Lady on a Train

Released Aug 17, 1945

1h 36m

Mystery & Thriller

Comedy

List

71%

Tomatometer

14 Reviews

68%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

Young, pleasant Nikki Collins (Deanna Durbin) witnesses a brutal murder while riding on a train on her way to New York City. Though she desperately tries to inform others of what she saw, no one believes her. In her scramble to convince someone, anyone, of the crime, she finds an ally in a mystery writer named Wayne Morgan (David Bruce). Trapped as she is on the train, however, the more she tries to raise the alarm, the more attention she draws to herself -- and the killer is starting to notice.

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Bosley Crowther

New York Times

It's an empty and careless little fable, intended to be a mystery farce, about the wholly incredible mix-up of a debutante in a murder plot.

Apr 21, 2020

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Deanna Durbin [is] caught at that awkward stage when Universal seemed to have no idea what to do with the rapidly maturing girl who had been the studio's biggest star in the 30s.

Apr 21, 2020

Full Review

TIME Staff

TIME Magazine

Lady on a Train sets out to elicit chills and chuckles, but never quite reaches its modest destination.

Apr 21, 2020

Full Review

Nelson Burns (Te Pana)

Courier Mail (Australia)

[Durban's] 'fans' -- and they are many -- should respond with breathless infatuation.

Apr 21, 2020

Full Review

Jay Carmody

Washington Star

As we say, you will find it amusing at isolated intervals, particularly those in which Deanna shows that she has grown up enough artistically to be quite a commedienne when her material is worth working on.

Apr 21, 2020

Full Review

Tele Staff

Daily Telegraph (Australia)

Miss Durbin bounces bloomingly through a lushly rococo nightmare in which anything goes.

Apr 21, 2020

Full Review

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Steve D

Really cute, perhaps to much singing. Deanna Durbin should have been a much bigger star as an adult.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Plot holes galore, but Deanna Durbin delivers a light-hearted performance.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Such a great cast, well written and just great!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Lady on a Train is a delightful film that has some elements of classic film noir, but they just have fun with it. Instead of maintaining a dark and gritty tone, this is part comedy. To quickly summarize the story, it’s about a young woman who witnesses a murder from the window of her train car. However no one wants to believe her because she has an affinity for mystery novels and has been known to jump to conclusions before. So she calls up the author of her favorite books and expects him to help her solve the case. This entire story concept was great, and because I’ve seen some other movies and TV shows where something similar happens and the woman is jumping to false conclusions, I was never sure if anything was real. I loved everything about the murder mystery at the heart of Lady on a Train. I have always been a fan of films that have a strong setup like this and then leave you guessing who committed the crime and why. They do a good job of introducing enough characters that you’re never really sure, and they also bring in some shady accomplices that do a good job of drawing attention away from the actual killer. Add to the murder mystery a little bit of light-hearted humor, and you have a movie that might as well be made specifically for me. I enjoyed the entire ride and the relationship at the center of it all. As soon as I finished the film I thought this should be a series starring Deanna Durbin and David Bruce as a detective duo like Nick & Nora Charles. Speaking of Deanna Durbin, she is the best. Lady on a Train wouldn’t hold together without her amazing performance. You instantly fall in love with her and she never feels ditzy, dumb, or like a typical damsel in distress. Instead she’s smart, sassy, and determined that she is right no matter what other people tell her. Sure she makes mistakes and sometimes fails to recognize that she’s in danger, but you have to admire her plucky tenacity. Her interplay with David Bruce was great, and the way they connect with one another feels like it came straight out of a romantic comedy. There wasn’t much of anything that I disliked in Lady on a Train. I had a ton of fun with it, and wanted to start watching it again almost immediately.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

09/17/18

Full Review

Audience Member

Unbelievably bad movie, silly plot, badly acted. Only Deana Durbin makes it almost worth watching but only if you suspend belief. Done differently, this could have been a good film noire.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

good comical mystery

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

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Charles David

Director

Deanna Durbin

Nikki Collins

Ralph Bellamy

Jonathan Waring

David Bruce

Wayne Morgan

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Synopsis

Young, pleasant Nikki Collins (Deanna Durbin) witnesses a brutal murder while riding on a train on her way to New York City. Though she desperately tries to inform others of what she saw, no one believes her. In her scramble to convince someone, anyone, of the crime, she finds an ally in a mystery writer named Wayne Morgan (David Bruce). Trapped as she is on the train, however, the more she tries to raise the alarm, the more attention she draws to herself -- and the killer is starting to notice.

Director: Charles David
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 17, 1945, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2017
Runtime: 1h 36m