Deanna Durbin never seemed to go through an "awkward age" on screen. Even though she was a child star, she had already passed that uncomfortable age when she made her first film. Also she was very pretty and Universal studio was small enough to let her talent blossom. In "Lady on a Train" she tries her hand at screwball comedy and it really works. The original story was by Leslie Charteris, creator of "The Saint".
Deanna Durbin (as a beautiful blonde) plays scatty Nicki Collins, addicted to crime novels, who sees a murder from her carriage window - she is going by train to spend Christmas in New York with her aunt and uncle.
Of course no one believes her so she tries to enlist the help of Wayne Morgan (David Bruce) her favourite crime novelist. He is not interested and is also hampered by his fashion model girlfriend (the gorgeous Patricia Morison). Nicki goes snooping at the murdered man's mansion and stumbles onto the reading of the will. Everyone assumes she is Margot Martin, the murdered man's fiancée and she keeps up the pretense. She meets Arnold Waring (Dan Duryea) glib and carefree and Jonathon Waring (Ralph Bellamy) caring and cautious, both of whom have not benefited from the will. Allen Jenkins plays a surly thug, who is trailing Nicki with instructions to kill her. When he hears her sing "Silent Night" he is putty in her hands for about five minutes.
She arrives at the Circus Club and goes on in Margot's place (Margot just happens to be a singer) singing "Give Me a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh??". Also figuring in the plot is a pair of men's bedroom slippers - the ones that the victim was wearing. Nicki first found them at the mansion and from then on she has a job to keep them out of the murderer's hands - until the butler gets hold of them and cleans all the evidence off them. She also sings a beautiful, sultry version of "Night and Day".
When the real Margot is murdered Nicki is arrested. Creepy Arnold bails her out and on the way to a meeting he confides that he hated his uncle (along with everyone else). She gets away and thinks she has found a safe haven but ......
This is a great mystery with screwball elements. Durbin does an excellent job and it is a real pity that she didn't have a longer career. Dan Duryea continued forging his career as a character actor of quirky roles.
Highly Recommended.
Deanna Durbin (as a beautiful blonde) plays scatty Nicki Collins, addicted to crime novels, who sees a murder from her carriage window - she is going by train to spend Christmas in New York with her aunt and uncle.
Of course no one believes her so she tries to enlist the help of Wayne Morgan (David Bruce) her favourite crime novelist. He is not interested and is also hampered by his fashion model girlfriend (the gorgeous Patricia Morison). Nicki goes snooping at the murdered man's mansion and stumbles onto the reading of the will. Everyone assumes she is Margot Martin, the murdered man's fiancée and she keeps up the pretense. She meets Arnold Waring (Dan Duryea) glib and carefree and Jonathon Waring (Ralph Bellamy) caring and cautious, both of whom have not benefited from the will. Allen Jenkins plays a surly thug, who is trailing Nicki with instructions to kill her. When he hears her sing "Silent Night" he is putty in her hands for about five minutes.
She arrives at the Circus Club and goes on in Margot's place (Margot just happens to be a singer) singing "Give Me a Little Kiss, Will Ya, Huh??". Also figuring in the plot is a pair of men's bedroom slippers - the ones that the victim was wearing. Nicki first found them at the mansion and from then on she has a job to keep them out of the murderer's hands - until the butler gets hold of them and cleans all the evidence off them. She also sings a beautiful, sultry version of "Night and Day".
When the real Margot is murdered Nicki is arrested. Creepy Arnold bails her out and on the way to a meeting he confides that he hated his uncle (along with everyone else). She gets away and thinks she has found a safe haven but ......
This is a great mystery with screwball elements. Durbin does an excellent job and it is a real pity that she didn't have a longer career. Dan Duryea continued forging his career as a character actor of quirky roles.
Highly Recommended.