I actually thought the first part was better than the second part. The scenes on the train, when the murder happened, were wonderful (I'm a train person). I don't know what I expected at the ending but I was watching the time and could not believe it was almost over at that point, that there was just one more minute. Then it was over, with a few things left up in the air. I wonder if this is an ending Lang wanted.
shareI'm not sure what else they needed to show - the police arresting the husband for murdering his wife? Ford dancing with the girl who loves him? You know both are going to happen.
I actually thought this was a pretty generic noir until it broke the formula and Glenn Ford's character DIDN'T kill the husband. Because of this I liked the ending of the film.
"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."
I know it's not a police procedural film (despite it being directed by Lang), but it's obvious that the police would investigate Owen's last actions before dying. They would have found out about his suspiciously long appointment with Vicki just before his death, not to mention his connection with her going back to her childhood, and connect it to her being in close vicinity to him during his murder. It would have made her a prime suspect, but none of this is evident in the film.
Normally Lang was not so sloppy in such details.
I thought the ending was great, actually, and the film's second half generally stronger than the first as things started out a little corny in dialogue/acting department. The finale though... the scenes between Ford & Grahame, Ford stalking Crawford through the railyard, the powerful final confrontation... and then Ford just blowing the whistle with the train rolling on... all excellent stuff. Unusual, too, considering that the killer was not caught and punished on-screen. Lang's direction is customarily excellent throughout though and both Crawford and Grahame do a great job bringing their characters to life as reasonably complex human beings with room left for ambiguity. Ultimately, it's a rather solid noir.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
I suffered through this film waiting for something emotional but found it boring thank god for glen ford I could keep watching mainly to watch him
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