★ 7 / 10
F this were to be a variant on
CinemaSerf
f this were to be a variant on the famous Agatha Christie train story, then "Hercule Poirot" may have ended up having an entire train's worth of murders to…
f this were to be a variant on the famous Agatha Christie train story, then "Hercule Poirot" may have ended up having an entire train's worth of murders to investigate. Rarely, can any one journey involve so many miscreants as this one from Paris to Rome. Geographically, it isn't that far - but when a man goes aboard intent on acquiring a recently stolen van Dyke painting - the folks who originally pinched it are also on the hunt - it takes on dangerously risky proportions. Conrad Veidt is particularly effective, as is Sir Cedric Hardwicke as the publicity-seeking magnate who would give "Scrooge" a run for his money in private, and Esther Ralston as the wannabe actress "Asta". Frank Vosper (who co-wrote some of this with Sidney Gilliat and Clifford Grey), Hugh Williams and Finlay Currie all contribute well to the quickly paced, frequently pithy dialogue with a gently increasing degree of suspense aided by some convincing looking sets and a genuinely good story. Some of the travelling effects are dated, now - but that doesn't impact too much on what is an enjoyable crime caper with plenty of twists.
★ 8 / 10
A film I never heard of that was a genuine treat
AlsExGal
Rome Express is a Gaumont British production which can be seen as a prototype for future thrillers than would be set entirely on trains. In particular it makes…
Rome Express is a Gaumont British production which can be seen as a prototype for future thrillers than would be set entirely on trains. In particular it makes one think of Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes which is not too surprising since both films have the same screenwriter, Sidney Gilliat (who would later be director of Green for Danger and the excellent State Secret).
Aside from the train setting, however, in which various passengers intermingle with one another, with crime and murder to be a part of the course of this trip, this film has, like the later Hitchcock film, a lightness in tone that adds to its pleasure. One seriously has to wonder, in fact, if the future Sir Alfred didn't see this film before he directed his own variation on it.
As directed by Walter Forde, Rome Express moves with the same speed as the express train on which the story is set, the main plot involving a stolen Van Dyke painting hidden in a briefcase and two partners of the thief, one of them very deadly, indeed, in search of the now frightened man who decided to abscond with the painting on his own.
The largely British cast is fine, including Joan Barry (a Hitchcock leading lady around this time in Rich and Strange) and, particularly effective, Donald Calthrop, whom Hitchcock buffs may recall as the blackmailer in Blackmail, Alfred's first talkie. In this film he's the man with the hidden Van Dyke.
Cedric Hardwicke also scores very well here as a smug, penny pinching millionaire forever castigating his cowering manservant for some minor misdeed. Esther Ralston, a very attractive silent film star whose talkie career would never reach the same heights as her silent one, is quite winning in the role of a movie star on board the train who becomes accidentally mixed up with the art thieves.
Saving the best for last is Conrad Veidt, in great form here, as the more sinister of the two art thieves searching for the passenger (Calthrop) who has the painting. Veidt brings an intelligence and polished flair to his performance. Ruthless as he is when he has a man cornered, he is also an elegant scoundrel who presents a smiling, affable facade to those around him.
Veidt is highly effective in his role, both attractive and deadly as a cobra. If anyone in this film exudes star presence it is definitely the German actor probably best remembered today for his performance as Major Strasser in Casablanca.
If you're into thrillers, particularly those set aboard trains, try seeking this film out. You should be more than satisfied.
80%
AUDIENCE
· 50 ratings
6.6/10
699
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