Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948)

Spies pursue a stolen diary aboard the Orient Express.

Director:

John Paddy Carstairs

Writers:

Clifford Grey (story), William Douglas-Home,

Stars:

Jean Kent, Albert Lieven, Derrick De Marney

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean Kent	...	Valya
Albert Lieven	...	Zurta
Derrick De Marney	...	George Grant
Paul Dupuis	...	Detective Inspector Jolif
Rona Anderson	...	Joan Maxted
David Tomlinson	...	Tom Bishop
Bonar Colleano	...	Sergeant West
Finlay Currie	...	Alastair MacBain
Grégoire Aslan	...	Poirier, the chef (as Coco Aslan)
Alan Wheatley	...	Karl / Charles Poole
Hugh Burden	...	Mills
David Hutcheson	...	Denning
Claude Larue	...	Andrée
Zena Marshall	...	Suzanne
Leslie Weston	...	Randall

Storyline

Spies steal a diary from an embassy whose contents could ignite a war, then one of them steals it from the others and boards the Orient Express. He ends up involving a couple who were trying to have a clandestine affair on board; other passengers include a police detective, a would-be chef, a pompous author and his lackey, and a bird enthusiast.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | sleeping car | remake | train | railway

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Taglines:

A Thousand Miles of Thrills, Drama and Excitement!

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Genres:

Thriller | Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French Italian

Release Date:

30 April 1949 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Schlafwagen nach Triest

Company Credits

Production Co:

George H. Brown Productions, Two Cities Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

First film of Rona Anderson.

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Goofs

When the sergeant and the bird enthusiast are getting acquainted, the background seen through the train window includes two large signs, both mirror-reversed.

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Connections

Remake of Rome Express (1932)

User Reviews

The Orient Express in Post - World War II Europe

There is something about trains as a setting for crime, espionage, and mystery. Agatha Christie used it in several of her stories, the most notable being turned into the film "Murder On The Orient Express". Other choice examples include Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes", Carol Reed's "Night Train To Munich", "The Great Train Robbery" (with Sean Connery), and "Break Heart Pass". The historical settings of some of these stories dim any possible contemporary relevance from when they were made, but some of them remind us of the latter. Hitchcock and Reed's films were definitely aimed at the threat of Nazi Germany. And this film, "Sleeping Car to Trieste" was definitely set in post - 1945 Europe, and hinted (somewhat broadly) at what was the country that the train's hidden cargo was aimed at.

Albert Lieven and Jean Kent are foreign agents who steal a valuable diary from an embassy in Paris. Allan Wheatley is an accomplice, to whom the diary is passed by Lieven. But two unexpected problems arise. First, Lieven had to kill a servant in the embassy to complete the theft of the diary and get away. Secondly Wheatley has doubled crossed his partners, and is fleeing (via the Orient Express) to sell the diary for a large sum of money. Lieven and Kent soon have found out where to find Wheatley, and pursue him. However, they are soon involved with not only tracking down Wheatley (who is hiding out in a train compartment) but with an adulterous couple, an idiot friend (David Tomlinson) of the man in the adulterous couple relationship, a wealthy, autocratic writer (Finley Currie) and his beaten down secretary, a bird watcher, a French police inspector, and the train's cook (Gregoire Aslan) who is going through a purgatory listening to a cooking "efficiency" expert from England who knows nothing about making edible food. The film follows the twists and turns until the showdown moment when Lieven and Kent may get the stolen diary back or not.

I'm not a spoiler so I won't ruin the conclusion for viewers (who won't be disappointed). My concern here is what is the historical edge to when the film was made (1948). Lieven and Kent are from an Eastern European country, and Lieven cannot get into the country for some political reason (which Wheatley is counting on). But the diary would (if published) hurt the current regime (although it might cause another European War). What is this country, and why does it seem in the interest of the west (represented by the French inspector) for them to retrieve the stolen diary? Obviously the answer is the setting in the title: "Sleeping Car to Trieste". "Trieste", the last "western" European city/stop on the Orient Express, is on the border of Italy and Yugoslavia. In 1948 Yugoslavia was one of the Communist states set up by Russia following the end of World War II. But that year, it was becoming apparent to England and France (and the U.S.) that Yugoslavia was not going to be a robot creation of the U.S.S.R. Under Tito that country was struggling to practice socialist doctrine but not to automatically jump to Russian demands. As Yugoslavia is mountainous, and far from Russia, it could get away with this. But Yugoslavia was made up of six or seven nations, and if they were set at each other's throats the system would collapse. It was to the interest of the west to help (quietly) prop up Tito.

It fits into the plot on several levels. Lieven held military rank in the country prior to 1945. He must have been an officer in the Chetnik forces that Tito and his partisans defeated and decimated. He has no love for that regime, and if the published diary destroys it all to the good (and who cares about the European consequences - Yugoslavia, the creation of the Serbs after World War I, was built from the ruins of 1914 Europe due to the Serbian assassination of Franz Ferdinand). The country that resulted, though, was really a difficult balancing act (note how quickly it has collapsed in the years since Tito died in the 1980s). As Finley Currie comments in the film it is a crack-pot country, as opposed to say France, Spain, England, or Holland. This is actually wrong. Conflicting nationalist movements bother France, Spain, and England to this day - it's just that the people seem more homogeneous on the surface. But Currie, supposedly a world peace advocate but actually a blow-hard, has been insulted by being denied entrance to Yugoslavia by the government. He is venting his frustration with his comment. The movie flows very quickly, and is a solid entertainment. As such I recommend seeing it to anyone who wants to see a good film of intrigue.