Night Train to Munich

Director: Carol Reed Carol Reed

Overview

Based on the book Report on a Fugitive by Gordon Wellesley, this is an espionage film that has been stated by critics to possibly be among the top ten spy movies ever made. Replete with intrigue and suspense, the movie has all of the principles on a train as a scientist's daughter joins forces with Allied intelligence in a rescue effort involving top secrets. This movie, made just prior to WWII, gave a more temperate view of the Nazis than later movies.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/24/2022
UPC:	0886470033133
Original Release:	1940
Language:	English
Sales rank:	47,887

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Margaret Lockwood	Anna Bomasch
Rex Harrison	Gus Bennett
Paul von Hernreid	Karl Marsen
Basil Radford	Charters
James Harcourt	Axel Bomasch
Naunton Wayne	Caldicott
Felix Aylmer	Dr. Fredericks
Wyndham Goldie	Dryton
Roland Culver	Roberts
Eliot Makeham	Schwab
Raymond Huntley	Kampenfeldt
Austin Trevor	Capt. Prada
Keneth Kent	Controller,Controller
C.V. France	Adm. Hassinger
Frederick Valk	Gestapo Officer
Morland Graham	Attendant
Wally Patch	Pier Fisherman
Albert Lieven	Concentration Camp Officer
David Horne	Czech Armament Co. Official
Ian Fleming	Brit. Intelligence Official
John Wengraf	Concentration Camp Doctor
Billy Russell	Actor,Actor
Irene Handl	Station Master (uncredited)
Pardoe Woodman	Minor Role (uncredited)
Edward Baxter	Minor Role (uncredited)
John Roberts	Actor,Minor Role (uncredited)
G.H. Mulcaster	Minor Role (uncredited)
Wilfrid Walter	Official at Prague Steel Works (uncredited)
Jane Cobb	Minor Role (uncredited)
Charles Oliver	SS Officer at Concentration Camp (uncredited)
Torin Thatcher	Minor Role (uncredited)
Maurice Ostrer	Actor
Winifred Oughton	Minor Role (uncredited)
Pat Williams	Actor

Technical Credits

Carol Reed	Director
Edward Black	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Time has dampened the impact of Night Train to Munich, not because its World War II setting dates it but because the conventions on display have become more commonplace in thrillers through the years. Even so, Munich manages to be more than sufficiently gripping to hold an audience's interest, and the plotting is intricate enough to keep the viewer involved. There are a number of elements in the screenplay that stand out, not the least of which is the sequence that introduces Rex Harrison, and the entire climactic escape is well handled by director Carol Reed, who provides excitement through subtlety. There are also, unfortunately, too many echoes of Hitchcock and The Lady Vanishes, which tend to work against the film's ultimate effectiveness. Still, these are offset by such pleasures as Harrison's skillful performance. He's delightful in the early sequences, using his effortless arrogance to good effect, and quite commanding in the second half. It's true that his German accent is a bit bizarre, but that's a minor quibble with an otherwise excellent performance. Margaret Lockwood is also quite good, albeit in a role that she could probably have performed in her sleep, so similar is it to others on her resumé. And Paul Henreid's nicely underplayed Nazi is memorable. Even if Munich is at times overly familiar, it's still engaging.

Rated: PG.An orphaned ten-year-old girl working at her mean uncle's bamboo factory leaves her Vietnamese village for Saigon and survives by selling flowers on the street. Befriended by a shy zookeeper whose girlfriend dumped him and a lovely flight attendant engaged in a meaningless affair with a married pilot, the winsome urchin plays matchmaker to great effect. Writer-director Stephane Gauger tells an unabashedly sentimental story of hope triumphing over loneliness in a broadly appealing film even for the subtitle challenged.

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