The Age of Commercialism

I gave it a 7.5 out of 10

Good movie but grossly overrated

Crappy film

THE PHANTOM EXPRESS is an engaging little mystery thriller from the early days of talkie cinema. The story is about steam trains that keep being derailed on a certain area of track. The rail company heads suspect sabotage but the drivers report seeing the apparition of an approaching train of which no trace is ever made. The wreck scenes are done via miniature effects which are pretty decent for the era.Eventually the mystery solves itself in a very cleverly-done way with maximum entertainment value. Before that point we get the usual padded sub-plot with romance and the like but at 55 minutes this film never outstays its welcome. It also has a keen and sympathetic performance from old-timer J. Farrell MacDonald playing the conductor and wins point for that alone.

The Phantom Express (1932)** (out of 4)A train is heading down the tracks at night when the driver notices another train coming straight towards them. He derails the train to avoid the crash but during an investigation it's discovered that there wasn't another train. Soon we learn that several trains have been forced off the track due to a "ghost train" so the playboy son of the train owner decides to investigate.THE PHANTOM EXPRESS starts off rather good as we're given the initial crash and then a small court room setting where we hear about the accident and the aftermath investigation. The idea of a ghost train is pretty interesting for a story but sadly the film pretty much falls apart from there and turns into a rather cheap "B" movie that doesn't know what to do with its subject.For the most part the film remains slightly entertaining because of those opening scenes but one really wishes that the screenwriter had done more with it. To be fair, I'm sure the writer would have wanted to do more but obviously they were working on a small budget and I'm sure very little time. The performances in the film are about average. The film does contain some nice cinematography and the train wreck scenes aren't nearly as bad as you might expect.

Trains are being derailed along a particular line by a "phantom express" (or so the old drivers think). They see engine lights and hear train noises before their engines are derailed. Nobody else can see anything.William Collier Jnr.(from "Little Ceasar" (1930)) plays Bruce Harrington, the bosses son who wants a chance to prove his worth. He begs to be allowed to investigate the mystery of the train wrecks.J. Farrell MacDonald is outstanding as the old engine driver who is convinced something is up. The scene when he is sacked and comes home to his birthday party is very powerful. The emotion he gives to the scene where he is looking at his medals for bravery is very sad.The exquisitely beautiful Sally Blane plays his daughter Carolyn. One look at her across a desk and Bruce is willing to forgo his playboy lifestyle and work under cover at the railroad - it is not that hard to believe!!!!Claire McDowall, an original member of D.W. Griffith's stock company plays the mother. David Rollins was a handsome leading man in a few of the early sound musicals (he partnered Sue Carol in "The Breakaway") has the small part of the son Jackie. Lina Basquette was a Follies beauty and a star for Cecil B. DeMille (she starred in his "The Godless Girl") - she has a couple of fiery scenes as Betty, a girl friend of Bruce's. There is a ton of talent in this film - names that conjure up memories.This is an outstanding drama that was not at all predictable. How they solve the mystery of "The Phantom Express" is surprising and not what you would expect.

Trains are crashing thanks to the sudden appearance of a phantom train on the tracks ahead of them. As the stock of the railroad plummets thanks to the crashes, the son of the railroad's owner begins to investigate.Very good little movie that tells a rather exciting story of sabotage. The train scenes are all exciting, even if they were done with models, and the fact that we get a good number of them helps to keep the tension up. If there is a problem with the movie is that some of the middle section is a bit too talky since its a bit too clear why things are happening, even if we don't know how.Definitely worth a look, especially on a rainy night