This was Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s last movie filmed in England before leaving for Hollywood.\u00a0 The plot involves a train somewhere in central Europe with some British citizens on their way back home.\u00a0 An old English lady named Miss Froy is involved in some kind of espionage.\u00a0 She befriends a young woman named Iris Henderson who is going home to marry a rich man she doesn\u2019t love.\u00a0 When Miss Froy disappears from the train and all the other passengers and crew swear she was never there Iris recruits Gilbert Redman to help her solve the mystery.\u00a0 There are comic touches that involve a pair of friends named Caldicott and Charters who are obsessed with reaching England in time to watch the National Cricket match.\u00a0 In fact, the comic bit they did in this film was so popular that the actors, Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford respectively, reprised their characters in a number of films for many years afterward.<\/p>\n
Hitchcock builds up the characters with plenty of background and personal details in scenes that take place before the train ride and once the young couple begin delving into the mystery it is obvious that a criminal conspiracy is taking place to kidnap Miss Froy, although no apparent reason exists.\u00a0 On the train is a noted brain surgeon and he tries to convince Iris that a serious blow to the head that she sustained just before getting on the train is the source of her delusion about the missing Miss Froy.\u00a0 Later on, we find out that he is the ringleader of the plot.<\/p>\n
Finally, Miss Froy is freed and she reveals to Iris and Gilbert that she is a British spy and she must flee the train and go cross country to return to England.\u00a0 But first she teaches Gilbert a musical phrase that is code for some top-secret information.\u00a0 The adventure comes to a climax in a gun battle between the storm trooper and the English passengers as they attempt to take control of the train and flee over a border to a non-hostile country.\u00a0 After several casualties they escape and return to safety.\u00a0 When they reach England, Iris decides to forsake her rich loveless bridegroom and go off with Gilbert.\u00a0 But first they head for the British foreign office to give them the musical code message.\u00a0 But just as they reach the office Gilbert realizes he has forgotten the music.\u00a0 But then hears the tune being played on a piano in the room they are about to enter and they see Miss Froy playing the tune.<\/p>\n
This all sounds like a ridiculous jumble and in a way it is.\u00a0 There are all kinds of odd things going on as there always are in a Hitchcock film.\u00a0 A homicidal magician complete with a booth for making women disappear.\u00a0 A mysterious burn victim with bandages that cover her face who is brought on the train well after Miss Froy disappeared.\u00a0 There\u2019s a deaf-mute nun in high heels.\u00a0 A platoon of storm troopers that I guess are supposed to be German.\u00a0 An avalanche, a murdered singer, clog dancers, a comedic Italian innkeeper who promises things he can\u2019t deliver in four or five languages and scantily clad women.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s actually highly entertaining.\u00a0 All the little details of the story are well done and diverting.\u00a0 The various characters are given enough development and even the villains are well rounded characters.\u00a0 I thoroughly enjoy this movie and highly recommend it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This was Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s last movie filmed in England before leaving for Hollywood.\u00a0 The plot involves a train somewhere in central Europe with some British<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[239,238,237],"tags":[494,747,43,191,38,1355],"class_list":["post-12708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","category-classic-movie-reviews","category-reviews","tag-alfred-hitchcock","tag-england","tag-movie-review","tag-ocf-classic-movie-review","tag-review","tag-reviews"],"yoast_head":"\n