JohnHowardReid Director: MICHAEL McCARTHY. Script: Michael McCarthy. Photography: Bob Lapresle. Film editor: Geoffrey Muller. Art director: George Haslam. Music: Michael Sarsfield. Camera operator: Leo Rogers. Make- up: Jack Craig. Hair styles: Jane Seymour. Set continuity: Biddy Chrystal. Production manager: George Mills. Assistant director: Ted Holliday. Sound re-recording: Dick Smith, Ronald Abbott. Western Electric Sound System. Producer: William H. Williams.A Merton Park Studios Production, released in the U.K. by Anglo Amalgamated: 26 July 1952 (sic). London trade show: September 1951. Not copyrighted or theatrically released in the U.S.A. Probably released in Australia by British Empire Films, but no record of a release date. 6,050 feet. 67 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Miss Owens is immensely excited when she recognizes her traveling companion as the author of a detective story she is reading. She demands to know how he sets about writing a thriller and Larry outlines for her a plot involving people on the train.Petersen and Constable Blake are escorting Steve Harding to his trial for murder; Harding causes trouble and when the train is held up by snow, and the passengers are together in the waiting room, he seizes a gun and holds them up, but is unable to escape through the snow. During the night Petersen and the stationmaster are murdered.COMMENT: It's hard to decide which is the worst feature of this film — the doggedly clichéd and totally uninteresting variation on the it-was-all-a-dream plot, acted out by stodgy characters in a couple of cramped sets; the patently second-rate cast (even Barbara Murray makes little impression); or the dull, lifelessly uninvolving direction; or the tiresome, endlessly see-sawing dialogue. True, there's a tiny bit of action and the movie would probably cut down to a passably entertaining two-reeler (despite its poor performances). But, padded out to feature length, it's an unqualified bore.

XhcnoirX While on a train travelling through a snow storm, detective novel author Sydney Tafler is autographing one of his novels for Christine Silver. When he starts to explain to her the process of writing a detective novel, they hear a scream, coming from outside, and when they look around, they find fresh snow near the exit. They decide to alarm the train guard but he's been sapped and mugged. After poking around some more, they find police detective Ewen Solon is on the train, accompanying criminal Martin Benson to an important court appearance. Solon's partner has disappeared, and he believes whoever mugged the guard must've thrown his partner off the train. He orders everybody from their coach off the train at the next stop. But when the train leaves again, the group find themselves trapped inside the train station waiting room as the snow storm has blocked all the roads. While they are waiting for the weather to improve, the phone line is cut, and soon after an unknown person shoots Solon, giving Benson a chance to take control of the situation. Tafler however believes the bullet was meant for Benson, and he manages to convince him of it. Benson orders Tafler to flush out the killer...Only mildly noir-ish, this murder mystery yarn is a beautiful mix of Agatha Christie meets Alfred Hitchcock (in his British period). The stranded group also has several women including a gorgeous Barbara Murray as a showgirl hitching a ride on the train and Pearl Cameron as Benson's gun moll. Tafler is (again!) great here, in a less shady role, but he pulls off the quick-thinking author really well. The man is simply a joy to watch. Benson is not far behind. Tafler, Benson and Murray carry the movie, but the cast does a great job overall.The movie moves at a brisk pace, it lasts just over an hour, and while it's almost a two-acter, one half on the train, one half in the waiting room, it never fails to entertain. It's got a lot of dialogue, but also a lot of tension and suspense. Tafler does a good job of making Benson wary of his own men (as well as his gun moll) while Benson is ruthless and not above killing to make a point. As the movie progresses all the different relationships between the characters come to the surface, including why the killer attempted to, indeed, kill Benson.Director (and writer) Michael McCarthy and DoP Robert LaPresle already worked with Tafler and Benson on 'Assassin For Hire', which is a nicely made movie. But this is the superior movie. It doesn't have the shadowy look of the former, but it is such a well-made and 'effortless' movie, it really surprised me. Great stuff. Recommended! 8/10

malcolmgsw This is a thriller which starts well ,then rather looses its way in talk,before ending a shootout more typical of Westerns.Unusually Sidney Tafler plays the hero.It starts on a train where he is recognised for his crime writing by a fellow passenger.Whilst the action is on the train it is quite interesting.However when the passengers get off at the snow bound station it rather hits the buffers.Texhniques beloved of quota quickies.i counted 10 characters in one shot.each would speak his piece and it would then be the turn of the next actor,so no editing is required.this middle section is over talkative and dull.However towards the end the pace picks up again with lots of gun play.The last scene is very reminiscent of "Woman In The Window".In the end a fairly average British B film.

Andrew Goss The scenario in which a group of people find themselves in a closed environment where a murder is then committed by an unseen hand was not new when this short black and white film was made. However, Mystery Junction plays out the tale neatly and efficiently, keeping us guessing all the way, although following exactly who has done what to whom becomes increasingly difficult.The acting is excellent, the cinematography exemplary - there are some quite classical compositions, one in particular towards the end. This is a very British film, the drama comes from tension, not from heroics. Indeed, that heroism is futile is made plain throughout, and even where violence brings results, they will ever play you false.The quality of this film is masked by its low budget, and, on the print I just saw on television, murky resolution. Two of the cast, Sydney Tafler and Ewen Solon, went on to prominent TV careers, and most of the others found plenty of work in television. However, for Pearl Cameron, whose performance was a minor highlight of the film, this was her second, and last credit.While not an outstanding film, Mystery Junction is worth watching if you value tight, understated drama.