Union Station (1950)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Rudolph Maté

Writers:

Sydney Boehm (writer)
Thomas Walsh (novel)

Release Date:

1951 (Chile)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Drama

Plot:

Secretary Joyce Willecombe grows suspicious of two men boarding her train and is referred to 'Tough Willy' Calhoun...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Based On Novel | Actor Shares First Name With Character

Cast

William Holden	...	Det. Lt. William Calhoun
Nancy Olson	...	Joyce Willecombe
Barry Fitzgerald	...	Inspector Donnelly
Lyle Bettger	...	Joe Beacom
Jan Sterling	...	Marge Wrighter
Allene Roberts	...	Lorna Murchison
Herbert Heyes	...	Henry L. Murchison
Don Dunning	...	Gus Hadder - Hood Trampled in Cattle Pen
Fred Graff	...	Vince Marley
James Seay	...	Det. Eddie Shattuck
Parley Baer	...	Det. Gottschalk (as Parley E. Baer)
Ralph Sanford	...	Det. Fay
Richard Karlan	...	Det. George Stein
Bigelow Sayre	...	Det. Ross
Charles Dayton	...	Howard Kettner

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #14462) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Robert Cornthwaite's film debut.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The exterior is clearly Union Station in Los Angeles. The elevated railway segment is in Chicago. In addition, there were no elevated railways in Union Station in Los Angeles.

Quotes:

Inspector Donnelly: The people you have to deal with are lice. They never keep their word to anyone about anything; they won't to you.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Stop with the Shrieking already!

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