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...that turns briefly into a noir thriller near the end, and takes place almost entirely on Christmas Eve. Of course the plot is manipulated to make time for a couple of songs, including Cole Porter's "Night and Day," when she has to pretend she's a night club singer during her investigation.

The film begins while her train is pulling into New York, and during a brief pause before continuing to Grand Central Station it pauses long enough for her to see a murder being committed in a warehouse window across the tracks. Naturally since she's been reading a murder mystery, so nobody believes she saw a real murder, so she tries to enlist the author of her book to help her solve the crime. Somehow she stumbles into the reading of the will for the dead man and is mistaken for his nightclub mistress, who is the sole heir. It's too bad Durbin did not continue her career, as she does a great job playing an adult role with a winning blend of comedy, drama, romance and still a bit of music.

Deanna Durbin is a "Lady on a Train" in this 1945 mystery/comedy also starring David Bruce, Dan Duryea Edward Everett Horton, Ralph Bellamy, Patricia Morison, and George Coulouris. The film is directed by Durbin's future husband, Charles David.

Photographed and wardrobed like the great star she was, Durbin plays Nikki Collins, a débutante who comes to New York to spend the Christmas holidays with her aunt. On the train en route to Grand Central, she looks out the window and sees the murder of an old man. Determined to investigate, she appeals to the mystery writer whose novel she was reading (Bruce). She nearly wrecks his life. His fiancée (Patricia Morison) is suspicious of Nikki, and thanks to Nikki, he gets beat up a lot. Meanwhile, her father's assistant (Horton) can never find her. Nikki finds herself involved with the victim's money-grubbing family and puts herself in danger.

A screwball comedy with the delightful Durbin doing a great job, singing like a dream, and looking fabulous. It's very slight but fun and directed by David with a good pace. The child Durbin was a little manic for me, but I love her adult work. Plus, she had possibly the best voice and best trained voice in films. The rest of the cast is wonderful, particularly David Bruce as the hapless author.

It's a shame that Universal, with such a valuable commodity, didn't buy and/or develop better properties for her. Durbin is often compared with Judy Garland, who definitely got better treatment at MGM.

Durbin was smart to retire while at the top, though with the coming musicals of the '50s, I'm sure her star would have risen even higher. In many hearts, 60 years later, she's still a star.

This was the first Deanna Durbin film I've seen, and while it's much different than her other films, it seems a great place to start! The first thing that struck me was how likable Ms. Durbin is in the lead role. She keeps the tone light and airy, and the film flies along at a joyous speed! The photography is amazing (the snowy Manhattan sets and Ms. Durbin's close-ups are wonderful!) Deanna's vocals on "Night and Day" hint at a sensuality that wasn't present in her other pictures, and her rendition of "Silent Night" is divine.

I won't summarize the plot, as it has been done in other comments, just suffice to say that this hilarious whodunit is perfect viewing while curled up with a hot drink on a snowy winter evening!

Deanna Durbin finally got a chance to get out of her giddy teen-age roles and into a giddy adult role for a nice change of pace! She's made up to look sophisticated as she emotes in a screwball comedy-mystery about a girl who witnesses a murder from her train window and then sets out to find the corpse and the killer with the help of a mystery writer (David Bruce). The cast is studded with oddballs: Edward Everett Horton, Dan Duryea, Elizabeth Patterson, George Coulouris, Jacqueline DeWitt, Ralph Bellamy, William Frawley. All of it is highly unlikely but reality is not what this amusing mystery spoof is about. Deanna Durbin not only manages to bring comic flair and poise to her inquisitive young lady--she does a nifty job on some torchy night-club numbers: Night and Day and Give Me A Little Kiss, as well as Silent Night for a Christmas scene. Enjoyable as long as you're not expecting true-to-life situations! The wacky plot seems like something Agatha Christie might have spun in one of her wilder moments.

Lady on a Train is directed by Charles David and adapted to screenplay by Edmund Beloin and Robert O'Brien from a Leslie Charteris story. It stars Deanna Durbin, Ralph Bellamy, David Bruce, George Coulouris, Allen Jenkins, Dan Duryea and Edward Everett Horton. Music is by Miklos Rozsa and cinematography by Woody Bredell.

Part murder mystery, part film noir, part comedy and part musical! And it's a Christmas movie as well! Lady on a Train has a lot going on for sure. It's a fun packed little movie that gives Durbin full licence to show her various talents before she retired out of the limelight three years later. In main essence it's the murder mystery aspect that drives the picture forward. Durbin plays Nikki Collins, a spunky young woman who loves reading detective mysteries, so when she witnesses a murder being committed from her train window seat, she's obviously all of a tingle. However, convincing the authorities of what she saw proves to be difficult and she decides to take up the case herself. Pretty soon she is up to her neck in intrigue and life threatening peril.

Things start getting twisty once Durbin meets the victim's bizarre family, a veritable roll call of miserablists and shifty shysters. Aided by mystery writer Wayne Morgan (Bruce), Nikki has to run the gamut of bluffing and boldness to stay one step ahead of the game, including imitating a chanteuse singer. This allows Durbin to the chance to warble three songs, with a version of "Silent Night" beautifully tender and a sensuous and sultry rendition of "Gimme a Little Kiss, Will Yah, Huh?" Having us in the palm of her hand. It builds nicely to a darkly tinged last third, where Bredell's noirish photography comes into its own and the resolution of the tale is most satisfactory. Good laughs, good suspense and good songs, well worth a viewing. Story was filmed as a straight British thriller in 1940 titled A Window in London, with Michael Redgrave starring. 7/10

Lady On A Train represents Universal Studios trying to transition Deanna Durbin into more adult roles. Although the film has its fun moments in the comedy department, Deanna is essentially still playing her goody two shoes teenage self. As this involves a mystery, this could have been the plot of a Nancy Drew story.

As the New York Central is going down Manhattan's spine taking Deanna on the last leg of her cross country journey she spots what she thinks is a murder in one of the passing apartments. That would be enough to upset anyone, but Deanna is a girl who loves mysteries, we see her reading one on the train. As she's a bit of madcap she has trouble getting police desk sergeant William Frawley to take her seriously.

After she sees a newsreel and recognizes the victim as a millionaire who was reported to have died at his Long Island mansion, Durbin interjects herself into that family. The victim disinherited his relatives Elizabeth Patterson, Dan Duryea, and Ralph Bellamy and left his estate to nightclub singer Maria Palmer.

Deanna just gets deeper and deeper until she solves the mystery. As for the culprit, given casting stereotypes a real big red herring is tossed at the audience. But she's as determined as Nancy Drew to get to the bottom of things.

Some nice standards are given Durbin to sing, Night And Day and Silent Night is sung because the story does take place at Christmas time. Lady On A Train should please the still strong legion of Durbin fans.

As I read through the reviews for "Lady on a Train", I was very surprised at how positive they were. After all, I thought the movie was poorly written and, at times, a bit dumb. Sure, the actors tried their best (it did have a pretty impressive supporting cast for Deanna Durbin), but the film often just made little sense.

When the film begins, Nikki Collins (Durbin) is on a train bound for New York. However, at one of the stops, she sees a man being killed outside her window. Does she pull the emergency cord to alert the driver to stop? Nope. Does she make the conductor stop the train? Nope. Instead, she waits until the train arrives at the station and then goes to the nearest police station--and babbles like an idiot and explains what she saw in a very poor manner. Naturally, the policeman at the desk thought she was a nut. Does she go to another cop or another police station? Nope...she decides to find a mystery writer and get his help!!! He tells her to go to the cops--and instead she runs off on some insane lark to investigate the case for herself!

Soon Nikki reads that the man she saw murdered was a rich guy who's allegedly died by falling off a ladder. So, she tells the cops, right? Nope. Instead, she sneaks onto the dead guy's property and is nearly torn apart by guard dogs. When she is discovered, the guy who found her thinks she's come for the reading of the will--and she then poses as Margo Martin--the nightclub singer who is about to inherit everything! Not surprisingly, this offers her a chance to sing a few songs at the nightclub--where no one (including the band) seemed to notice that she wasn't Margo! Huh?!

There's a lot more to it than this. However, whether you'll care will depend on if you buy the story. I didn't. I hate a film where repeatedly the viewer needs to accept that the leading character NEVER behaves rationally or makes normal decisions. It made watching the film a real chore for me--though as I said before, most reviews on IMDb are very, very favorable. The bottom line is how willing are you to suspend disbelief? And, how much do you adore Miss Durbin? If the answer to both is yes--than by all means watch and most likely you'll enjoy the film. I just couldn't get past the sub-par writing and Durbin deserved better. For me, it's a watchable time-passer and not much more.

Recently viewed "Lady on a Train" and was surprised to see Deanna Durbin walking along an elevated train track in New York City. It was very mysterious seeing her actually viewing a murder on a train headed for Grand Central Station. The entire film portrayed great old buildings and old lofts in the 1940's. Her singing of "Night & Day" in a Circus Cafe and her great supporting cast with Ralph Bellamy(Dr.in Rosemary's Baby) and Dan Duryea(oldest actor to start a career in acting) was great entertainment. The director, Charles David kept you spellbound as to who really DONE IT! Deanna Durbin financially helped Universal Pictures over the years, however, her acting roles fell below her standards and she retired and married director Charles David and lives in Paris, France. (She is in her 80's)

Screwball mystery was always a misbegotten genre, a hybrid providing satisfaction neither to connoisseurs of comedy nor fans of suspense. As such, it boasts few successes. Lady on a Train, alas, is not among, them, but at least it's not unbearable, either, like The Mad Miss Manton or A Night to Remember. A large measure of its success lies in its studio-created Manhattan on a snowy Christmas Eve, dazzlingly shot by Woody Bredell. Stars Deanna Durbin, David Bruce, Dan Duryea, Edward Everett Horton, Ralph Bellamy (et al.) all bring seasoned talent aboard. As in Agatha Christie's tale, 4:51 From Paddington (aka What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw), Durbin witnesses a murder from her train window. Madcap debutante that she is, she sets out, flashlight at the ready, to solve the crime, the murder of a prominent industrialist. In one long sequence she impersonates the heiress to his estate, a chanteuse in a posh nightclub; she thus gets to belt out a couple of numbers -- pleasant enough, but nothing like the singing-in-character she managed in Robert Siodmak's Christmas Holiday. Inevitably, the surfeit of double-takes and fainting spells takes its toll, but Lady on a Train just stops short of collapsing into utter lugubriousness.

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 ****

Talents as diverse as Deanna Durbin's charm and singing ability, Edward Everett Horton's flair for screwball comedy, and Dan Duryea's knack for portraying impish, enigmatic characters, are brought together here in a pretty good comic mystery. Neither the mystery story nor the comedy would have been enough to sustain a movie by itself, but they fit together well, with the help of an assortment of interesting characters and some well-chosen settings.

The mystery story is rather like a simplified (and less plausible) version of an Agatha Christie-style plot, and it seems likely that the similarity was intended. As you watch, you do want to see how it comes out, but in itself it's relatively insubstantial. The settings and characters provide more of the material for the cast to use. A couple of the settings were done quite nicely, especially the night club/dressing room set, which allowed for some interesting possibilities, and which also fits in pretty well with the story.

While it is true that nothing about "Lady On A Train" is exceptional, at the same time it has a lot of small strengths that add up to an enjoyable movie.

Deanna Durbin stars in the easy going (maybe too easy going) thriller where a woman who happens to be reading a whodunit on a train ride home witnesses a murder from her window. After failing to alert a policeman (played by William Frawley) of the demise, she decides to engage the same mystery writer she was reading (who's reluctant to participate) to see if they can crack the case. It turns out the murdered man was of means who had a bevy of family members & a side piece all of whom had the wherewithal & motive to commit the foul deed. Pretending to be the other woman, Durbin ingratiates herself into the bad graces of the family gaining the eye of a couple (played by Dan Duryea & Ralph Bellamy) in particular. Knowing about Durbin by reputation only (I remember years ago a box set of her early films were always advertised in a TV ad), I gave this film, her first for me, a shot & I can see the allure since she's very breezy & effervescent in the role but a certain air of menace & doom is needed for this endeavor to fly (Hello Hitchcock!) & after 3 song numbers (yes 3!), we accept the entertainment value but ultimately wish there was more here.

This is a thoroughly entertaining 1940s movie starring Deanna Durbin, who at the time was probably one of the most famous and best paid women in Hollywood. The basic plot is while on a train Deanna witnesses a murder from the train's window, nobody believes her so she tries to become an amateur sleuth. The original story was written by Leslie Charteris, who gained fame from The Saint novels, made famous by Roger Moore and others. The screwball humour is great fun, the whodunnit part is not obvious, which keeps you enthralled throughout and the supporting cast are all great. This movie is definitely worth a watch.

Deanna Durbin had one of the best singing voices in movies in the 1940s, and a pleasing personality. She did make some good films like "It Started With Eve" and "Can't Help Singing", but most of her films have gone into a kind of eclipse which is hard to understand. Her one time film partner Judy Garland (in the short "Every Sunday") is recalled by her myriads of fans to this day for her records, her concerts, and her films. So is Mario Lanza, and he made far less movies than Durbin. But she got married, retired from movies as a regular profession (occasionally doing a voice over or a song), and became very contented. A far better fate, perhaps, than Garland's or Lanza's.

The problem was the choice of vehicles for her. She did luck out on a few films, but most did not have the care that Garland's best work at MGM had.

This 1945 film was really unique, as it was a murder mystery that tried to keep you guessing until the end who was the murderer. Dearbin is returning by train to Grand Central Station, and while passing through the lofts of the upper East West Side of the Manhattan of the middle 1940s she sees the apparent murder of an elderly gentleman by a person whose back is towards her. She tries to get the train to stop so others can see what she saw, but the people who come in don't see a life and death struggle going on.

Yet two days later Durbin is reading the newspaper and sees an item about the death of a major businessman (Thurston Hall). She starts investigating this death, and finds that his two nephews are his heirs. The nephews (Dan Duryea and Ralph Bellamy) start being questioned by Durbin, but she is not sure which of them (if either) is the guilty party. Duryea acts like his typical untrustworthy hedonist, and Bellamy acts like someone who would just like to be of assistance.

There are some moments for singing, of course. One funny one is when Durbin is alone in her apartment except for Allan Jenkins, one of the villain's henchmen. Jenkins just has to pick up some piece of evidence in Durbin's bedroom, to get rid of it. He has managed to get inside, but she is on the telephone. He starts thinking seriously of killing her, but hears her singing a very sentimental ballad over the telephone. From time to time we see it does affect him as he listens carefully. Finally Durbin hangs up, and leaves the room (so that Jenkins can leave the house unobserved). He does, but not before blowing nose quite hard. It's rare to see Jenkins so moved.

It is a cute little thriller - comedy. Nothing spectacular, but it was a change of pace for Durbin, trying to be Nora Charles.

Lady On A Train can be described as a noir comedy. The film was made during the peak period of classic noir, and makes good use of the visual conventions of the genre; low key lighting and deep focus are used in perfect doses. The script is of course a kind of detective story with a female heroine in the leading role, which deviates from what is common in the genre.

The comedy part is a bit weak and there is little real tension in the story, but it is all quite entertaining.

I didn't really know Deanne Durbin as an actress, but she was certainly a pleasure to watch, she has some comedy talents but when the film tries to get more serious it does not work so well .

Mystery-obsessed Nikki Collins (Deanna Durbin) is alone on a train to New York City. It stops at a station and she witnesses an apparent murder outside her window in a nearby building. The police don't believe her. In frustration, she recruits the help of popular mystery writer Wayne Morgan (David Bruce) who is looking for fresh material. He isn't much more helpful and she decides to look for the scene of the crime herself. She just won't let it go. She befriends Jonathan Waring (Ralph Bellamy), nephew of the murdered tycoon.

Durbin is adorable and fun in her mystery solving like a blondie Nancy Drew. She's a cross between that and a valley girl. It's a series of funny close-calls and misunderstandings. She sings a few songs. It's very light despite the murder mystery. It's easy to follow. It may be too easy. There are still some questionable issues. Even if the family doesn't know Margo, somebody at the club should know what she looks like. She keeps barely escaping which says more to the incompetence of the bad guys.

"Lady on a Train" may literally be the only Christmas musical comedy film noir ever made.

Deanna Durbin is pretty fetching as an amateur sleuth trying to solve a murder, and there are quite a few amusing moments in the movie, many of them involving that old reliable comic Edward Everett Horton. It's cozy as all get out, the way an old fashioned Agatha Christie story is cozy. I was disappointed with it, but that's because I was in the mood for an actual film noir, which this movie isn't. In a different mood, I might have found more to like.

"Lady on a Train" was nominated for a Best Sound Recording Oscar in 1945. Seems pretty random to me, but...ummmm....ok?

Grade: B

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.