Mystery Junction (1951) User Reviews (14)

The futility of heroism

[aegoss · 6/10 · 13 December 2013]

The scenario in which a group of people find themselves in a closed environment where a murder is then committed by an unseen hand was not new when this short black and white film was made. However, Mystery Junction plays out the tale neatly and efficiently, keeping us guessing all the way, although following exactly who has done what to whom becomes increasingly difficult.

The acting is excellent, the cinematography exemplary - there are some quite classical compositions, one in particular towards the end. This is a very British film, the drama comes from tension, not from heroics. Indeed, that heroism is futile is made plain throughout, and even where violence brings results, they will ever play you false.

The quality of this film is masked by its low budget, and, on the print I just saw on television, murky resolution. Two of the cast, Sydney Tafler and Ewen Solon, went on to prominent TV careers, and most of the others found plenty of work in television. However, for Pearl Cameron, whose performance was a minor highlight of the film, this was her second, and last credit.

While not an outstanding film, Mystery Junction is worth watching if you value tight, understated drama.

A Handsome B Mystery

[boblipton · 6/10 · 18 April 2019]

Mystery writer Sidney Taffler is speaking to Christine Silver as they travel on the train, about how he writes his stories. Suddenly a scream is heard. They investigate and discover one of the crew has been knocked out and his uniform stolen. There's also a detective transporting Martin Benson to his trial. To investigate, most of the passengers are taken to a station. As they wait, a storm rises outside. A shot rings out, and the detective is killed. Half the passengers are members of Benson's gang. They prepare to leave, but Taffer points out that no one admits to killing the detective. The target was Benson. They start to work out who wants him dead.

It's a nicely composed classical locked-room mystery, decently acted, and brilliantly shot by DP Robert LaPresle, with carefully composed side-lighting to make the setting dark and oppressive, gradually giving away to brighter lighting as suspects are eliminated -- sometimes by shooting. It's good, sturdy B Movie work, composed for economy on two sets, with competent but inexpensive actors.

Period Piece

[crumpytv · 7/10 · 5 November 2021]

Considering this is 70+ years old it is not too bad.

Budget confined to limited set scenes, basically on a train then a waiting room, it is a classic British whodunnit with a very worthwhile twist at the end.

Plenty of atmosphere, cold and fake snow LOL.

Certainly a great looking movie, sadly it gets a bit muddled.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 6/10 · 31 October 2017]

Larry Gordon wakes up on board a train journey, to an adoring fan of his crime writer, Miss Owens. The pair hear a loud scream and set off to investigate, whilst searching the train the pair stumble upon two detectives who are holding dangerous prisoner Steve Harding, who is awaiting trial for murder. Later a body is discovered, and with the horrendous weather stopping the train, Larry concludes that the killer must be a passenger on the train.

I waited with anticipation to see this film, being a huge whodunnit fan, this seemed in theory to fit the bill. Very much a B movie, although from the point of view of filming, production values etc. It looks very slick, it is very nicely made in fact. The acting is pretty good, Sydney Tafler and Barbara Murray are the standouts, both excellent in their respective parts.

I think the film attempted to cross genres, the typical British whodunit, close setting, quirky suspects, and it also tried to import some of the gangster genre that had been popular, towards the end there's a big shoot out scene, which seems oddly placed. The plot loses it a little, becoming a little messy.

It didn't satisfy me from the point of view of a whodunnit, as the actual mystery element was a little lacking, but in many other ways it worked well, overall a solid movie, but not a classic, it's watchable.

6/10.

You'll Laugh In The End

[TondaCoolwal · 7/10 · 2 November 2021]

Compact little B-movie crime thriller starring Sydney Tafler as mystery writer Larry Gordon. Gordon is button-holed in a railway compartment by an adoring fan who wants to discuss his writing technique. Suddenly a scream is heard and the pair investigate, checking the varied array of passengers in the rest of the carriage. They find that a police officer has been murdered on the train and the ticket collector knocked unconcious and his uniform jacket stolen. All of the suspects end up in the waiting room of a snow-bound station. Then another policeman in charge of a prisoner, is shot. But, was he the intended target? And why do most of the passengers seem to have some connection with the criminal? The action and dialogue seem at times rushed and rather preposterous. Cliches and red herrings abound. Is there something else going on? Bear with it and you'll find out!

Rather like a train at Christmas...slow to get going but eventually gets there.

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 31 December 2014]

This is a thriller which starts well ,then rather looses its way in talk,before ending a shootout more typical of Westerns.Unusually Sidney Tafler plays the hero.It starts on a train where he is recognised for his crime writing by a fellow passenger.Whilst the action is on the train it is quite interesting.However when the passengers get off at the snow bound station it rather hits the buffers.Texhniques beloved of quota quickies.i counted 10 characters in one shot.each would speak his piece and it would then be the turn of the next actor,so no editing is required.this middle section is over talkative and dull.However towards the end the pace picks up again with lots of gun play.The last scene is very reminiscent of "Woman In The Window".In the end a fairly average British B film.

Fun enough

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 7 November 2021]

I quite liked this little murder mystery which feels like a classic crime novel from the 1930s. Sydney Tafler, always an underrated presence, plays a crime author travelling by train who becomes stranded at a remote snowbound station with an escaped prisoner for company. A whole host of supporting characters keep you guessing as to the identity of the nefarious ones, and despite the short running time, there are plenty of twists and turns along the way. The ending's a cop out, but until that point it's fun enough.

Not too bad

[byron-116 · 5/10 · 13 February 2020]

It's a murder mystery - or is it? Pretty enjoyable but most of the film is in a snowbound railway station

It's not quite the Orient Express, but it's nearly as thrilling.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 4 March 2024]

This isn't even an Agatha Christie story, written and directed by Michael McCarthy, but I found it as enjoyable and possibly even more satisfying simply because it's nice and compact. Sydney Tafler is a well known mystery writer, or at least to the little old lady who recognizes him, sitting across from her on the train, and he becomes instant detective when a series of odd situations occur, stranding him and the other passengers (including a man accused of murder) in a snowed in train station in the middle of nowhere.

This is an above average quota quickie, maybe rather stagy and claustrophobic, but I found that intriguing in the sense that it added to the moodiness of the film and gave an opportunity to give each of the characters to be developed in interesting ways. The fact that there really aren't any stars is also a plus because of no distractions, and the cast genuinely does a good job. Lots of twists and turns, some confusing, but I had a good time watching it so that's all that matters.

An OK mystery yarn

[searchanddestroy-1 · 27 February 2011]

It's actually a British film. We think at the beginning of an Agatha Christie story, or something like Alfred Hitchcock's LADY VANISHES, a suspense aboard a train. A sort of closed theatre topic. And it is. But not in the way we may expect. It turns to have some kind of American point of view, in the middle of the film. It is more interesting than the films made in the early talkies, boring at the most. Of course, this feature is much talkative, we could not wait for action or gunfights.

I don't know the director, maybe he made some stuff for TV later. Well, let's be generous, it's not a bad programmer. I won't describe the exact story and spoil you the film, even if I could with a warning.

Poor

[leavymusic-2 · 5/10 · 25 May 2020]

Dull, Wooden acting, even Sidney Tafler doesn't help it out much. Still better it's better than a lot of rubbish on Netflix Watch the ghost train 1941, for a much better film in as similar vain, ie stuck at station with baddies about.

Excellent murder mystery

[XhcnoirX · 8/10 · 28 April 2016]

While on a train travelling through a snow storm, detective novel author Sydney Tafler is autographing one of his novels for Christine Silver. When he starts to explain to her the process of writing a detective novel, they hear a scream, coming from outside, and when they look around, they find fresh snow near the exit. They decide to alarm the train guard but he's been sapped and mugged. After poking around some more, they find police detective Ewen Solon is on the train, accompanying criminal Martin Benson to an important court appearance. Solon's partner has disappeared, and he believes whoever mugged the guard must've thrown his partner off the train. He orders everybody from their coach off the train at the next stop. But when the train leaves again, the group find themselves trapped inside the train station waiting room as the snow storm has blocked all the roads. While they are waiting for the weather to improve, the phone line is cut, and soon after an unknown person shoots Solon, giving Benson a chance to take control of the situation. Tafler however believes the bullet was meant for Benson, and he manages to convince him of it. Benson orders Tafler to flush out the killer...

Only mildly noir-ish, this murder mystery yarn is a beautiful mix of Agatha Christie meets Alfred Hitchcock (in his British period). The stranded group also has several women including a gorgeous Barbara Murray as a showgirl hitching a ride on the train and Pearl Cameron as Benson's gun moll. Tafler is (again!) great here, in a less shady role, but he pulls off the quick-thinking author really well. The man is simply a joy to watch. Benson is not far behind. Tafler, Benson and Murray carry the movie, but the cast does a great job overall.

The movie moves at a brisk pace, it lasts just over an hour, and while it's almost a two-acter, one half on the train, one half in the waiting room, it never fails to entertain. It's got a lot of dialogue, but also a lot of tension and suspense. Tafler does a good job of making Benson wary of his own men (as well as his gun moll) while Benson is ruthless and not above killing to make a point. As the movie progresses all the different relationships between the characters come to the surface, including why the killer attempted to, indeed, kill Benson.

Director (and writer) Michael McCarthy and DoP Robert LaPresle already worked with Tafler and Benson on 'Assassin For Hire', which is a nicely made movie. But this is the superior movie. It doesn't have the shadowy look of the former, but it is such a well-made and 'effortless' movie, it really surprised me. Great stuff. Recommended! 8/10

Clichéd, dull, hard to follow

[lucyrfisher · 6/10 · 18 January 2022]

Hard to follow - perhaps because I came in half-way through. The excellent Sidney Tafler struggles as a detective story writer stuck in a snowbound remote railway station with a killer handcuffed to a cop, two music-hall performers, a little old lady mystery fan and several men in hats and raincoats who are successively revealed as members of the gang.

The film might have made it with better direction, despite the antique, Ghost Train-like plot. The two music-hall performers, a sister act, are OK. There is a running buffet of tea, tea and tea.

"Pat Dawn" gives a hint of the criminal's misdeeds that are censored by the mores of the time.

One excellent line of dialogue. When the killer finds out that Tafler is a mystery writer he asks with a sneer: "Do you do /deep/ muck?"

"No, just ordinary detective stories," responds Tafler. Sadly these days the "deep muck" has taken over.

Made in 1951 but feels older.

If you like boring movies, this is one of the worst!

[JohnHowardReid · 2/10 · 16 September 2017]

Director: MICHAEL McCARTHY. Script: Michael McCarthy. Photography: Bob Lapresle. Film editor: Geoffrey Muller. Art director: George Haslam. Music: Michael Sarsfield. Camera operator: Leo Rogers. Make- up: Jack Craig. Hair styles: Jane Seymour. Set continuity: Biddy Chrystal. Production manager: George Mills. Assistant director: Ted Holliday. Sound re-recording: Dick Smith, Ronald Abbott. Western Electric Sound System. Producer: William H. Williams.

A Merton Park Studios Production, released in the U.K. by Anglo Amalgamated: 26 July 1952 (sic). London trade show: September 1951. Not copyrighted or theatrically released in the U.S.A. Probably released in Australia by British Empire Films, but no record of a release date. 6,050 feet. 67 minutes.

SYNOPSIS: Miss Owens is immensely excited when she recognizes her traveling companion as the author of a detective story she is reading. She demands to know how he sets about writing a thriller and Larry outlines for her a plot involving people on the train.

Petersen and Constable Blake are escorting Steve Harding to his trial for murder; Harding causes trouble and when the train is held up by snow, and the passengers are together in the waiting room, he seizes a gun and holds them up, but is unable to escape through the snow. During the night Petersen and the stationmaster are murdered.

COMMENT: It's hard to decide which is the worst feature of this film — the doggedly clichéd and totally uninteresting variation on the it-was-all-a-dream plot, acted out by stodgy characters in a couple of cramped sets; the patently second-rate cast (even Barbara Murray makes little impression); or the dull, lifelessly uninvolving direction; or the tiresome, endlessly see-sawing dialogue.

True, there's a tiny bit of action and the movie would probably cut down to a passably entertaining two-reeler (despite its poor performances). But, padded out to feature length, it's an unqualified bore.