#i was completely unfamiliar with star Durbin going into this which is a crying shame: she's brilliant; feisty‚ cute‚ with impeccable comic

[mariocki]

Lady on a Train (1945)

"Park Towers Hotel?"

"Yes. Oh, no! No, er, take me to the nearest police station, please."

"Okay, lady, but they got better rooms at the Park Towers."

[thisbluespirit]

#lady on a train#charles david#1945#american cinema#film noir#leslie charteris#robert o'brien#edmund beloin#deanna durbin#david bruce#ralph bellamy#george coulouris#dan duryea#allen jenkins#edward everett horton#jacqueline dewit#patricia morison#elizabeth patterson#maria palmer#samuel s. hinds#i was completely unfamiliar with star Durbin going into this which is a crying shame: she's brilliant; feisty‚ cute‚ with impeccable comic#timing. it can be a tough role to play the genre savvy protagonist of a (slight) parody‚ but she gives it everything (even her musical#numbers are decent). to keep things grounded‚ the film presents a gallery of familiar noir faces to play against her: there's Bellamy‚#exuding charm and red flags in equal amounts‚ the ever wonderful Duryea in full smarm mode‚ Coulouris doing his sinister stooge bit#i enjoyed this immensely (it's also an xmas movie by the by‚ and i can see it becoming a regular festive treat) but the highlight by far#was a scene in which our plucky heroine is almost caught sneaking about an old house and‚ in a moment of inspired genius‚ throws a sheet#over herself and pretends to be an armchair. it genuinely made me laugh out loud (and Durbin is a surprisingly convincing armchair)#and for that scene alone this will always have a special place in my heart

Lady on a Train (1945)

"Park Towers Hotel?"

"Yes. Oh, no! No, er, take me to the nearest police station, please."

"Okay, lady, but they got better rooms at the Park Towers."