Unrelated film 'Lady On A Train' (1945) (Deanna Durbin) has key elements of '4.50 from Paddington'!!

TheLastWord

Have just seen a super old (1945) film called 'Lady On A Train', that has key elements of A.C.'s '4.50 from Paddington'.

It stars Deanna Durbin. It starts (no spoiler! here, IF you already know the premise of the plot of '4.50 from Paddington'! wink-wink!) with D.D.'s character, on board a train, seated in a closed compartment & reading a crime/mystery novel. She then sees a murder - that takes place in a building the train is passing - from her train window! Of course the policeman she later tells - who sees the crime book that D.D.'s character is holding in her hand - is thus sceptical re this 'murder' being all but imagination. So the girl then starts 'sleuthing' the murder herself . . .

This plot - except for the location of the murder (being in a building rather than on another train) - has key elements of the first murder in the '4.50 from Paddington'. Which is interesting as the '4.50 from . . .' was not published till 1957; of course the plot may well have been scoped out or even finalised/written by A.C. well before the publication date.

Great minds think alike!

Anyway, it's a super & fun film; a comedy film, but also with a noir-esque (albeit lightweight) plot.

Just a head's up re this film (look it up at radiotimes.com: www.radiotimes.com/film/cdc89/lady-on-a-train) in case it is run again this Christmas (2013). More info re the film can be found at: www.imdb.com/title/tt0037859/.

 

P.S. A couple of last points re the film (but unrelated to above):  1. It's a lovely example of D.D.'s superb (& previously unbeknownst to me) comic timing (e.g. see the scene involving a sheet + a 'chair'! LOL!).  2. And, yes, Deanna Durbin DOES sing! a few times, incl. a smoky number that she performs to great effect in a jazz club scene, plus a lovely (& sung more in her usual classical soprano style) rendition of Cole Porter's delightful 'Night and Day'.  :-)

MissQuin

I've recorded this film but I've not watched it yet. Sounds v good.

lachy.a.w

Interesting... Who knows, maybe Christie did take some inspiration from it?

AlexBarry

Sorry, I began to write an incorrect comment, so it's been edited into this apology.  (It would be nice to have a "Delete Comment" option)

Frank

TheLastWord that the film 'Lady On A Train', that has some key elements of Agatha Christie's '4.50 from Paddington'. I greatly enjoyed both the film and the book. I think you are right when you say "Great minds think alike!" 

Tommy_A_Jones

It sounds like a great Film.I agree with AlexBerry, A Delete Btton is desperately needed.