Grand Central Murder (1942)

Director:

S. Sylvan Simon

Writers:

Sue MacVeigh (novel)
Peter Ruric (screenplay)

Release Date:

May 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Plot:

A convict being escorted in for retrial escapes at Grand Central and threatens his old girlfriend on the phone...

Plot Keywords:

Railway | Actress | Anger | Autopsy | Blackmail

Cast

Van Heflin	...	'Rocky' Custer
Patricia Dane	...	Mida King, Stage Name of Beulah Toohey
Cecilia Parker	...	Constance 'Connie' Furness
Virginia Grey	...	Sue 'Butch' Custer
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Roger Furness
Sam Levene	...	Inspector Gunther
Connie Gilchrist	...	Pearl Delroy
Mark Daniels	...	David V. Henderson
Stephen McNally	...	'Turk' (as Horace McNally)
Tom Conway	...	Frankie Ciro
Betty Wells	...	'Baby' Delroy
George Lynn	...	Paul Rinehart
Roman Bohnen	...	Ramon
Millard Mitchell	...	Detective Arthur Doolin

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #8273) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Loew's

Trivia:

Donna Reed, Reginald Owen, Gertrude Short, 'Dick Rich' and Gayne Whitman were originally cast, but none of these actors appeared in the film.

Quotes:

Mida King, Stage Name of Beulah Toohey: Where were you raised? Didn't anyone ever tell you its bad luck to whistle in a dressing room?
Whistling Messenger: I'm sorry miss, I... I was raised in a cattle boat, where folks whistle when they feel like it, including the cows!

Soundtrack:

How About You?

Who Killed Mida King?

Not a bad murder mystery with an interesting slant, gathering the usual suspects together in one place to flush out the guilty one takes place at the beginning of the film rather than at the end as would normally be the case. This enables the story to unfold in flashback fashion as told by each of the suspects. Van Heflin shines in one of his early roles. He seems a bit brash in places but otherwise is excellent. Patricia Dane in one of her few cinema appearances does well as the nasty gold digger who is murdered. Sam Levene made good money playing the dumb police inspector in several films of the period including two Thin Man's. So he knew his part by heart. And it's good to see veteran actor Millard Mitchell in one of his early roles.

When I first watched "Grand Central Murder," I reasoned it was taken from a play because that is how it runs. There are a few action scenes involving trains, especially at the end, but otherwise it could all have taken place on stage. This makes the movie very talkative and is a major weakness. I was surprised to see that the screenplay was adapted from a novel by Sue MacVeigh. So director S. Sylvan Simon must be to blame. The script is well-written with many witty lines. Not a bad way to spend 73 minutes.