Weekend Movie Number Five – An underrated and probably forgotten spy thriller.

Posted By: Fahrenheit211 February 19, 2021

 

Most people know Rex Harrison for his performance in the musical My Fair Lady but here we see him taking on the role of a British spy operating in Germany on the eve of World War II.

Night Train to Munich made in 1940 and also starring Margaret Lockwood is a cracking little spy thriller with Harrison as a British man impersonating a German officer. The spy is in Germany in order to get a Czech scientist who has discovered a new form of armour plate who is being held by the Nazis who want the man’s secrets and who will do anything to get them.

This isn’t a James Bond style movie with lots of special effects or gadgets although the ending is seriously gripping and does have a fantastic chase, but instead is a quiet but exciting tale of two adversaries combating each other man to man. Much of the action takes place on the claustrophobic environment of the train to Munich and this compressing of the action into a small physical space really does help keep the attention on the characters and their motivations. One thing that you may notice is that there is one motif that the film brings up which was also used in a slightly different way in The Great Escape.

I’d never come across this movie before but I was delighted to encounter it and really enjoyed it and I hope you all do too.

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8 Comments on "Weekend Movie Number Five – An underrated and probably forgotten spy thriller."

  1. Pcar | February 20, 2021 at 12:10 am |

    I remember Rex Harrison for “Doctor Dolittle” and “The Yellow Rolls-Royce” as I was young and enjoyed more than “My Fair Lady”. Although, I did enjoy all, but less attention to MFL

    I’m very grateful I had libertarian parents who let me watch whatever I wanted and whose ethos was ‘do what you want, but be good and do no harm’

    A weekend test for readers, please post result:

    This lockdown personality quiz tells you which one of five “lockdown personality types” fits you best, and gives you a few “lockdown survival” tips based on your results. The research itself is looking at how lockdown attitudes and behaviours cluster together into groups, and how they´re linked to personality.

    The insights could help explain why some people are more sceptical while others are stubbornly pro-lockdown, and what psychological processes are responsible for changing people´s minds. To be successful, the research needs to collect data from non-sceptical people too, so please feel free to share it with your friends and family!

    If you´d like to participate in this research, you can complete a personality questionnaire here.
    https://survey.alchemer.eu/s3/90307188/ld

    • F. | February 20, 2021 at 11:03 am |

      I came out as Stoic. Seems relevant.

    • Fahrenheit211 | February 20, 2021 at 6:19 pm |

      I haven’t seen The Yellow Rolls Royce, I’ll look it up. I also don’t recall my parents being overly prescriptive with TV but when I ws a child most of the stuff that was edgy was on after I went to bed. The only time I can recall my parents expressing an opinion on such matters when I was a child was when The Exorcist came out and my mother saying it was the product of a nasty mind. I find it somewhat sad that I can not give my child the same freedom as I had for fear of censure if I did. However, when I look back at some of the stupid and dangerous things I did when I was aged 11 – 16, such as playing around abandoned industrial sites, I shudder and wonder how I made it. Maybe it was because I was generally sensible enough not to enter factory basements that smelled overpoweringly of Napthaline and where a stone made a gloopy splash when I chucked one down the stairway.

      Interesting survey there.

      • Pcar | February 21, 2021 at 12:15 am |

        I came out as Rebel which I’d agree with

        TV: Parents had a B&W one in their bedroom I could watch if what they were watching downstairs was boring

        Present for passing 11+ was 50% towards my own TV. Bought a 12″ ITT B&W (240v/12v) with push buttons and sliders for all controls – I’d already created in mind a remote control: bamboo cane with blu-tak on end. Worked perfectly

        Survey: the intelligence questions at end were well crafted

  2. Pcar | February 22, 2021 at 12:12 am |

    Your result was?

    I’m a biker too, @LR and I usually agree, but I’m more right libertarian. Bikers For Trump works for me

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