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6.6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Rome Express remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have ninety minutes to spare tonight and love old-school mysteries, Rome Express is absolutely worth your time. 🚂
People who get a kick out of nosey passengers, dramatic steam train whistles, and villains with sharp cheekbones will love this. But if you can't stand crackly 1930s audio or plots that rely on people leaving their cabin doors unlocked, you should probably skip it.
This is basically the granddaddy of the whole "murder on a train" genre. It actually came out *before* Agatha Christie even published her famous book, which feels wild when you watch it.
The whole thing kicks off because someone steals a priceless Van Dyck painting. Honestly, the way they handle this painting is hilarious.
They just wrap it in some cheap brown paper. Characters just toss it onto luggage racks or leave it on couches like it’s a rolled-up sports magazine.
At one point, I’m pretty sure someone almost sits on it.
The main reason to watch this is Conrad Veidt. He plays Zurta, the chief bad guy, and he is just *magnetic* to watch.
He has this way of staring at people where his eyes look like they are vibrating with pure menace. He doesn't even have to do much; he just stands in the corridor looking extremely tall and evil.
There is this great, quiet scene where he’s trying to intimidate a nervous little man in a cramped compartment. The tension is so thick you can almost smell the stale train smoke.
Then you have the bickering couple who are eloping but already seem to hate each other. Their constant whispering arguments reminded me of the silly relationship drama in The Primitive Lover, where nobody seems to actually want to be together.They spend half the trip worrying about being spotted, which of course they are, instantly.
I love how loud the train sounds are at the start, and then they just... disappear whenever people need to whisper secrets. The movie just forgets about the locomotive engine when its convenient.
Also, there is a French police inspector who shows up later and looks incredibly confused by everything. He has this wonderful, exhausted energy like he just wanted to finish his shift and go home.
The ending gets a bit rushed, to be honest. It’s like the director suddenly realized they were running out of film and had to wrap up the murder mystery in about four minutes.
But honestly, the atmosphere is so cozy. It makes you want to wrap yourself in a blanket with a warm drink, even if there is a killer loose in carriage B.
It’s not perfect, and some of the side characters are just there to fill up space. Still, for a movie from 1932, it has a surprisingly modern sense of humor about its own cliches.
IMDb —
1915
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