The Interrupted Journey
Encyclopedia
The Interrupted Journey is a 1949 British
thriller film directed by Daniel Birt
and Valerie Hobson
, Richard Todd
, Christine Norden
and Tom Walls
. A man fleeing with his mistress narrowly escapes a train crash after he pulls the emergency chord and is wracked with guilt. The railways scenes were shot at Longmoor
in Hampshire
.
As they are embracing the sound of a massive train crash reaches the house. Carol immediately runs to help the victims, while John stands their stunned as he realises it is the train he has just left that has been involved in the disaster. After they run down to help North walks amidst the chaos and from a shattered carriage he catches sight of a lifeless arm sticking out of the wreckage that clearly belongs to his lover Susan Wilding. She and everybody else in the carriage has been killed in the collision. North chooses to say nothing about his presence on the train to his wife, maintaining that he returned from London by road.
Over the next few days North is guilt-ridden as the details of the crash emerge. After the train stopped when he pulled the chord, it was struck by a goods train. There are dozens dead and injured and bodies are still being dug out from the wreckage. North's problems increase with the appearance of Clayton, an idiosyncratic British Rail
crash inspector, who begins to ask questions that clearly unnerve North. North denies any connection with anyone on the train, although Clayton has recovered documents connecting North and his mistress which were found on the man who had been following them, a private detective hired by her husband, who had also died in the crash.
Unable any longer to keep the pretence up, North admits to his wife that he was on the train and pulled the chord and that he was running away with another woman. In spite of his confession she decides to stand by him as his renewed love for her is clear. He then steels himself to confess to Clayton, only to hear on the radio that the crash had been caused by a failed signal rather than his pulling the chord. In spite of this they still go to Clayton who admits that he won't make anything more of North's actions as "he doesn't want anymore lives to be lost in the wreckage". North and his wife go home, apparently to hear no more about the case.
The next day, however, Clayton returns with Inspector Waterson who has orders to bring North in for questioning. Before the train crash, it has now been discovered, Mrs Wilding was shot through the heart. Waterson insists that North killed her and then jumped off the train, but North refuses to confess to this. After making his statement he is free to go, but with a cloud now hanging over him and the prospect of being hanged for murder. Now even his wife is losing faith in his innocence, and when the police uncover a revolver in the garden, it seems he is ceirtain to be hanged.
North goes on the run from the police, visiting the Wilding house in London, and trying to discover if Mr Wilding is still alive as he is listed amongst the railway crash dead. Wilding's mother insists to him that she has identified her son's body. He then travels down to the hotel in Plymouth
where he had planned to stay with his mistress, and finds another person there under North's assumed name. It turns out to be Mr Wilding, who had been on the train and murdered his wife, and then made off. The two men confront each other and Wilding shoots North between the eyes.
North comes to, back on the train, having just stepped out into the corridor. Instead of jumping off, North quietly returns to Susan Wilding. This time it is she who pulls the chord, sensing that his heart is not really in their affair anymore, and tells him to go back to his wife. He returns to his wife, and they embrace. He hears the sound of whistles on the track and fears another collision, but it is just the train moving off again after the delay.
and awakens from this dream sequence shortly before the conclusion for a happy ending. However it has been noted that the whole film "simulates the qualities of a nightmare" through its use of coincidences and the lighting. The Encyclopedia of Film Noir describes it as a "superior film noir
" and compares its ending to the 1944 The Woman in the Window
.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
thriller film directed by Daniel Birt
Daniel Birt
Daniel Birt was an English film director and editor. Birt began his career as an editor in 1932 with an assistant credit on The Lucky Number, and went on to edit twelve films during the 1930s....
and Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson was a British actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s...
, Richard Todd
Richard Todd
Richard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
, Christine Norden
Christine Norden
Christine Norden was a British actress.-Career:Born Mary Lydia Thornton in Mowbray Terrace, Sunderland, she was the daughter of a bus driver...
and Tom Walls
Tom Walls
Tom Kirby Walls was a popular English stage and motion-pictures character actor, and film director. He has claim to be one of the most influential figures in British comedy.-Early career:...
. A man fleeing with his mistress narrowly escapes a train crash after he pulls the emergency chord and is wracked with guilt. The railways scenes were shot at Longmoor
Longmoor Military Railway
The Longmoor Military Railway was a British military railway in Hampshire, built by the Royal Engineers from 1903 in order to train soldiers on railway construction and operations.-Route:...
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.
Plot
John North, a struggling writer, is running away with his mistress. After meeting her in London he is sure they are being followed both in the street and at the railway cafe where they have a cup of tea. Once they are on the train he still can't rid himself of his unease as they sit discussing their new life together. Once she is asleep, North goes out into the corridor to try and gather his thoughts and it is then he again sees the man he believes has been following them. In a fit of panic, North pulls the communication cord and jumps off the train. By chance the train is stopped just of couple of minute's away from his house. When he gets there he finds his wife, Carol, waiting for him as usual, as though nothing were wrong. Feeling a burst of fresh affection for her he embraces her.As they are embracing the sound of a massive train crash reaches the house. Carol immediately runs to help the victims, while John stands their stunned as he realises it is the train he has just left that has been involved in the disaster. After they run down to help North walks amidst the chaos and from a shattered carriage he catches sight of a lifeless arm sticking out of the wreckage that clearly belongs to his lover Susan Wilding. She and everybody else in the carriage has been killed in the collision. North chooses to say nothing about his presence on the train to his wife, maintaining that he returned from London by road.
Over the next few days North is guilt-ridden as the details of the crash emerge. After the train stopped when he pulled the chord, it was struck by a goods train. There are dozens dead and injured and bodies are still being dug out from the wreckage. North's problems increase with the appearance of Clayton, an idiosyncratic British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
crash inspector, who begins to ask questions that clearly unnerve North. North denies any connection with anyone on the train, although Clayton has recovered documents connecting North and his mistress which were found on the man who had been following them, a private detective hired by her husband, who had also died in the crash.
Unable any longer to keep the pretence up, North admits to his wife that he was on the train and pulled the chord and that he was running away with another woman. In spite of his confession she decides to stand by him as his renewed love for her is clear. He then steels himself to confess to Clayton, only to hear on the radio that the crash had been caused by a failed signal rather than his pulling the chord. In spite of this they still go to Clayton who admits that he won't make anything more of North's actions as "he doesn't want anymore lives to be lost in the wreckage". North and his wife go home, apparently to hear no more about the case.
The next day, however, Clayton returns with Inspector Waterson who has orders to bring North in for questioning. Before the train crash, it has now been discovered, Mrs Wilding was shot through the heart. Waterson insists that North killed her and then jumped off the train, but North refuses to confess to this. After making his statement he is free to go, but with a cloud now hanging over him and the prospect of being hanged for murder. Now even his wife is losing faith in his innocence, and when the police uncover a revolver in the garden, it seems he is ceirtain to be hanged.
North goes on the run from the police, visiting the Wilding house in London, and trying to discover if Mr Wilding is still alive as he is listed amongst the railway crash dead. Wilding's mother insists to him that she has identified her son's body. He then travels down to the hotel in Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
where he had planned to stay with his mistress, and finds another person there under North's assumed name. It turns out to be Mr Wilding, who had been on the train and murdered his wife, and then made off. The two men confront each other and Wilding shoots North between the eyes.
North comes to, back on the train, having just stepped out into the corridor. Instead of jumping off, North quietly returns to Susan Wilding. This time it is she who pulls the chord, sensing that his heart is not really in their affair anymore, and tells him to go back to his wife. He returns to his wife, and they embrace. He hears the sound of whistles on the track and fears another collision, but it is just the train moving off again after the delay.
Reception
The film's ending is sometimes considered contrived by critics as Todd realises that much of the plot has been a nightmareNightmare
A nightmare is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the mind, typically fear or horror, but also despair, anxiety and great sadness. The dream may contain situations of danger, discomfort, psychological or physical terror...
and awakens from this dream sequence shortly before the conclusion for a happy ending. However it has been noted that the whole film "simulates the qualities of a nightmare" through its use of coincidences and the lighting. The Encyclopedia of Film Noir describes it as a "superior film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
" and compares its ending to the 1944 The Woman in the Window
The Woman in the Window
The Woman in the Window is a film noir directed by Fritz Lang that tells the story of psychology professor Richard Wanley who meets and becomes enamored with a young femme fatale....
.
Cast
- Valerie HobsonValerie HobsonValerie Hobson was a British actress who appeared in a number of British films during the 1940s and 1950s...
- Carol North - Richard ToddRichard ToddRichard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
- John North - Christine NordenChristine NordenChristine Norden was a British actress.-Career:Born Mary Lydia Thornton in Mowbray Terrace, Sunderland, she was the daughter of a bus driver...
- Susan Wilding - Tom WallsTom WallsTom Kirby Walls was a popular English stage and motion-pictures character actor, and film director. He has claim to be one of the most influential figures in British comedy.-Early career:...
- Mr Clayton - Ralph TrumanRalph TrumanRalph Truman was an English actor, usually cast as either a villain or an authority figure. He possessed a distinguished speaking voice...
- Inspector Waterson - Vida HopeVida Hope-Selected filmography:* Champagne Charlie * English Without Tears * Hue and Cry * Nicholas Nickleby * It Always Rains on Sunday * Woman Hater * For Them That Trespass...
- Miss Marchment, owner of Danver's Hotel - Alexander GaugeAlexander GaugeAlexander Gauge was a British actor best known for playing Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood from 1955 to 1960....
- Jerves Wilding - Dora BryanDora BryanDora May Bryan OBE is an English actress of stage, film and television.-Early life:Bryan was born as Dora May Broadbent in Southport, Lancashire, England. Her father was a salesman and she attended Hathershaw County Primary School in Oldham, Lancashire...
- Waitress at Station Cafe - Arnold RidleyArnold RidleyMajor William Arnold Ridley, OBE was an English playwright and actor, first notable as the author of the play The Ghost Train and later in life for portraying the elderly Private Charles Godfrey in the popular British sitcom Dad's Army .-Early life:Ridley was born in Walcot, Bath, England where...
- Mr Saunders - Cyril SmithCyril Smith (actor)Cyril Bruce Smith was a Scottish actor who began his career as a child in the 1900s and went on to appear in over 100 films between 1914 and his death almost 50 years later.-Career:...
- George, the barman - Arthur Lane - Constable Cowley
- Nigel Neilson - Sergeant Sanger
- Dora Sevening - Wilding's mother
- Elsie Wagstaff - Wilding's Maid
- Alan GordonAlan GordonAlan Gordon may refer to:*Alan Gordon , mystery writer whose works are based on Shakespearean characters*Alan Gordon , Scottish footballer*Alan Gordon , American soccer player...
- Ticket Inspector - Vincent BallVincent BallVincent Ball is an Australian actor who has worked both in Australia and in the United Kingdom....
- 1st Rescue Worker at Crash Site - Jack Vyvian - 2nd Rescue Worker at Crash Site
- Roger MooreRoger MooreSir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
- Soldier in Paddington Café - Gwynneth Vaughan - Girl with the Soldier