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Night Train to Munich review

Posted : 9 years, 7 months ago on 7 August 2014 06:50

If you come into Night Train to Munich expecting a visionary masterpiece on par with director Carol Reed's better known The Third Man you will likely be disappointed.

Night Train to Munich is, however, a classic wartime romp. It is a thriller that masterfully weaves an impending World War II into a well written script heavy on the cat and mouse chase between British agent Gus Bennett (Rex Harrison) and the Nazis as they seek to secure advanced armor plating technology invented by the father of convenient love interest Anna Bomasch (Margerte Lockwood).

The film really shines when the characters board the titular night train and the chance of survival for Bennett and Bomasch decreases as the stakes become greater. The interplay between the major characters takes on a palpable tension, specifically in what is probably the most dramatic eating of tea and biscuits ever.

The only drawbacks here might be a slightly icky "love story" where the agency of the female lead is in question and some rather dated set pieces that lack the gravitas of Reed's train scenes.

Overall though, Night Train to Munich is an exciting addition to classic wartime dramas/thrillers.



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Night Train to Munich review

Posted : 13 years, 10 months ago on 21 May 2010 10:42

The Third Man's Carol Reed is at the helm for this Britsh WWII propaganda film. As it was filmed during the war, most of the Nazi's are played by Brits which is at times hilarious (even Hitler has a trace of an English accent!), but often confusing. Rex Harrison is a British spy and the beautiful Margaret Lockwood is the daughter of a Czech scientist, trying to escape the Nazi's and reach Switzerland under various disguises. However, the real enjoyment in this film comes from the pairing of Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as two bumbling Englishmen, caught on the train to Munich. In one hilarious, quintessentially British scene, the two men argue with the Nazis about giving up their seats, when the Nazis have reserved them. The rather flustered pair start reading the declaration from His Majesty the King, from inside their passports. Brilliant. Another great moment occurs when Harrison pops open a bottle of champagne and proclaims "England expects that ever secret-servicemen will do his duty", only to find that the bubbly is flat. It's these small moments that make the film very entertaining. The exciting climax of the film rivals a similar scene from Where Eagles Dare in terms of sheer genius.
Top stuff.

4/5



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