A paroled embezzler skips town with his $100K loot and boards the Chicago-New York train, followed by an assortment of shady characters who want the money, but en-route to NYC the embezzler ... Read allA paroled embezzler skips town with his $100K loot and boards the Chicago-New York train, followed by an assortment of shady characters who want the money, but en-route to NYC the embezzler is murdered and his loot disappears.A paroled embezzler skips town with his $100K loot and boards the Chicago-New York train, followed by an assortment of shady characters who want the money, but en-route to NYC the embezzler is murdered and his loot disappears.
- Photographer
- (uncredited)
- Eddie
- (uncredited)
- Train Passenger
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJack Bailey, who plays the quiz show host at the beginning of the film, became famous shortly afterward as host of the highly popular 1950s TV series Queen for a Day (1951).
- Quotes
John J. Malone: First this fiend murders Keppler
Myron Brynk: Shut up, Malone.
John J. Malone: What do you mean, shut up? You deliberately killed two people in cold blood.
Myron Brynk: I want to retain you as my attorney.
John J. Malone: Dragged their bodies all over a train. I want a $10,000 retainer.
Myron Brynk: Come down to the jail and I'll write you a check.
John J. Malone: Gentlemen, this is clearly a crime of passion.
- Crazy creditsFOREWORD: "The producers of this picture feel that the attorney depicted herein should be disbarred and strongly suggest that the American Bar Association do something about it." EPILOGUE: "Housewives of America, arise! Urge the American Bar Association to do something about this man!"
- SoundtracksMissus O'Malley and Mister Malone
(uncredited)
Music by Adolph Deutsch
Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Sung by chorus over main title
Let me get this out of the way first. George Carlin, before he became what he was most known for - political comedy, black comedy, etc. - was just a regular comic. He once referred to Marjorie Main as "that saucy little Italian tart." I can't hear her name or see her without remembering that.
Onto our story. Mrs. O'Malley lives in a Podunk town and wins $50,000 on a radio show. She has to take a train to New York in order to pick up her prize. Meanwhile, a womanizing, money-hungry attorney, Malone, is after a paroled embezzler who owes him $10,000. The man, Kepplar, was in prison for a robbery, but the money was never found. Malone is sure Kepplar has the money on him.
Kepplar jumps parole by boarding the same train on which Mrs. O'Malley is traveling. Malone jumps on as well, in hot pursuit. He's not alone in searching for Kepplar. It's a merry band: his ex-wife (Ann Dvorak) and a police inspector Tim Marino (Fred Clark).
Kepplar is murdered, and the murderer is trying to set Malone up to take the fall. With the help of Mrs. O'Malley in the berth next to his, the two of them start moving Kepplar around, all along trying to catch the killer.
Whitmore and Main are fabulous together, and Whitmore's comic timing is excellent. The dialogue is snappy and funny, and the slapstick is great. Fred Clark's serious and frustrated demeanor makes his scenes even funnier.
Phyllis Kirk is Malone's pretty secretary. Ann Dvorak, as Kepplar's ex-wife, is marvelous in a light role. This is a late-ish part for her she was most prolific in the '30s and '40s. It's a shame she didn't stay in films, but she would retire the next year.
This should have been followed up with more films featuring O'Malley and Malone. A shame it didn't.
If you spot this on TCM, don't miss it.
- blanche-2
- Feb 25, 2015
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- The Loco Motive
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $592,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 9 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1