All Aboard Paramount Noir
Union Station (1950) Is Train-Stop Set Thrills
William Holden began reaping reward of Sunset
Boulevard with this cop procedural about kidnapping of a blind girl and rush to
locate her as panicked Lyle Bettger and gang blunder at collect of ransom.
Procedurals were less noirish because we tended to stay with clean-cut lawdogs,
Barry Fitzgerald, for instance, in reprise of his Naked City
off-casting, and happily saves blarney here till fade. It's not fun
seeing a blind girl jostled around by crooks, so thanks be again, there's not
emphasis on that. Holden's detective is partnered with key witness Nancy Olson.
They don't romance, which is as well, as that would have padded 81 minutes that
didn't need more. Paramount
built a partial Union Station for action setting, most of pic set there at
variety of angle. Director Rudolph Maté should
get more credit for brace of star vehicles he did after stepping out from
behind cameras, but his passing in 1964 came before serious consideration was
given to workmanlike and efficient helmsmen like himself. Among refreshing
aspects of Union Station is police cheerfully engaged in unsportsmanlike
conduct with suspects, girding to toss one in front of an on-comer train unless
he talks. We'd get this to point of tiring from Dirty Harry and the 70's on,
but Union Station came long before those diminishing returns set in, and is the
more fun and memorable for it.
A great film. I do question your assertion that "Paramount built a massive Union Station for action setting." Having visited Los Angeles Union Station several times, I would say that 90% of what you see is the real station location (both inside and out). There is a cut away to a station office that is set. In addition the L elevated train chase is probably Chicago. If you get a chance, visit this 1939 station which represents the golden age of rail travel. A real treat is the recently re-opened Harvey House restaurant which is part of station complex. Thanks again for highlighted this exciting and well made film.
ReplyDelete"Union Station" is often included on lists of movies that filmed in Chicago but none of it was filmed here. The elevated train is the Third Avenue L in NYC, rear projected backwards if I recall correctly. Stockyards are the Los Angeles one-no palm trees in Chicago. Tunnel system is not Chicago either but all these have given people the idea it filmed some in Chicago. Alan Ladd's "Appointment with Danger" did film here and in NW Indiana around this time, also the earlier "Chicago Deadline" includes Ladd riding the L.
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