Sleeping Car to Trieste

Entertaining intrigue on a train, this is somewhat similar to, and the next best film of its type after Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes". There are a few unnecessary characters, but they don't spoil proceedings.

Sleeping Car to Trieste is pretty much a standard post-war British spy thriller set on The Orient Express with all the usual sets and train mock-ups. Nothing too cerebral but light entertainment when you have nothing better to do.

Two spies board a train in pursuit of their partner, who has absconded with a politically explosive diary one of them stole from an Embassy party the night before. A solid thriller/drama that largely ignores the cat-and-mouse potential of its plot in order to focus on the characters - of which there are far too many (six characters, all of whom are there purely for comic relief, are completely dispensable). This is the only movie I can think of in which you will see a man accidentally stab himself in the back...

Some films are celebrated for turning up under other titles in several decades; for instance The Most Dangerous Game resurfaced as - amongst others - The Hounds Of Zaroff and Run For The Sun and in Sleeping Car To Trieste we have another take on Rome Express and Stamboul Train. In Rome Express the item stolen from Paris was a valuable painting, this time around it is a diary that, in the wrong hands could result in war. In both cases of course it's merely an excuse for the pursuers to encounter a Hollywood bomber crew on board the train. In this case Jean Kent and Albert Lieven, in pursuit of Alan Wheatley, encounter the likes of David Tomlinson Derick de Marney, Finlay Currie, Hugh Burden, Bonar Colleano just for openers. It's a pleasant enough time-waster if you have nothing better to do.

I had never heard of Director John Paddy Carstairs, but on the strength of SLEEPING CAR TO TRIESTE, I have to rate him far above average. He manages to extract superlative performances across the board from an international cast of not particularly well known actors. One of his main achievements is the atmosphere that he manages to inject into a train trip, and the merit of that has to be shared with the wonderful cameraman, Jack Hildyard, whose B&W photography is exquisite beyond words. Derrick de Marney, a good but not overly talented actor best known for his part in Hitch's YOUNG AND INNOCENT (1937) was the only name I recognized in the cast. I must now add the names of Albert Lieven, Grégoire Aslan, Finlay Currie and, especially, Paul Dupuis as the consummate multi-language speaking detective Jolif, all pull off memorable performances. Superb dialogue, logical and gripping script. Must-see masterpiece. 10/10

I cannot praise this film enough: screenplay, acting, direction and cinematography absolutely first class. The sophistication and delicacy of acting, especially by Jean Kent is something that virtually has gone extinct in the modern era of crude, vicious gun-toting, ham-fisted brutes that populate American cinema. There is one memorable scene after another. The first scene between Derrick DeMorney and Rona Anderson can only be described as exquisite. And the comic touches! Eves Chanteau, David Tomlinson, Finlay Currie, Hugh Burden are a bow! Just a delight.