When the fabled Star of Rhodesia diamond is stolen on a London to Edinburgh train and the son of its owner is murdered, Sherlock Holmes must discover which of his suspicious fellow passenger... Read allWhen the fabled Star of Rhodesia diamond is stolen on a London to Edinburgh train and the son of its owner is murdered, Sherlock Holmes must discover which of his suspicious fellow passengers is responsible.When the fabled Star of Rhodesia diamond is stolen on a London to Edinburgh train and the son of its owner is murdered, Sherlock Holmes must discover which of his suspicious fellow passengers is responsible.
- Prof. William Kilbane
- (as Frederic Worlock)
- Dining Car Steward
- (uncredited)
- Mock
- (uncredited)
- Inspector MacDonald
- (uncredited)
- Alfred Shallcross
- (uncredited)
- Train Conductor
- (uncredited)
- Man on Train Platform
- (uncredited)
- Constable
- (uncredited)
- Guard
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe opening sequence showing the Edinburgh Express preparing for departure uses very short clips from Rome Express (1932).
- GoofsThe exterior shots of the train show different trains, including a model and a continental locomotive. At various times running wrong track on double track lines (UK runs on the left); numbers of carriages increase and decrease; carriage livery incorrect for LMS in 1946 (or earlier), should be LMS single colour "crimson lake"; one carriage seems to be all white (and disappears later); an overhead shot of clerestory roofed trains running wrong track, whilst all the other views are arc roofed, whether model or interior shots.
- Quotes
Sherlock Holmes: The young lady is taking her mother to Scotland for burial.
Inspector Lestrade: In a coffin?
Sherlock Holmes: That is the customary method, I believe.
- Alternate versionsAlso available in a colorized version from Hal Roach Studios, that runs 63 minutes.
- ConnectionsEdited from Rome Express (1932)
Holmes has been asked to protect a famous jewel, the Star of Rhodesia, while the owner, Lady Margaret Carstairs, takes the train from London to Edinburgh. Of course Holmes cannot prevent the theft, nor is the thief (and murderer) able to get off the train. This is why train stories are among the best settings for a whodunnit: all the suspects are in their own compartments, noone can get off the train and, unlike a whodunnit in a closed room, the detective has more freedom to interrogate the suspects one by one. Of course, the whodunnits on train trips bring their own set of cliches: you can bet that someone will try and kill the detective by pushing him or her out of the train. Sadly Terror By Night isn't without those clichés and, what's worse, gives Nigel Bruce (as Holmes's sidekick Watson) too many chances to spoil the movie by cracking unfunny jokes.
Terror By Night only lasts 60 minutes, so the pace is fast enough to keep the viewer interested and the movie entertaining. The movie is in the skilled directing hands of Roy William Neill, who shot this film shortly before he died of a heart attack. Neill directed more than 100 films between 1917 and 1946, of which ten Sherlock Holmes films and movies with intriguing titles as Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943) and The Good Bad Girl. Apart from helming two Holmes films (this one and Dressed To Kill) he also directed the much praised film noir Black Angel (starring Peter Lorre) in the last year he lived. At least Roy William Neill left the planet in glory, a worthy end of a man who was born on a ship off the coasts of Ireland.
- KuRt-33
- Aug 13, 2003
Details
- Runtime1 hour
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1