Murder in the Private Car
| Murder in the Private Car | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Harry Beaumont |
| Produced by | Lucien Hubbard |
| Written by | Harvey F. Thew (adaptation) |
| Screenplay by |
Ralph Spence Edgar Allan Woolf Al Boasberg |
| Based on |
The Rear Car 1922 play by Edward E. Rose |
| Starring |
Charles Ruggles Una Merkel Mary Carlisle |
| Cinematography |
Leonard Smith James Van Trees |
| Edited by | William S. Gray |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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63 mins. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Murder in the Private Car is a 1934 American mystery romance film starring Mary Carlisle, Charles Ruggles and Una Merkel and directed by Harry Beaumont.
The film is based on the play The Rear Car by Edward E. Rose.
Set in Los Angeles, this is the story of switchboard operator Ruth Raymond (Mary Carlisle). She learns from her lawyer Alden Murray (Porter Hall), that she is actually the daughter of railroad tycoon Luke Carson (Berton Churchill). She had been kidnapped as a baby by Luke’s brother and partner Elwood and placed with strangers. Once it is found out that she is an heiress there is an attempt on her life by her bodyguard and chauffeur, which is foiled by Godfrey D. Scott (Charles Ruggles).
A message from her father is intercepted and replaced telling her to meet him in New York instead of Los Angeles. Ruth, Murray and her best friend Georgia Latham (Una Merkel) board the train bound for New York. The lights go out in Ruth’s car and an announcement is heard “eight hours to live,” after which Scott introduces himself to Ruth and her friends as a slueth who prevents crime. Scott reunites Ruth with her stowaway boyfriend John Blake played by Russell Hardie. Then the train is suddenly stopped by the wreck of a circus train on the tracks.
After which, Murray is murdered and another announcement is made to the passengers of Ruth’s private car stating they only have five hours to live. Then an escaped gorilla attacks Ruth, Georgia and Scott and then jumps from the train. The next morning, the train stops in a small town where Ruth’s father had been tipped off to meet her. Luke Carson joins Ruth’s party in the private car. Then one by one all the windows are blackened and another announcement is made for the passengers to “say their prayers.” Carson recognizes his brother, Elwood’s voice and identifies him. Elwood explains his reasoning for terrorizing his brother and says he has planted explosives on the private car and released it from the train so that it is now rolling downhill towards another train. Scott finds and kills Elwood and after a harrowing journey, the private car passengers are saved and transferred to another train.
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