Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Rijndri Load of rubbish!!

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

MartinHafer In the 1930s-40s, Hollywood made approximately 3045203540 B-detective films (give or take 1 or 2). And, as I have apparently seen most of them, they all start to blend together after a while. Because of this I was actually pretty relieved to see that this one is different--not necessarily that great but at least different.The film itself is about two ladies who are on a train to go see one of the women's father--who she has never met. Apparently she's a long-lost heiress and doesn't know it. Unfortunately, she is also unknowingly being used as bait to get to the millionaire--as some crazy person wants to kill him. And, being crazy AND histrionic, he's come up with a very complicated and strange way to exact revenge.The first really odd thing is the detective. Charlie Ruggles is about as unlike the typical detective as you find--small, a bit git goofy, and possibly a bit crazy. So, when he DOES act, it comes as a surprise--especially when he becomes a bit of an action hero! Second, although it's pretty obvious they were using a lot of camera tricks, the end of the film is unusually action-packed for a mystery. Third, the plot is a lot like what you might find in an over the top movie serial--especially with such gimmicks as the sliding steel plates and voice of doom when the killer confronts the millionaire--it's goofy but highly entertaining In fact, it's easy to admit that the film is pretty silly but somehow different enough to keep your interest.By the way, talk about dehumanizing! Fred Toones (a black actor) is simply listed here as 'Snowflake' in the credits--as he was often credited in films. This appellation is a sad commentary on the times in which the film was made.

MikeMagi This is the sort of B thriller that made movie-going fun back in the thirties. Mary Carlisle is a hard-working telephone operator at a stock brokerage who suddenly discovers that she's the long-lost daughter of a railroad tycoon. With best pal Una Merkel in tow, she's tricked into boarding a private railway car en route to a reunion with her father. But neither the car nor her fellow passengers are what they appear to be.Some of it is sorta' silly. There's a circus train wreck thrown in for padding. And Charlie Ruggles' as a "deflective" detective has a few too many goofy bromides. But the climactic chase sequence, as a runaway car roars down miles of twisting mountain track, is superbly directed, shot and edited. And that was back in the days before CGI when you had to film the real thing.While "Murder in the Private Car" isn't in the same league as "The Narrow Margin" (the gold standard among railroad mysteries,) it's well worth a look. Especially for train buffs. And in just a bit over an hour, it moves along like...well...like a speeding train.

dbborroughs Thankfully brief mystery about a telephone operator who is discovered to be the kidnapped daughter of a railroad tycoon. The discovery brings about an attempt on her life which is foiled by Charlie Ruggles as a "crime deflector". Things take a turn for the dangerous when everyone ends up in the title location and another attempt is made on the girls life. Your enjoyment of this film will depend upon your tolerance for Rugggles and his nonsense.I normally like Ruggles but there was something about this role that rubbed me the wrong way. Actually I think it didn't help that the mystery wasn't very good so there was nothing beyond the characters to keep you watching. yes the finale on the train was exciting but it didn't make up for everything that went before. Not worth searching out but if you stumble upon it give it a try.

John Esche Seldom will the words "what were they thinking?!" come to mind while enjoying a film as often as while watching this pseudo-mystery from the early days of sound at MGM - though not as early as the haphazard writing would suggest.Enjoy it you will, however, as the odds and ends the entertainment are assembled from are largely quality remainders, borrowed from all kinds of other films than the mystery the title leads one to expect. Who knows what the original mystery play ("The Rear Car") the film is based on was really like? It lacked sufficient merit to make it to Broadway (neither did "Everybody Comes To Rick's," but that didn't seem to hurt CASABLANCA much), but the stagy "thriller" aspects of the center part of the film suggest that the tossed in ingredients didn't hurt it any.Chief among the "tossed in" ingredients is Charlie Ruggles' Godfrey Scott, a supposed "detective" occupied far more with the kind of bumbling burlesque comedy Ruggles had been perfecting since his movie debut back in 1914 (and would continue to mine right up until his death in 1970). By the 1930's Ruggles was a well recognized Hollywood commodity in such hits as Brandon Thomas' CHARLEY'S AUNT, THE SMILING LIEUTENANT, LOVE ME TONIGHT and ALICE IN WONDERLAND. MURDER IN THE PRIVATE CAR must have seemed a decidedly second tier assignment to the comedian, but he gave it his all . . . though the biggest laugh in the script may come in the credits - "Edgar Allan Woolf," one of the co-writers was clearly named after Edgar Allan POE, the founder of the modern mystery format with his "C. Auguste Dupin stories in the 1840's! So much for legitimate mystery credentials in this film.The silly plot (a lost heiress found and at risk) had already been the subject of too many musicals and farces to be taken entirely seriously, and the film makers don't spend to much time seriously laying out the clues and red herrings even though the golden age of the murder mystery was near its peak. Instead, they pull out the stops with cinema-friendly special effects like runaway trains and (never explained) secret panels.It starts and remains a supremely silly hodge podge, but fun nonetheless for all but the serious mystery fan the title seems to want to attract. Watch for Ruggles and Una Merkle, and don't worry so much about the title murder(s) and a good time is to be had.