Le mystère du rapide

Silly mystery that almost compensates with a white-knuckle finale. Ruggles plays an addled "deflector" who can't seem to get his sayings right—"The early worm gets the bird"! All in all, he's an imaginative twist on the usual sleuth in that he bumbles his way before getting moments of brilliance. Sort of like a mix of Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Clouseau. Too bad his shtick is not funnier. At the same time, the incoherent mystery part is submerged beneath Ruggles and two loud blondes Merkel and Carlisle who keep the decibel level peaking. They're cute, of course, and understandably get most of the screen time. Overall, I'm not sure what MGM was reaching for, but the parts don't blend that well. Still, the bang-up finale is worth the price, with scares galore and no models for the runaway trains. I'm not sure how they did it with real locomotives and passenger cars, but it comes as a stunning surprise after 50-or-so minutes of blah. Anyway, much of the cast—Ruggles, Merkel--thankfully went on to better material. Meanwhile, no more trains for me, I'll be taking air travel from now on, for sure.