The Interrupted Journey

Notable for being penned by Jon Pertwee's brother, The Interrupted Journey is a particularly enjoyable film, it seems to go through different stages, melodrama to cat and mouse thriller, to murder mystery. It is very well crafted and particularly well paced.

I had difficulty trying to understand how the pulled cord could cause the accident, fortunately this is all explained.

Hobson and Todd are both excellent, although Carol's devoted wife act seems a total stretch by today's standards.

For 1949 it holds up incredibly well, a very god story, well acted, and features a really terrific twist.

It's truly worth a look. 7/10

Richard Todd (wearing a vat of Brylcreem on his hair) agonises over whether he should run away with his peroxided mistress (Christine Nordern) or return to to his stolid missus (Valerie Hobson). He jumps out of a train, and thinks he's caused multiple deaths. Lots of angst ensues, especially when it looks like the loyal missus won't believe in his innocence. As a melodrama it's not too bad, despite the cheat in the plot, and Todd's hammy performance. For once, horsey Ms Hobson's frigidity is welcome. As the loyal old stick, she refrains from chewing the scenery. Her hair, however looks as ugly as her clothes. Ms Nordern also acquits herself well. She's hefty, predatory and suitably tarty (she also sports an appalling hairdo)..but she seems genuine...there's a scene in which she kisses Todd with what looks like genuine sexual hunger - something you don't often see in twee British thrillers like this. The best thing in the film is probably the arty camera-work.. there are some really interesting angles. There's a sequence in an old hotel where the camera and direction becomes almost Bergmanesque. Todd and Vida Hope (the hotelier) all moodily lit, suddenly launch into some very slow dialogue as though there's some deep meaning to their standard mystery story exchange. Early on Dora Bryan (always a joy) appears briefly as a waitress, who serves Todd and Nordern with some rock cakes - which are integral to the plot. Non-British viewers may be baffled by these delicacies; but I urge them to inquire no further.

Just take a few deep breaths when the film-makers over-stress the plot points, and you'll find this a fun movie with a tasty wee twist on it's tail. The acting is over the top at times, with Mr. Todd doing some ridiculous grimacing, but it was made in '49' when I think these particular film-makers must have thought that their audience was pretty stupid, so they threw subtlety out the window. A good performance by the great Tom Walls. Before watching ask yourself if you are in the mood for this type of film, if so you'll have a good time-I did.

It struck me that this was a case of life imitating art. Just as Valerie Hobson tries to support her husband in the movie, she would later support her real husband John Profumo when he was involved in a scandal. The story goes up and down emotionally; I thought we'd reached a happy ending but there was a lot more story left. It's noir, lots of shadows, and a good story, though like most reviewers I was disappointed in the end. I enjoyed Tom Walls, whom I had only seen in comedies before.

Richard Todd has quarreled with wife Valerie Hobson and is running away with Christine Norden. He changes his mind, pulls the cord to stop the train and runs home. He tells some lies about where he's been, and there's a full reconciliation...until the train he was on gets into a terrible accident, killing most of the passengers, blamed on someone pulling the cord. Tom Walls -- in his last screen role -- shows up. He's been following Miss Norden on behalf of her husband. After a while, it's cleared up, and things are about to go back to normal...until it turns out that Miss Norden was killed with a missing guns before the crash. Todd is the prime suspect.

I can understand why a viewer might think the movie shifted gears too frequently, and agree that the ending is lame. Up to that insipid finale, I was having a great time, thanks to the increasing arc of insanity, and a fine, final performance by Walls. That ending, however, brought me up short.