Terror By Night

DVD, Terror By Night (1946) film

It may be because I'd seen it before, or that I've learned to be particularly suspicious when watching such films, but I suspected Watson's friend Duncan Bleek quite early - he had such glittering, deep eyes for such a pudgy, well lived in face. I also guessed the policemen were not exactly dependable either. Mysteries set on trains tend to be more interesting than they should be - look at 'Murder On The Orient Express' or 'The Lady Vanishes' (both of which hold similarities to this film, such as the box with a false compartment to hide an accomplice from 'The Lady Vanishes'). Trains are such claustrophobic places (ignoring the luxurious compartments of the time - you couldn't do a very effective murder mystery on a modern train!), with the occupants kept in close proximity, so that reactions and suspicions become magnified. Just look at the Professor that Watson tangles with, who gets most uptight.

That the story occurs on a night train makes it feel even more enclosed. Good use of model work and stock footage lets us cut to the outside for the relative truthful violence that a train in motion embodies, in contrast to the crafty and unseen attacks aboard her. Back projection is once again brilliantly used, this time in a scene which almost sees the end of the Great Detective as he's forced out of a door, clinging on for dear life, and not unlike something you might see in a Bond or Bourne film today. The shady collection of characters and their interactions with Holmes, Watson and Inspector Lestrade, back for one of his most professional appearances, are most absorbing, enhanced by the cramped confines of the train's corridors and compartments.

Poor old Watson looks ever the fool, this time Holmes indulging him, suggesting he could try and solve the case himself after he blusters boastfully. There's always got to be at least one part of the film when the good Doctor fluffs things up, and his inquiries provide some diverting amusement. Of course Holmes had the real jewel all the time, but the story unfolds cleverly so that the pieces only fall into place at the end, when the villain Colonel Sebastian Moran is captured. I think he was actually a better character in these films than all the versions of Moriarty - there's actually a nice bit of continuity with the previous entries in the series as Holmes mentions he's been up against the master villain three times before his death, which was seen in the previous film.

It's based on one of Conan Doyle's stories which gives it an advantage, I think, but I can't remember the name of the one which featured Moran so I can't be sure how similar it was to this. As usual there are a host of familiar cast members in the company, but that doesn't take away from a thoroughly enjoyable drama.

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