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6.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Bombay Mail remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like old black-and-white mysteries where people stand around in stuffy train cars looking suspicious, you might get a kick out of Bombay Mail. But honestly? If you’re looking for something that hits as hard as Night Owls in the fun department, you might want to look elsewhere.
This movie is for the completionists. The folks who just *need* to see every murder mystery ever filmed. If you hate slow setups or movies that feel like a stage play taped to a moving train, skip this one.
The whole thing takes place on a train ride between Calcutta and Bombay. A guy turns up dead, and suddenly everyone is acting like they’ve got a secret to hide. It’s the standard setup, really. Edmund Lowe is doing his best with the inspector role, but half the time he looks like he’s just waiting for his lunch break.
There’s this one scene where a character is explaining a clue, and the camera just stays on their face for way too long. I actually checked my watch. It felt like they were trying to convince me it was a deep moment, but I was just wondering why the curtains in the background looked so dusty.
It’s not a *bad* movie, just one that feels like it’s checking boxes. Sometimes, it feels less like a mystery and more like an exercise in endurance. I’ve seen better train mysteries, like The Great Air Robbery for sheer audacity, but this one is just kind of... there.
The pacing is a bit of a mess. It rushes when it should linger and drags when it should move. Also, I’m pretty sure one of the extras in the background of the dining car is just eating the same piece of toast for three whole scenes. 🍞
Ultimately—wait, I promised not to say ultimately. Anyway, it’s a bit of a relic. If you’re feeling nostalgic for 1930s cinema, you could do worse. Just don't go in expecting a masterpiece of suspense.