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Just perfect...

hyped garbage

Good concept, poorly executed.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

After Sunset Blvd. Holden comes with another noir in a thriller police drama at the famous Union Station in Los Angeles.apart Barry Fitzgerald who was a true great actor all remaining casting is unknown at this time,just the newcomer Lyle Bettger was the great good surprise living a cold crook,which stalked him during your entire career,Jan Sterling in a small role was perfect as blondie fatal woman ,since the begining to the end the picture don't loose the breath,the hectic pace is high point of without relief,even in a minor picture don't owe nothing to others alike noir productions!!!Resume:First watch: 2018 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

I noticed that one of the other reviewers mentioned how he hated the kidnap victim, as she was very annoying. Yes, the kidnapped girl is annoying...very annoying. She screams and screams so much, I was hoping eventually that the bad guys shot her to shut her up!! Despite this, it's still a pretty good crime film.The film begins with a lady on a train (Nancy Olson) noticing a couple guys acting strangely. She alerts the conductor--who seems to think she's crazy. But she insists he contact the police who investigate. Eventually, they discover the lady is right--something IS amiss. It seems they are part of a gang that have kidnapped a rich man's blind daughter. And, it turns out their boss is very blood-thirsty and has no intention of letting the girl go free once he obtains the ransom. Can the good cop (William Holden) catch these big jerks before it's too late? The toughness of the plot and the villain make this a film worth seeing. I noticed another review that complained about the casting of Barry Fitzgerald as the cop heading the investigation. I thought her was fine and played a nearly identical role in "The Naked City"--so similar a person might mistakenly think "Union Station" is a sequel. It's not, but both are very good, taut crime dramas that are worth your time.

Paramount's UNION STATION (1950) is another memorable noir from Hollywood's golden past making its belated DVD debut. A gritty and compelling thriller it was adapted for the screen from the violent novel "Nightmare In Manhattan" by Thomas Walsh. Daniel L. Fapp's stark Black & White cinematography brought a great style to it with its shifting use of light and shadow and the genuine locations, especially in the bustling Union Station itself in Los Angeles, added a realistic look and feel to the whole thing.A girl (the resistible Nancy Olson) sees a man (Lyle Bettger) on a train wearing a gun under his jacket and immediately suspects him of being up to no good (how it never occurs to her that he could perhaps be a cop is conveniently glossed over). She however reports the matter to the conductor who in turn alerts railway cop William Calhoun (William Holden). It soon comes to light that the man with the gun and another have kidnapped a blind girl and are holding her hostage for a ransom of $100,000 from her well to do businessman father (Herbert Heyes). Things really hot up when Calhoun, with help from the city police headed by Inspector Donnelly (Barry Fitzgerald), stakeout Union Station - the nominated drop zone for the ransom. The picture ends with a climactic chase sequence as Holden pursues Bettger through a maze of dark tunnels underneath the station for the inevitable and exciting shootout.Performances are generally fine throughout. Holden is terrific in it but it is unusual to see him as a cop. He plays the part well but watching him you can't help thinking he is an actor of a much higher calibre than is called for here and deserving of classier and more artistically challenging parts such as his Acadamy Award winning role as Sefton in "Stalag 17" (1953) or his perfect Joe Gillis in "Sunset Boulevard" which he and his co-star here Olson would embark on right after UNION STATION. Also kicking around his thick Irish brogue again Barry Fitzgerald repeats his role, almost verbatim, from "The Naked City" (1948) the only difference being his name here is Donnelly instead of Muldoon. But there's little doubt the movie belongs to Lyle Bettger as the heartless and sadistic kidnapper. Beside Jack Elam has there ever been a meaner or nastier baddie in movies? Born in 1915 Bettger made a full career out of playing menacing characters. He had a sinister smirk and a scary glare that was positively unnerving. His first film was Barbara Stanwyck's "No Man Of Here Own" just before UNION STATION and with the exception of only one time playing the hero in "Carnival Story" (1954) he continued throughout a busy career to be every moviegoer's favourite baddie "you loved to hate". Lyle Bettger retired in 1979 and died in 2003 at the age of 88.Unusually there is no one composer credited with scoring the picture. But there are minor contributions from Heinz Reomheld and stock music from Victor Young and Hugo Friedhofor. There is a spirited main title over the credits which sounds very much to me like something the great Victor Young could have written. The score was compiled and supervised by Irvin Talbot.The DVD release is an impeccable transfer with sharp as a button images and smooth sound. Clearly they had access to a new print of the movie and it shows. But there are no extras - not even a trailer. But now for a word of caution! Watch out for the most ridiculous and irritating logo you are ever likely to see which comes at the start of the DVD from a crowd called Olive Films. This has to be some kind of gag! But after all is said and done you can be confident, this silly intro. does nothing to diminish the excellence of the movie which remains a timeless classic.

This neat thriller is a cops-and-robbers film that was typical of the genre many years ago. The plot deals with kidnapping and ransom issues and the scenes reflect the film noir style that was popular in Hollywood. A commuter's concern about possible criminal activity kicks off this mystery that unfolds in a train terminal as the police and gangsters engage in a high stakes game of nerve and wits. The cast is very good and William Holden and Nancy Olson make a nice pair, and in spite of their testy exchanges, seem headed to a romantic conclusion. Lyle Bettger, a fine villain, does a great job here, and a thrilling chase sequence on an elevated train ending in a stockyard might be the movie's high point. Barry Fitzgerald is good at underplaying scenes with droll humor and homespun words of wisdom and Jan Sterling has a brief role as a femme-fatale.