Rome Express (1932)

“Discretion is the better part of Wagons Lits.” – Tom Bishop

Number of Times Seen – 1 (12 Mar 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Aboard a train bound for Rome, a motley crew of personalities all clash while trying to discover the location of a stolen piece of art.

My Take on it – This is yet another film from the early 1930’s that I had never heard about before seeking out new films form that era to try and watch.

This is actually a very enjoyable film that almost entirely takes place within the confines of a train.

The film has a fun mystery and despite the overall idea having been used many times over the years, this one still manages to feel fresh and original.

The film gives us a diverse group of characters who help make things even more enjoyable to watch because of the different kinds of interactions that they end up having with one another.

The added bonus that the viewer knows certain points of information that the other characters lack also helps keep things moving at a great pace.

This film’s story possibly could have been even better had the run time of the film been longer since that would have given them the chance to further explore and develop these characters.

Unfortunately, they mostly seem like caricatures instead of something much deeper like we would hope for.

The story moves along really well and manages to constantly stay both intriguing and mysterious as things are slowly revealed to us and to the other characters.

Love the way that the self contained aspects of the film help raise the level of suspense as the trains gets closer and closer to its final destination.

Bottom Line – Very enjoyable whodunit that has been copies so many times ever since. The diverse group of characters helps make this even more fun to watch because we get to see their interactions while we have knowledge that the other characters don’t yet have. The story might have been even better of they spent more time developing each of these characters, but the short run time doesn’t allow for that and they all seem too much like caricatures instaed of something deeper. The plot moves along at a nice pace and manages to stay intriguing and mysterious all the way until the end. The self contained aspect of this story works really well since it raises the suspenseas the train gets closer and closer to its destination. Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The first production at Shepherd’s Bush studios. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy (7/10)