Movies From the Hat 7 – #42 – Alex’s Pick – Night Train to Munich (1940)

This is my 3987th Review

Thanks to  Alex of Alex Raphael for this recommendation.

He suggested that I review a film directed by Carol Reed

“Traitor? Hardly, old man. He played for the Gentlemen. Only once.” – Charter

Number of Times Seen – 1 (17 Apr 2018)

Brief Synopsis – Following the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, both the German and British intelligence network try to find a Czech scientist who might be able to help win the war due to his latest invention.

My Take on it – This is a film that I knew nothing about when I chose to watch it for this series besides the overall premise.

I was hoping it would be good, but never expected it to be as good as it was since I had my doubts as to how much the Allies knew about the Nazi’s and their plans for the war so early into World War II.

The cast is superb with Rex Harrison and Margaret Lockwood both standing out among them all.

The story is froth with symbolic patriotism on both sides and that helps raise the stakes of it all since we can easily see (and fell) the selfless motives of all involved because they are solely looking out for their country’s pride and victory.

Loved the way that they were able to slightly lessen the “heaviness” of the story by including a few comic characters to “lighten” the mood in the film.

This is one of my favorite films that I had the opportunity to watch for this series

Bottom Line – Such a great thriller.  Excellent cast helps make this film so much fun because of the way things unfold.  They surprisingly knew quite a lot about the Germans and their plans so early in the war. The film reeks of patriotism from both sides and this helps raise the stakes since everyone has clear motives for their country’s victory. The addition of a few comic characters helps keep things from getting too heavy. One of the very best films that I watched for this series. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The second of four cinematic appearances by Charters and Caldicott (played by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne). They first appeared in The Lady Vanishes (1938), also written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder. They later appeared in Crook’s Tour (1941), and in Millions Like Us (1943), which was also written by Gilliat and Lauder. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)

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