Lady on a Train
Directed by Charles David
Written by Edmund Beloin, Robert O’Brien and Leslie Charteris
1945/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/Deanna Durbin Sweetheart Collection DVD
I couldn’t go on forever being Little Miss Fixit who burst into song. — Deanna Durbin
Lady on a Train is a beautifully photographed mystery spoof and one of Deanna Durbin’s better pictures.
Nikki Collins (Durbin) is reading a lurid mystery aboard her train from San Francisco to New York when she sees through the window a man being bludgeoned with a club in a nearby building . Novel in hand, she goes to the police to report a murder but no one will believe her. She turns to crime novelist Wayne Morgan but he is in thrall to his jealous girlfriend and is no help either. Then a newsreel reports the accidental death of a shipping magnate by falling off a ladder. This is the same man as the murder victim and Nikki is determined to investigate with or without Ward.
Nikki manages to enter the magnate’s isolated mansion where the will is being read. Everyone assumes she is Margo Martin, the victim’s night club singer girlfriend, who turns out to be the sole heir of his estate. At the reading, she meets brothers Jonathan (Ralph Bellamy) and Arnold (Dan Duryea) Waring and Mr. Saunders (George Coulouris), manager of the Circus Club where Margo works. She also manages to nab a pair of bloodstained slippers. Nikki now has to avoid her own murder at every turn. Her further investigations at the Circus Club, with the eventual aid of Wayne, give her an opportunity to sing.
The film was directed by Durbin’s husband and she never looked lovelier. The entire movie benefits from the beautiful shadows and lighting created by noir cinematographer Elwood Bredell (Phantom Lady, The Killers). While this is basically a comedy and lacks the angst characteristic of film noir, there are plenty of thrills. The only downside is that Durbin’s trained soprano does not really suit songs like “Night and Day”. She is downright sexy while singing “Give Me a Little Kiss” though and there is even a little naughty double entendre at the very end. I enjoyed this one.
Lady on a Train was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Sound, Recording.
Deanna Durbin sings “Night and Day” – cinematography by Elwood Bredell
