A writer eloping with his mistress by train has second thoughts, pulls the emergency brake, bails out and witnesses the train's collision with another train, events eventually leading to mur... Read allA writer eloping with his mistress by train has second thoughts, pulls the emergency brake, bails out and witnesses the train's collision with another train, events eventually leading to murder and a police manhunt.A writer eloping with his mistress by train has second thoughts, pulls the emergency brake, bails out and witnesses the train's collision with another train, events eventually leading to murder and a police manhunt.
Elsie Wagstaff
- Wilding's Maid
- (as Elsie Wagstaffe)
Geoffrey Bellman
- Passenger
- (uncredited)
Alan Gordon
- Ticket Inspector
- (uncredited)
Hope Matthews
- Elderly Gentleman
- (uncredited)
Featured reviews
This movie is a pretty good surprise : the story with multiple twists and constant psychological details is really gripping, cinematography is impressive in the important sequences, and casting serves intelligently the story especially Valerie Hobson (so distinguished) and Richard Todd who form a handsome couple. Better than Hitchcock?
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.
This is a good film for anybody who likes Hitchcock, Film Noir, Detective or Romance movies. It manages to hit all these bases nicely. There is excellent cinematography, a reasonably involving script and some very surprising, yet natural, twists in the plot. While the tension does not match Hitchcock at his best, it does stand up well against a lot of lesser Hitchcock efforts. For example, it is better than "the Wrong Man," "the Paradine Case," or "Under Capricorn." and as good as "Secret Agent." The actors were all fine, with Christine Norden giving her usual better than they deserve performance. She was perhaps the sexiest women working in British cinema at the time.
Here's the basic plot setup. A married man and married woman leave their spouses and run away on a train together. Racked with quilt, the man decides to return to his home. It appears that the emergency chord on the train gets pulled and a train wreck ensues killing 10 people. The man soon becomes the chief suspect as the person who caused the accident, yet there is much more going on here than first appears.
Some people might find the style of the ending a bit of a disappointment, but I think it was actually pretty fresh in 1949, and not at all the cliché it later became when overused in later movies and television shows. It is more logical and more satisfying than most endings of this style.
Here's the basic plot setup. A married man and married woman leave their spouses and run away on a train together. Racked with quilt, the man decides to return to his home. It appears that the emergency chord on the train gets pulled and a train wreck ensues killing 10 people. The man soon becomes the chief suspect as the person who caused the accident, yet there is much more going on here than first appears.
Some people might find the style of the ending a bit of a disappointment, but I think it was actually pretty fresh in 1949, and not at all the cliché it later became when overused in later movies and television shows. It is more logical and more satisfying than most endings of this style.
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.
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.
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.
Did you know
- TriviaMost of the people listed in the newspaper as killed in the train crash were actually names of the movie crew: Jack Hanbury, Desmond Mavis (Davis), Joan Davis, Erwin Hillier, and Ivan King.
- GoofsThe train stops unexpectedly when the communication cord is pulled. A goods train subsequently collides with it. A member of the Railway Accident Investigation Department believes that the pulling of the communication cord caused the collision. While rear-end collisions on railways are not unknown, railways have complex systems to prevent them. These systems too may fail, but no railway official would believe that an unexpected stoppage would cause a collision.
- Quotes
Jerves Wilding: Everything's gone the way I wanted it since the time you decided to run away with my wife.
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Das Ende einer Reise
- Filming locations
- Alliance Studios, Twickenham, Middlesex, England, UK(studio: made at THE ALLIANCE STUDIOS Riverside.)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 20m(80 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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