moonspinner55 Terrible vehicle for Universal's resident singing star Deanna Durbin (here, at 23, still finding her footing as a womanly actress rather than as a teen starlet) attempts to combine a noir scenario with a comedic, screwball script, keeping Deanna breathless, illogical and dithering for nearly 95 minutes. Arriving in New York City by train to visit her relatives, Durbin witnesses a murder from her passenger window; naturally, the police are of no help, so she enlists the expertise of a detective stories writer to help her solve the crime. Screenplay by Edmund Beloin and Robert O'Brien, from a story by Leslie Charteris, is full of fast, silly talk--most of it more annoying than amusing--and off-putting characters. Deanna alternates between inquisitive kid and grown-up fashion plate. The rest of this 'mystery' is just as uncertain. *1/2 from ****

edwagreen Deanna Durbin witnesses a murder when her train from and mystery. Durbin plays detective and by accident recognizes the victim on a movie news reel. She then sets out to prove that the guy didn't exactly die from an accidental death as first thought. That's when the mayhem starts. Durbin comes across two unusual nephews, his grieving widow played by a cantankerous Elizabeth Patterson,Edward Everett Horton as the man from her dad's firm selected to watch over her while she is in New York, a mystery writer and his jealous girlfriend and a secretary all create quite a stir here.Masquerading as the singer who was in cahoots with the killers, Durbin was able to display her ever beautiful voice, especially belting out Cole Porter's Night and Day.The ending might be a little tricky to follow, but there is general fun to be had by viewing this film.

richard-1787 This movie has a lot of very talented, very experienced actors. So the sad results are not their fault.I guess the real problem is the script. I haven't heard so much inane dialogue in I can't remember when. HOW did this script get by the Universal directors??? The only real good points, perhaps because they have nothing to do with the dialog, are the few musical numbers. Ms. Durbin's rendition of *Night and Day* is spoiled by a very bad arrangement, but her *Silent Night*, sung to her father over the telephone, is very moving. Such a number could be called a throw-away, I suppose, since it really has nothing to do with advancing the plot. In this case, however, I would suggest throwing away the rest of the movie and just watching that.I've very much enjoyed some of Durbin's other movies. This one is just too weakly scripted to excuse, however.

GManfred Never thought I'd say that. Ordinarily, I don't like comedy combined with mystery, or vice versa. In these cases, I always feel that one genre detracts from the other.But "Lady On A Train" works. It was entertaining in the truest sense of the word, a film with an excellent script, an appealing cast with several very familiar faces and even some singing interludes by Deanna Durbin. As stated, I feel this type of film doesn't usually work but here was a happy symbiosis of the best of both types. Just overlook or ignore a couple of plot contrivances - it's easy here since the picture is well-paced and keeps moving.This picture is fun for the whole family and most films made since the 70's can't say that, unless they are animated features. And it keeps you guessing right up until the last scene which is almost a lost art in itself.And congratulations to Universal for finally releasing some of their old movies on DVD. They've also been sitting on their Paramount collection (1929-48) and have recently loosened their grip on some of those. It's about time.