The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (1952)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Harold French

Writers (WGA):

Georges Simenon (novel) and
Harold French (screenplay)

Release Date:

5 June 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

A Non-Stop Suspense Thriller

Plot:

Meak head clerk Kees Popinga realises at the same time as the police that owner De Koster has stripped...

Plot Keywords:

Railway | Foreign Language Adaptation | Train | Based On Novel

Cast

Claude Rains	...	Kees Popinga
Marius Goring	...	Lucas
Märta Torén	...	Michele Rozier
Ferdy Mayne	...	Louis
Herbert Lom	...	Julius de Koster, Jr.
Lucie Mannheim	...	Maria Popinga
Anouk Aimée	...	Jeanne, the prostitute (as Anouk)
Eric Pohlmann	...	Goin
Felix Aylmer	...	Mr. Merkemans
Gibb McLaughlin	...	Julius de Koster, Sr
Michael Nightingale	...	Popinga's Clerk
Robin Alalouf	...	Karl Popinga
Joan St. Clair	...	Frida Popinga
Michael Alain	...	Dutch Train Conductor
Jean Deveaux	...	French Train Conductor

Also Known As:

The Paris Express (USA)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #16196)

Company:

Josef Shaftel Productions Inc.

Trivia:

First Cinema film of Michael Nightingale.

A worthy Claude Rains film

It was a surprise to see this title on the shelves at the local video store: although Claude Rains is one of my favourite actors, and this film features other fine actors such as Herbert Lom, Marius Goring and Felix Aylmer, the story line didn't seem to be the usual fare rewarded with a video release. And indeed it is the story that both fascinated me and left me flat at the end.

Rains' meek company clerk is nicely judged; cunning but not worldly-wise, and seduced by the lights of Paris, in contrast to his small home town. The contrast, though, is poorly made - Rains' clerk suit looks perfect throughout, even at Maxims - and we don't see a return to family or their reaction to his plight. Even so, the story's unfolding was interesting enough to keep me watching, (as well as for the technicolor exterior shots of Paris in the early 50's).