“Union Station” (1950)

 Union Station

Brief Description:

When a young secretary alerts police about two shady characters on her train, they discover the men have kidnapped her employer’s blind daughter. The father is convinced to reluctantly cooperate with police. But the ringleader will do anything to get his money and keep his freedom…

(probably written by me, possibly taken from Tubi, IMDb, or Wikipedia and edited by me)

Date: 1950

Genre: American mystery film noir crime drama romance thriller/suspense

Running time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Cast: 

William Holden (Calhoun)

Nancy Olson (Joyce)

Barry Fitzgerald (Donnelly)

Lyle Bettger (Beacom)

Jan Sterling (Marge)

Allene Roberts (Lorna)

Herbert Heyes (Murchison)

Director: Rudolph Maté

Production company: Paramount Pictures

Based on: Nightmare in Manhattan by Thomas Walsh

Wikipedia page 

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Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 5/5

The railway station setting was unique and very enjoyable as well as very realistic. I also appreciated the underground aspect! And the aesthetic was awesome—high heels, trench coats, soft hats, round curls… From the setting to the dialogue to the clothes to the actions, this had a very 1940s/1950s feel which I absolutely loved. 

Characters: 5/5

I really loved how although there were many characters, they all had their own personalities, even the many and hardly seen policeman! (And there were so many interesting, good-looking faces… ;P) I liked Fay, rough and gruff but stepping in to save Joyce. I hated Beacom, who struck me as the coldest villains I have ever seen on screen—not senselessly cruel, deliberately and uncaringly so. I loved the little Irish inspector, with his thick accent, his grandfatherly ways, and his enigmatic smile. I really liked how Joyce wasn’t exactly pretty, nor Calhoun handsome (unusual for this era, in my opinion) and how their personalities meshed—she, wearing her large heart on her sleeve and Calhoun hiding his deep beneath a rather indifferent and job-centred exterior. And although Marge was the stereotypical flippant, worldly-wise blonde, I liked how her script was flipped at the end.

Plot: 5/5

The plot kept me nailed to my computer screen. I felt like I had been transferred directly into the story and I was just as anxious to see if the bad guys were caught and the girl was okay. The storyline only covers about 2-4 days, but there’s a lot packed into there and it made the story seem that much more real (lots of films solve the mystery in 1-2 days or have a lot more incidents happen, while this one focussed solely on the kidnapping). 

Romance: 5/5

It was super cute, even if it was a tiny thread, and I loved that it was a sort of kind-enemies-to-lovers by which both improved the other and learned something good. And there was no stereotypical end kiss—just some sweet, funny words. 

Theme/Message/Topics: 5/5

Rather an unusual theme, but basically one about not letting your job consume you, and also about what it’s like for policemen—the cost of their job both for their families and for their hearts.

Content: 5/5 (low)

A few shots of drinking alcohol. 

Violence: 2/5 (high)

In two scenes, policemen knocked one of the bad guys around to elicit a confession and finally pretended to throw him under a moving train (which worked). Beacom gets physically aggressive with the kidnapped girl—shaking, dragging, and pushing, as well as slapping her off-screen; she does a lot of crying and screaming. A man is trampled to death by cows (non-graphic); two people are shot to death (non-graphic); a gunfight ends in a death (non-graphic).

Overall: 5/5

Besides all the on-screen violence, which I could have very well done without, this was all I ask for in a vintage mystery film—vibrant characters, a good storyline, lots of suspense, no content, sweet romance, and great vintage feels. I look forwards to watching it again!