The Mystery Train

Like "Defenders of the Law", this is another interesting "B" scripted by Hampton Del Ruth (this time in collaboration with skillful director Phil Whitman). As the title implies, this one is an absolute must for railroad buffs – and unlike some other "B" movies which promise much but deliver little, this one doesn't disappoint, with some terrific train footage at both the beginning and the climax (which will have most fans on the edge of their seats). Queenly villainess Hedda Hopper is top billed over the lovely Marceline Day, Nick Stuart makes a more-than-adequate hero, Bryant Washburn of course is a collaborating heavy, while Al Cooke and the super-attractive Carol Tevis play a comic groom and bride.

Marian Radcliffe (Hedda Hopper) is an awful person. She's lost her fortune and with her lawyer friend she's scheming to find a way to get back on easy street. When their train wrecks, a woman who is a prisoner chained to an officer finds the man dead...and manages to get out of the cuffs. Marian sees this and takes full advantage-- convincing the lady to pose as her daughter or else! The plan is to get this pretty young lady to use her charms on a young heir the lawyer is working for...and marry him for the money. And, since Marian knows the lady is a fugitive, she can then bleed the young lady.

Soon after this scheme is put into place, the Sheriff arrives. He's gone through all the information on the passengers and didn't see a ticket for the daughter! However, he's NOT there to arrest her. It's turned out that she wasn't guilty of a crime after all and he wanted to let the lady know she was free...but Marian promises to tell her 'daughter' but says NOTHING!!! What's next? See the film and find out for yourself.

The plot, according to IMDb, is all about a runaway train...but that is only in the final portion of the film. This is a very exciting and action-packed portion, though, and the film was far, far better than I expected from some poverty row B-movie. The acting was only fair but the writing and action were both exceptionally good...making the movie worth seeing--especially if you like Bs.

This movie is apparently in Public Domain and I downloaded it from Jimbo Berkey's fantastic site. I then uploaded to the Cloud and watched in on TV with my Streaming Media device (can I say Roku?).

I love anything to do with Railroading's Steam Days, so this would at least be a time killer on a rainy day.

However, it turned out to be a pretty darn good movie, with a neat story, good acting and GREAT railroading scenes.

Hedda Hopper was a better actress than you might have thought, if you even ever heard of her. She may even be better than her Son William, TV Perry Mason's Private Dick, Paul Drake. All the other actors were fine too.

I especially liked the Newlyweds on the Train, who along with the Porter supplied the Comic Relief. That and some genuine Hair Raising Train scenes really added to the movie.

I plan on watching this movie again and I think lots of other people might want to give it a look.

Wealthy Hedda Hopper (Marian) isn't so wealthy anymore and needs money. She discusses her predicament with her lawyer friend Bryant Washburn (William) whilst on a train journey. He suggests that it is a pity she doesn't have a daughter as the current case he is working on could prove fruitful for her if she had one. There is a valuable diamond to be passed on to whoever marries bachelor Nick Stuart (Ron) and this provides the basis for the wicked scheme. What Hedda needs is to find a 'daughter' from somewhere and set up a marriage to this rich youngster in order to get the diamond into her position. Once that is completed, job done - welcome back wealthy lifestyle.

The film has interesting beginning and ending sequences that are set aboard a train, and in between we get the trickery associated with the romance. Whilst it isn't the best acted film - Marceline Day (Joan) as the 'daughter' character has some pretty dreadful intonation and line delivery - there is still an element of tension to proceedings that keeps you watching. It gets a bit confusing at the end once the jewel goes missing and then the film resolves itself rather conveniently but it retains a dramatic interest as the audience wants to know what will happen next.

Hedda Hopper, respected and feared Hollywood gossip columnist, began her Hollywood career acting in bit parts. In this pre-Code quickie, she has a rare leading role as a society lady whose estate is dwindling fast and in order to save her "assets," she hatches a plan to inherit money. The train she's on derails and she befriends and uses a young lady who is running from the law. She vouches for her and makes her masquerade as her niece to marry into a wealthy family. Therefore, as the Aunt, she will then come into some very valuable jewelry she has been coveting. This exciting and fast-paced programmer has some predictable complications as the young man/victim and the "niece" fall in love, and she doesn't like lying to him. But Hedda threatens to expose her if she doesn't comply with this temporary deception. Logic flies out the window here. What does Hedda expect to happen – to get away with her shenanigans? But this little film is long on entertainment and has a very exciting finale on a runaway train. Every once in a while, I find a film I love to talk about and recommend to real film lovers; this is my latest one! "Mystery Train" is a long- lost film classic that should be discovered today!