would have been brought to bear-- how the guy risksexecution should harm befall the girl, along with maybe some mildpushing around. Not here. Instead, the guy is hauled into a back room and ratherbrutally beaten-- already a big departure from the norm. When he stillrefuses to talk, he's dragged out onto the tracks, where Holden andcompany dangle him before an on-rushing locomotive. Wild now withfright, the suspect spills his guts. To my knowledge, this is eitherone of the only films of the time, if not the only one, to show copsnot only beating a suspect, but torturing him as well. It comes as astartling departure from what audiences had come to expect from theforces of law and order, and how it got past the censors is beyond me.Of course, we already know the guy is a gang member, so we may want toexcuse the extreme police methods. But keep in mind that movies areinherently a medium of manipulation. A good film-maker can make anaudience root for almost anything or anybody if he loads the deckcorrectly. Suppose in this case the movie hadn't tipped us off earlyabout the guy's guilt, and suppose the guy turned out to be innocentinstead. Would we feel the same way about the police methods. I doubtit, but however you respond, this remains an entertaining 90 minuteswith a particularly fine performance from Roberts as the trapped blindgirl.

Michael O'Keefe 2012-05-19 22:51:25

Not just for William Holden fans.

UNI0N STATION is classic film noir directed by Rudolph Matte. Grittyand suspenseful. Joyce Willecombe(Nancy Olson)is a private secretary,who boards a train back home to Chicago from visiting her boss HenryMurchison(Herbert Heyes). While on the train she observes a speedingcar race to a small station and two suspicious looking men get out andboard the train at opposite ends. On board these men act as strangers.Joyce happens to see a gun hidden in one man's coat and tries to alarmthe conductor of the train. He can't help, but Lt. WilliamCalhoun(William Holden)working at Union Station is called. It happensthat the two men are part of a kidnapping scheme...the victim is theblind daughter of Joyce's employer. The young secretary feels guilty;but Calhoun and his boss, Inspector Donnelly(Barry Fitzgerald), insistthat they will thwart the kidnapping and return Lorna Murchison(AlleneRoberts)to her rich father. A lot of cat-and-mouse action and oldfashion gunfire. Holden is cast perfectly and Miss Olson gets her shareof screen time. Fitzgerald is fit as the calm and cool acting Irishmanwith the plan of action. The cast also includes: Lyle Bettger, FredGraff, Don Dunning, Jan Sterling and Parley Baer.

jotix100 2012-05-18 23:41:47

Kidnapped

The great railway stations of the first half of the 20th century, werethe equivalent of today's airports. Los Angeles' Union Station, was oneof the best examples of how these places worked and how it was thecenter of people moving in the country during that period in whichaviation was still in its infancy. The station is the setting for thestory in which the film is based.Directed by Rudolph Mate, who was a great cinematographer himself, weare taken to witness this interesting thriller that still holds itsinterest after more than a half a century since it was made. Mr. Mateconfided his colleague, Daniel Fapp, to photograph the action thattakes place in the tunnels, boarding and waiting areas of the station.William Holden was at the top of the profession. He is seen as Det.William Calhoun, who is in charge of security. Nancy Olson, makes aninteresting appearance opposite Mr. Holden as a young secretary whoreports to the authorities what she witnessed on an inbound train.Barry Fitzgerald, who plays the police inspector in charge, contributesto the success of the film. Best of all Lyle Bettger, an actor thatmade his specialty out of the shady characters he was called to play.Jan Sterling has a small, but pivotal part."Union Station" is worth looking as it reflects that period of time inAmerica. Ultimate the station is the real star of the film where we seeit in all its splendor.

Jed from Toronto 2012-05-18 05:07:11

Stop with the Shrieking already!

This film is really very good and full of suspense. A woman on a trainnotices strange behaviour from two men who have just boarded her trainand the fact that one has a gun under his coat makes her decide toreport to the train conductor. There follows a cliff-hanger of a movieinvolving a young, blind girl who has been kidnapped and will surely bekilled by the psychotic kidnapper (Lyle Bettger) if she is not gottento on time. There is only one jarring note - I don't think I am alonein wanting to strangle the blind girl every time she appears in thefilm. The director decided that she should shriek, scream and do anails-scrapping-down-the-blackboard routine at every possible moment.This film merits more than the 7 I gave it for those who can overlookthis irritating performance. Worth watching - you may want to keep theremote handy so that you can easily access the mute button.

Neil Doyle 2012-05-16 15:32:32

Taut thriller maintains high degree of suspense...

UNION STATION is a briskly paced thriller laced with enough suspense tokeep the viewer intrigued until the final shootout in a tunnel belowthe station where badman (LYLE BETTGER) must be tracked down byhard-boiled detective (WILLIAM HOLDEN) so that a blind girl (ALLENEROBERTS) can be returned safely to her father. Bettger has arranged aransom for the girl to the tune of $100,000 and is determined to keep agrip on the suitcase containing the ransom money.NANCY OLSON is the woman on the train who first notices that one of themen has come aboard with a gun and she immediately becomes suspiciousenough to report this to the authorities. Lead detective Holden takescharge and he and Olson gradually develop a relationship of trust thatleads to the finale where she's tending to his wounded shoulder, whileLAPD man (BARRY FITZGERALD) looks on approvingly, sensing love inbloom.It's directed in almost documentary style with a "Naked City" sort ofrealism. Holden and the police handle their suspects with realisticallyrough tactics which further heightens the tense realism of the story.JAN STERLING has a small role as a gun moll (what else?), who lets thepolice know that Bettger intends to kill the girl once he gets theransom.LYLE BETTGER is superb as the snarling villain, easily stealing many ofthe scenes with his brutally menacing tough guy role. No wonder heplayed this sort of man in so many films afterwards.Well worth watching, nice work by Holden and Olson, with faintcriticism for Barry Fitzgerald for mumbling much of his heavilyaccented dialog with that Irish brogue. The only other criticism isthat the director allows ALLENE ROBERTS to scream too much, whichbecomes tiresome and makes Bettger come up with the crack, afterslapping her: "For this, he's willing to put up $100,000."

edwagreen 2012-05-16 01:17:58

Union Station- Caution: Subway Riding May Be Hazardous to Your Health **1/2

In the same year that William Holden and Nancy Olson earned Oscarnominations for "Sunset Boulevard," they both appeared in this crimethriller.When Olson observes the forever villainous Lyle Bettger with a gun, theaction begins. Olson and his gang have kidnapped a wealthy blind girl.A faux pas in the film is when the father shows pictures of the girlwhen she is between 12-13 years of age. At that time she had her sightbut she looks more like she is 21 years old there.Jan Sterling shows that she had what it takes as Bettger's moll whotakes a bullet during a shoot out with a police officer. Sterling'svoice comes across as the typical dumb blonde.The Bettger character is a mean spirited thief driven to murder for$100,000. The below the subway sequences are very good even though weknow how this will all turn out.William Holden smokes his way as usual, this time as the cop assignedto the station. Barry Fitzgerald showed his mettle again playing apolice officer. He seemed to get these parts after the memorable "GoingMy Way." Fitzgerald's Irish brogue is so suitable for the part.Why is Nancy Olson still in harms way after she has informed the policeabout the dangerous Bettger and after they begin to eliminate themembers of the ruthless gang?

2012-05-14 04:12:34

Union Station

This review is from: Union Station (DVD) Just ordered the DVD of this movie. I had it on VHS, then was able to record it to DVD-R but want a professional copy also. This movie is among my favorite noir. I like William Holden and Barry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald in Naked City was excellent and he does a good job here also. The late 40's and early 50's were, in my opinion, the golden age of noir. Many fine movies were made in that genre and this is one of them. You had the tough but really sensitive cop or private eye, the girl in distress, the criminal who was out to get everyone, and some really classic settings on locale. Combine that together and you have some really good entertainment. It's a window to a bygone era. I could care less about some of the aspects some reviewers put into their synopsis. It's entertainment, what more do you want?

secondtake 2012-05-13 15:29:37

A terrific formula film. It doesn't rise above, but it takes off beautifully.

Union Station (1950)I saw "Sunset Blvd" right after seeing this one, and it really ispretty cool that the two leads here were in such different films. Andwith such ease. William Holden is the key actor in both cases--in thesense of screen time, of course, but also screen presence. But NancyOlson as a kind of sweet stereotype is right on. Good stuff to build amovie around.Or the other way around. Certainly in both cases there is a coreconcept that the actors fit into. "Union Station" has, by way of itstitle right off the bat, a clean focus. Holden plays William Calhoun,head of security for a fairly large train station in an unnamed town.The crime almost doesn't matter--it's a kidnapping with ransom--becausewe never quite feel for the victims (hostage and hostage's family) somuch as feel the investigation happen. And key there is an odd andbelievable clash (romantic clash) between Calhoun, who has to do hisjob, and Olson's character, who is a typical person who wants to dogood but doesn't understand the cool machinations of police work.The first half of the movie is more interesting for its turns of plot.It leads us through the various stages of the discovering the crime andthe nature of its extent without pushing. It's quite a nice insiderlook at the logic of it. Then the second half turns to moreaction--chasing and drama pure and simple, with some of the best lowlight shooting you can ask for. This is the era when studios are moving away from shooting on lots tofinding locations to work in, and some of the scenes are fabulous. Thestock yard chase toward the beginning is fabulous, and all theventilation tunnel scenes at the end equally so. The station itself,which takes up the bulk of the movie, is interesting and nicelycontained. This is a movie you can simply "watch" for its visual flow,and the sites. In fact, I did this twice, almost by accident, because Iwas tired in the first round and wanted to see what I missed. In termsof plot, nothing much shows up the second time around, but the editingand photography are really so fine you can watch it all twice noproblem.Back to "Sunset Blvd." then--there is on some level no comparisonbetween the two, as movies, even if there are lots of overlaps in timeand cast. It's not just that Billy Wilder is a far more inventive andinteresting director than Rudolph Mate, but the intentions were farbigger. "Union Station" is a formula picture. It's not even a filmnoir, but an action drama with low key light and vigorous photography.It's worth noticing that Mate is a photographer, and was director ofphotography for some seriously wonderful movies. And he has a handfulof great films to his resume, too. So he attacked what must have beenan obvious boilerplate movie and made it really really good. Check itout.

GManfred 2012-05-13 13:13:46

Good picture; A little dated but underrated

Viewers at times have to approach some films with an atavisticdemeanor, as though going to a museum. After all, times change, customschange, people change. Years ago many people smoked, men wore fedorasand Police methods were also different. This last seems to be LeonardMaltin's main objection to the film when he says 'dated policetechniques'. This is 2008, and with the ACLU acting as spoilers, policeno longer 'lean on' suspects.As previously stated, watch this picture with a sense of atavism and itis thoroughly enjoyable. After all, it was 1950 - many of us canremember those times, fondly. William Holden was almost a big star,Lyle Bettger was honing his talent as a heavy and Rudolph Mate was anaccomplished Director. Tension is sustained throughout and the locationphotography is interesting. Do yourself a favor and see it next timeit's on.

2012-05-12 16:01:43

Master Pieces

I love Willy Holden. If he ever comes back as a woman I'm going to stalk him/her untill he/she submits to my marriage proposal. Good movie.

gstevens-2 2012-05-12 15:48:52

Railroad lovers' treat

I remember this film shown once on TV. Yes, the story plotline is good andthe characters are entertaining, but the REAL star of the movie is theincredible historical Union Station itself. The movie moves throughoutportions of the building never before seen by the general public andrevealsthe enormous scope of Union Station. As a little girl I and family traveledoften by train. I remember the beauty of the place, the hustle and bustleofa station which was the base for the only comfortable way to travel by landat that time.Union Station itself compares in size and beauty to any otherin the country.This movie was shot during the last hey-days of the railroadpassenger trains and I earnestly wish it could be brought back to video.

2012-05-12 06:37:00

When Willy Held Forth

No question I am a film noir aficionado. Recently I have been on a tear reviewing various film noir efforts and drawing comparisons between the ones that "speak" to me and those that, perhaps, should have been left on the cutting room floor. The classics are easy; films like Out Of the Past, Gilda, The Lady From Shang-hai, and The Big Sleep need no additional comment from me as they stand on their own merits. Others, because they have a fetching (or wicked, for that matter, femme fatale to muddy the waters also get a pass, or as in Gilda a double nod for the plot and for the femme fatale. Be still my heart, at the name Rita Hayworth. I have even tried to salvage some efforts by touting their plot lines, and others by their use of shadowy black and white cinematography to overcome plot problems. Like The Third Man (and, in that case, the bizarre zither-drenched musical score as well). And that brings us to those films, like the film under review, 1951s Union Station, starring William Holden and Nancy Olson that have no redeeming film noir qualities. Now I mentioned the stars and the year of this film for a purpose. 1951 also saw this pair in one of the great film noir, no, flat-out great films of all time, Sunset Boulevard, so it is not the acting capabilities, although Brother Holden may have been a little tired from playing Norma Desmond's pet or maybe just a little bloated from being in that swimming pool too long. What is missing here is though is any spark in order to get interested in actors or plot. The plot line, in any case, is rather conventional. A con, or rather ex-con, who had plenty of time on his hands up in stir, decides that from here on in he is going to live on easy street and so whiled away those lonely prison cell hours devising a plot to get, what else, some serious dough. Easy street, after all, is no place for chump change. So naturally the idea is to kidnap a wealthy guy's daughter (who is also blind, so a conveniently easy target), hold her for ransom, and easy street here we come (of course, said con has a moll, a moll who in the end he does wrong as such bad guys will do out of habit, a blonde moll, although such molls are not always blonde). So you see, a pretty conventional plot, played out very conventionally. See said con used to work at, where else, Union Station (Chicago version), and so the swap (dough for daughter) is to take place there. What brother con did not figure on was that head railroad detective Willy Calhoun (the part played by William Holden, but don't call him Willy to his face, okay) is like some avenging angel-god when criminal hijinks take place in his precinct. A fatal mistake, a very fatal mistake, for brother con. But it takes time, too much time, for him to learn that sad lesson. Oh, and along the way, Willy (remember don't' call him that to his face) "falls" for Joyce (played by Nancy Olson), who is the one who tipped him to the possible criminal enterprise that was looming at his place of work. I will take any five minutes, no, any two minutes of Sunset Boulevard over this whole one and one half hour stew. I guess Willy (oops, William)and Nancy needed dough that year themselves.

2012-05-11 16:44:26

A Very Good, Unknown Film Noir

This is a little-known-but very good film noir. I sure wish it would come out on DVD with a good transfer. William Holden and Nancy Olson both worked on Sunset Boulevard this same year this was released and here are together again. Actually, I like the two a lot better in this film. Yes, some of the scenes are a bit dumb but the story moves well and keeps your interest which is what a good crime story-drama should do.I really enjoyed the train station, too. It looked awesome.

NewEnglandPat 2012-05-10 23:33:37

Solid kidnapping and railroad crime thriller

This neat thriller is a cops-and-robbers film that was typical of thegenre many years ago. The plot deals with kidnapping and ransom issuesand the scenes reflect the film noir style that was popular inHollywood. A commuter's concern about possible criminal activity kicksoff this mystery that unfolds in a train terminal as the police andgangsters engage in a high stakes game of nerve and wits. The cast isvery good and William Holden and Nancy Olson make a nice pair, and inspite of their testy exchanges, seem headed to a romantic conclusion.Lyle Bettger, a fine villain, does a great job here, and a thrillingchase sequence on an elevated train ending in a stockyard might be themovie's high point. Barry Fitzgerald is good at underplaying sceneswith droll humor and homespun words of wisdom and Jan Sterling has abrief role as a femme-fatale.