Maurice Elvey was the David Lean of the WW1 period but his status and reputation declined over the years.
This eerie thriller is one of his best sound films, playing the spooky material off against the drab British setting - theatrical boarding houses, rail travel and unruly music halls. Claude Rains and Fay Wray did better but make interesting leads here and Elvey manages some ingenious staging, particularly having the family quit the stalled train, in a tunnel. The mob storming a line of London Bobbies in the fog evokes Elvey's most important work, his many years lost Lloyd George biography and the one scene with Donald Calthrop (the blackmailer from "Blackmail") registers.
Neglected by his own industry and ignored by critics, it would be nice to see Maurice Elvey get the credit he deserves.
This eerie thriller is one of his best sound films, playing the spooky material off against the drab British setting - theatrical boarding houses, rail travel and unruly music halls. Claude Rains and Fay Wray did better but make interesting leads here and Elvey manages some ingenious staging, particularly having the family quit the stalled train, in a tunnel. The mob storming a line of London Bobbies in the fog evokes Elvey's most important work, his many years lost Lloyd George biography and the one scene with Donald Calthrop (the blackmailer from "Blackmail") registers.
Neglected by his own industry and ignored by critics, it would be nice to see Maurice Elvey get the credit he deserves.