Memorable, crazy movie

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

. . . with THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN (the 2016 Emily Blunt flick based upon Paula Hawkins' 2015 novel), since I'm the only person that they know who has seen both movies. Most of my circle assumes that the show that they've actually watched--GIRL--is far more violent than LADY ON A TRAIN, since GIRL is more recent and people are getting offed with rocks and corkscrews during its story. However, LADY does not restrict itself to just polite Edwardian stranglings and Rat-a-Tat-Tat firearm slayings. During LADY a crowbar also gets a homicidal star turn. And while GIRL has two or three "red herring" candidates for the so-called "Real Killer" witnessed by a female train passenger (Blunt's Rachel), LADY's "Nikki" (Deanna Durbin) has at least FOUR bogus murder suspects to muddle her ability to finger the killer she window-peeped from HER Choo-Choo. LADY's perky heiress Nikki certainly seems to have a leg up on the depressed divorcee "Rachel" of GIRL (especially when it comes to singing talent). Though some may wince at GIRL's title, and find it demeaning if not misogynistic, LADY includes a racist reference to a person of Japanese Origin just 10 minutes or so into its convoluted tale. This, however, should be blamed upon what was then known as the U.S. Department of War, which legally forced ALL American movie studios to include such "morale-boosting" language in each and every American flick of the World War Two Era.

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 ****

LADY ON A TRAIN (Universal, 1945), directed by Charles David, stars Deanna Durbin in another change of pace from her usual "sweetheart" image of musical films, this time a fine mix of murder mystery and comedy. Having already given an emotional dramatic performance in Christmas HOLIDAY (1944), playing a troubled girl with a dark past, this time the dark-haired girl becomes a blonde who spends her Christmas holiday stirring up trouble trying to solve a murder she had witnessed.Coming from Chicago by train to spend Christmas in New York with her Aunt Martha, Nikki Collins (Deanna Durbin) a San Francisco débutante and avid reader of murder mysteries, sits in her compartment very much obsessed with her latest book, "The Case of the Headless Bride" by Wayne Morgan. As the train makes a stop, Nikki looks out her window onto an apartment building where she witnesses a middle-aged man (Thurston Hall) being murdered with a crowbar in an apartment building by the back of a mysterious man seen through the shadows after pulling down the shades. Shocked from what she's witnessed, Nikki, after arriving at Grand Central Station, bypasses her father's awaiting attorney, Mr. Haskell (Edward Everett Horton), "of the New York office," to enter a taxi bound for the nearest police station. Her report to desk sergeant Brennan (William Frawley) is not taken seriously, especially after noticing the mystery novel in her hand. After setting up residence at the Park Towers Hotel, Nikki pays a visit to mystery novelist, Wayne Morgan (David Bruce) for advice. Taking his suggestion by returning to the scene of the crime, Nikki spends the entire day doing so. Following Morgan escorting his fiancée, Joyce Williams (Patricia Morison) to the newsreel theater, Nikki notices the murder victim being presented on the theater screen as ship magnate Josiah Waring, who had fallen to his death from a step ladder at his residence. Tracing his estate to Long Island, Nikki trespasses and finds herself mistaken for Waring's young fiancée, Margo Martin (Maria Palmer), a night club singer. Going on with her masquerade, she soon encounters Waring's nephews, Jonathan (Ralph Bellamy) and Arnold (Dan Duryea); their outspoken Aunt Charlotte (Elizabeth Patterson); Mr. Saunders (George Coulouris) a mysterious night club owner with his white cat companion; Danny (Allen Jenkins), Saunders' chauffeur; and Mr. Wiggam (Samuel S. Hinds), the family attorney at the estate reading Waring's will. After further involving poor Morgan into the case, further complications, additional murders and evidence ensue leading to the case of the missing bedroom slippers. And this is how Nikki spent her Christmas holiday.Not breaking away from the traditional Durbin formula, three pleasant song interludes are presented. First comes the traditional Christmas song, "Silent Night." Durbin sings it while on the phone with her father (H.H.) from California. Rather than having the camera set still on through the two verses, it captures her moments through various angles. Next comes "Give Me a Little Kiss," performed at the Circus Club where Nikki (Durbin), masquerading the songstress, sings it in a sultry, sexy manner as she crouches around one of its patrons, Wayne Morgan, thus stirring up more trouble between him and his jealous fiancée (Morison). The third, Cole Porter's immortal, "Night and Day" sung to a dark and moody atmosphere at that same nightclub, with touches of suspense and "film noir" fashion during her performance while knowingly being in constant danger surrounded by any one watching to possibly be the real killer.An impressive supporting cast of Jacqueline De Wit (as Morgan's secretary); Horton, Jenkins, Coulouris, and Patterson, all give capable performances. Only David Bruce, making his third and final appearance opposite Durbin, is unfamiliar by both name and face. He does, however, prove satisfactory playing the harassed author constantly annoyed by Nikki while struggling for a creative story on his next mystery, unaware that he's actually living the character and situations for his book. Morison, a fine actress in her own right, is wasted in her limited role, while Horton, the man hired to watch over his client's daughter, retains his familiar befuddled personality during all this confusion.Regardless of its title, there's not much train but plenty of lady to go around. It's understandable for anyone to confuse LADY ON A TRAIN for an Agatha Christie novel or the works of director Alfred Hitchcock (whose best train suspense thrillers being of THE LADY VANISHES (1938) and STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)), yet, the film itself, adapted by Leslie Charteris, author and creator of the character, Simon Templar in "The Saint" novels, is a class by itself. Being one of many Hitchcock or Christie imitators, LADY ON A TRAIN offers a great opening and conclusion, with doses of humor in between that keeps the pace moving for 94 minutes. As much as the Durbin name and her movies have faded from memory throughout the years, due to lack of television revivals, LADY ON A TRAIN has made it on home video in the 1990s and later displayed onto DVD to assure availability for future generations to endure, especially mystery lovers like the Nikki Collins character. LADY ON A TRAIN did have its rare cable television presentation, on Turner Classic Movies, where it had its premiere March 6, 2003, and few re-broadcasts after-wards. As good highly entertaining as LADY ON A TRAIN is, it deserves to be more recognized. (*** guesses)

Deanna Durbin made many movies, mostly bad. But the ones that are good make all the others palatable, including "Lady on a train". She was a unique personality. Almost impossible not to like. For example, It's like watching John Wayne walk through one boring, formulaic plot after another and not minding because you just like John Wayne. So to be thoroughly charmed by Deanna Durbin, you have to inoculate yourself against the dumb plots she was given later in her career. First dose should be with one of the best stories. "It started with eve" That should win you over for anything to come later. Then it's good to go to the beginning, her first picture, "Three Smart Girls" when she was a little girl and won everyone's hearts ( but be warned the story and direction are bit creaky). Your third dose should be "Three smart girls grow up" by this time your ready to take on and enjoy any of her movies regardless of plot. I do admit to fast-forwarding past some of her singing in her later movies, but that's because they're badly placed in the story and tend to slow things down to a crawl. Bottom line, she's something special and not to be missed.