The Phantom Express (1932 film)
The Phantom Express | |
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Directed by | Emory Johnson |
Written by |
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Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Ross Fisher |
Edited by | S. Roy Luby |
Production company | Emory Johnson Productions |
Distributed by | Majestic Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 6 reels 70 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Phantom Express is a 1932 American pre-Code mystery crime-drama directed by Emory Johnson and based on the Emory Johnson story. The film stars William Collier, Jr. as Bruce Harrington, Sally Blane as Carolyn Nolan and Hobart Bosworth as Mr. Harrington.[1][2] It was commercially released on August 15, 1932, by Majestic Pictures.
Plot
[edit]Railroad engineer D.J. 'Smokey' Nolan ( J. Farrell MacDonald) drives his locomotive at full speed when he spies an oncoming train directly in his path. He quickly applies the emergency brakes, causing the train to derail when it tries to stop; as a result; several passengers are killed. An investigation cannot find any trace of the oncoming train that caused the derailment. Smokey is fired for negligence.
Smokey has a daughter, Carolyn ( Sally Blane). The CEO of the Southwest Pacific Railroad, Mr. Harrington (Hobart Bosworth), has a playboy son Bruce ( William Collier, Jr.).
Because of the derailment and other ill fortunes, Mr. Harrington has decided to sell the railroad for a fraction of its worth. He will sign the papers at midnight. In the meantime, Bruce meets Carolyn and finds out she is the daughter of the fired engineer. They instantly bond, then decide to set out together and solve the mystery of the phantom express.
Bruce and Carolyn discover that the president of a rival railroad company (Huntley Gordon) has intentionally caused all of the accidents on the Southwest Pacific Railroad to drive the stock price down. After the stock plummets, the rival president figures he can buy all of the railroad's rolling stock at a reduced price. This is unearthed just hours before Mr. Harrington plans to sign the railroad over. Bruce tries to telegraph his father, but a storm has hampered all forms of communication.
The only way Bruce can advise his father not to sign the papers is to fire-up have train number 101, bring Smokey Nolan and his fireman out of retirement, and return to the central office to prevent his father from signing. The train travels through the storm-savaged countryside encountering floods and landslides. Bruce arrives as his father prepares to sign and exposes the plot by the rival railroad, including how the purchasers constructed a piece of equipment and disguised it like an engine with headlights. They placed it on a nearby track causing Smokey to think he was heading towards a collision with an oncoming train.
Over the course of their investigation, Bruce and Carolyn fall in love and decide to get married. After their wedding, they honeymoon on the train.
Cast
[edit]Actor | Role |
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William Collier, Jr. | Bruce Harrington |
Sally Blane | Carolyn Nolan |
J. Farrell MacDonald | D.J. 'Smokey' Nolan |
Hobart Bosworth | Mr. Harrington |
Axel Axelson | Axel, the fireman |
Lina Basquette | Betty |
Eddie Phillips | Dick Walsh (posing as Bruce) |
Robert Ellis | Reynolds |
Claire McDowell | Ma Nolan |
David Rollins | Jackie Nolan |
Tom O'Brien | Red Connelly Telegraph Operator |
Huntley Gordon | President of a rival railroad company |
Brady Kline | Slim - a henchman |
Jack Pennick | Bubba - a henchman |
Jack Mower | a gang leader |
Allan Forrest | a henchman |
Production
[edit]The main theme of the plot bears a close similarity to The Ghost Train (play), a movie version of which was produced in England the previous year, viz. The Ghost Train, but that source is not acknowledged in the credits. There was a prior silent American film also entitled The Phantom Express (1925), which may also have been influenced although uncredited by the original play. The film is sometimes confused with the earlier film with the same name. The earlier version, released in November 1925 starred Ethel Shannon and George Periolat.[3]
The film is a talkie and was the last Hollywood film to be directed by Emory Johnson.
Preservation status
[edit]The Phantom Express was the first film in Emory Johnson's contract with Majestic Pictures. The film is also Emory Johnson's second talkie. The film's original length is listed at 6 reels. Emory Johnson directed 13 films, of which 11 were silent, and 2 were talkies.
This movie can be viewed on YouTube.
Gallery
[edit]Principal Players
[edit]-
William Collier, Jr.
Bruce Harrington -
Sally Blane
Carolyn Nolan -
Hobart Bosworth
Mr. Harrington -
Lina Basquette
Betty -
Tom O'Brien
Red Connelly Telegraph Operator -
Robert Ellis
Reynolds -
Allan Forrest
a henchman -
Huntley Gordon
President of a rival railroad company
References
[edit]- ^ The Phantom Express The AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- ^ "The Phantom Express". www.tcm.com.
- ^ "Pre-release Reviews of Features". Motion Picture News. Motion Picture News, Inc. December 12, 1925. p. 2840.
External links
[edit]- The Phantom Express at IMDb
- The Phantom Express is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- 1932 films
- 1930s action films
- 1932 adventure films
- 1930s crime thriller films
- 1930s mystery thriller films
- 1930s romance films
- 1932 drama films
- American action adventure films
- American adventure films
- American black-and-white films
- American crime thriller films
- Remakes of American films
- American mystery thriller films
- American romance films
- American romantic drama films
- American silent feature films
- Film Booking Offices of America films
- Films set in San Francisco
- Majestic Pictures films
- 1930s melodrama films
- Sound film remakes of silent films
- Films directed by Emory Johnson
- 1930s English-language films
- 1930s American films
- Silent romantic drama films
- Silent adventure films
- Silent mystery films
- Silent thriller films
- Silent American drama films
- English-language crime thriller films
- English-language action adventure films
- English-language romance films
- English-language mystery thriller films