Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948)(dvd)

Synopsis: While 1932's Rome Express was a sleek, fast-moving turbo of a crime drama, this unnecessary remake is something of a branch-line diesel that director John Paddy Carstairs insists on stopping at every country halt, thus preventing it from picking up any momentum.

The story remains basically the same as before, with Albert Lieven and Jean Kent as thieves in pursuit of a diary packed with state secrets, which passes from one shifty passenger to another. Comparisons are inevitable, if slightly unfair, but none of the cast improves on the original characterisations. Lieven does a nice line in villainy, though.

Cast: William Bendix
Runtime: 84 min