Deanna Durbin, now pretty much a forgotten actress in 2026, except for hardcore movie buffs, was the top paid actress in 1945. Her salary per movie at that point was in the $400,000 range. That still seems like a lot of money today, but keep in mind that in today's dollars, she was making $8 million per movie.
Unfortunately for me, this movie doesn't ever click. I want it to, but it doesn't.
What I really like about the film is the lighting. This movie has perfect black & white noir lighting. Just perfect. It's fun to see Durbin hit her mark and just watch as her face enters that perfectly prepared lighting.
But after the introduction of the original problem -- she sees a murder happen as she's reading a murder mystery and then chances to glance out her train window at just the right moment -- I don't find myself connecting much to the story being told.
Maybe it's a problem of splattered genres. That is, this film, as other reviewers have noted, could have been straight noir, but this is a Deanna Durbin picture, so it can't be straight noir. It must have songs. It must have comedy. And, I don't know... I think it could still work in various elements of other genres, but I would love to see how it might work as just a noir.
Also, I'm not finding myself connecting to any of the other characters. We've got a bad guy that carries a cat around. That's fun. But other than carrying the cat, I don't remember much of what he's doing in the film. I was also disappointed that Edward Everett Horton is in the film, but without the zing that he has in other films -- especially the Astaire/Rogers films he appears in.
So, make it noir. Keep the songs. I like the renditions of "Silent Night" and "Night and Day"; I know that some reviewers find the "song breaks" annoying in Durbin films, but I don't mind them too much, as long as they make sense where they're added.
By the end of the movie. we're back on the train. Nikki (Durbin) and the mystery writer, Wayne (David Bruce), are travelling overnight to some place. Are they married? The porter comes in to turn down their bed, but Nikki stops him. Are they married? Earlier in the film, I thought the mystery writer was married already, but maybe it was just a girlfriend. In any event, Wayne gives away the ending to his latest book. That way, they can go to bed... cheeky, or so it seems, as Nikki pushes the button for the porter. Fade to The End.
They must now be married, right?
Rating: 2.5/5
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