"Romance and Adventure Roaring Through the Night!"
A valuable Van Dyck painting has been stolen from an art museum in Paris and the thief (Conrad Veidt) is onboard the Rome Express heading to Italy. This sinister criminal is in search of a Mr. Poole (Donald Calthrop, Blackmail) who snatched the painting from him in an attempt to double-cross him.
There is also a motley band of characters onboard the train whose lives will all intertwine with this criminal during the course of their journey to Rome. There is Asta Marvelle (Esther Ralston) a beautiful American movie star; Alistair McBain (Cedric Hardwicke) a millionaire philanthropist who is traveling with his secretary Mills (Eliot Makeham); a pair of adulterous lovers (Harold Huth and Joan Barry); a golfing bore (Gordon Harker); and a beetle-hunting police chief (Frank Vosper).
Rome Express was one of the very first thrillers set on a train and it inspired a number of similarly themed films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1935). Walter Forde beautifully directed this taut little picture and utilized a number of innovative filming tricks including long panning shots and fast cuts between scenes, but what makes it truly stand out is its snappy dialogue by Frank Vosper and Sidney Gilliat who, not surprisingly, also penned the scripts to The Lady Vanishes and Night Train to Munich (1940).
Rome Express speeds along at a fast pace and is never tiresome. The ending could have been tied up a little more snugly but on the whole, it is good entertainment. The interactions between the various characters, most of whom are strangers to one another, drive the story forward and in this respect, Rome Express is similar to The Ghost Train (1931), which, not surprisingly, was also directed by Walter Forde.
Conrad Veidt, who was making his English-speaking debut, is devilishly charming as the villain while Cedric Hardwicke is entertaining to watch as the penny-pinching philanthropist who delights in being demeaning to his secretary Mills. Also in the cast is Hugh Williams and Finlay Currie.
Rome Express is currently available on DVD and Blu-Ray through Network Distributing.
"My love is like a red, red rose...."
MGM journeys into the realm of espionage with Above Suspicion (1943), a witty jaunt into spy-laden pre-World War II Europe.
Fred MacMurray plays Richard Myles, an Oxford college professor, who is happily ready to embark on a Continental honeymoon with his bride Frances (Joan Crawford). Before they depart however, a former colleague of his, now with the foreign office, asks the couple if they would do a favor to him, and jolly ol' England, by inquiring into the whereabouts of a scientist who has disappeared within the confines of the Fuhrer's Vaterland. He holds the secret plans to the Nazi's latest diabolical invention - underwater magnetic mines. As honeymooners they would be considered above suspicion and could look into the matter discreetly. Or so they are told. Ach du lieber!...before they can utter "uberraschung" they are caught up in a web of intrigue that leads them from Paris to the pine-laden Alpine forests of Innsbruck.
Above Suspicion, based on the novel by Helen MacInnes, is an easy-to-follow and briskly paced thriller with some rattling good moments of excitement. Its purely escapist plot is given credibility through its deft handling by director Richard Thorpe (Night Must Fall, Ivanhoe) and its stellar cast. The film plays out along the lines of Desperate Journey with grand morale-boosting elements but very little plausibility.....but perhaps that's what makes both of these pictures so entertaining. Above Suspicion was released at the height of World War II, a time when so many American and British citizens were eager to make an active contribution to corking up the war for good.
"Darling, the less you know, or appear to know, the better"
At one time or another we're all drawn in by the allure of being a spy; deciphering codes, staking out suspicious bookshop fronts, wearing disguises, hiding out in secluded chalets and, of course, capturing public enemies. Richard and Frances are no different, and Frances is especially thrilled to help the British secret service but, unlike his wife, Richard realizes the danger ahead. En route, our American heroes stumble upon cryptic clues, all the while being spied on with peering abnormality by dubious faces and sundry characters. Their only key to unmasking friends from foes lies within the lyrics to Robert Burns eighteenth century melody.
In addition to our leading cast, Above Suspicion features some excellent character support from Basil Rathbone, Felix Bressart, Reginald Owen, Richard Ainley, Bruce Lester and Sara Haden. Conrad Veidt is especially appealing in his role as Herr Seidel, one of the Brit's loyal allies within Germany. Veidt was often pigeon-holed as villains and it is a pleasant change of face to see him play this underground hero. Veidt died of a massive stroke shortly after filming commenced and Hollywood lost one of its most talented actors because of his passing. His entertaining dance floor sequence is a highlight of the film.
Fred MacMurray was making a departure from his recent Claudette Colbert comedy teamings to take a dramatic turn and this role suits him quite well. Incidentally, Colbert would have made an excellent Frances had Crawford declined the part.
Joan Crawford had been loyal to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer since they gave her her start in 1925. She made seventeen films with the studio but by the early 1940s her star-status was beginning to wane and fresh faces like Lana Turner, Hedy Lamarr, and Greer Garson were receiving all of the choice scripts. Eager to showcase her acting ability, Crawford accepted a lower salary and switched to the less prestigious Warner Brothers studio after the completion of Above Suspicion. Within one year she was up for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal in Mildred Pierce.
Within Above Suspicion are hidden elements of Hitchcock-like suspense, featuring a labyrinth of twists and turns, car chases, and an assassination attempt at an opera, a scene taken right out of The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). Overall, the film is like a tasty strudel filled with chunks of drama, comedy and action, all enfolded within thin layers of plot to make up a taut 90-minute thriller.
This post is our contribution to the super-sneaky Snoopathon hosted by Movies Silently. Be sure to check out all the great posts about the nefarious spies, agents, and Mata Hari's that appeared in films from 1920-1965.
