El expreso de la muerte

John Wayne is "Larry", an airline pilot who only just manages to land his plane in a field and rush to the scene of a railway accident in which his father, the driver, has perished. He is livid and when he discovers that this was sabotage, he determines to track down the culprit. Meantime we discover just who is behind these attacks - but that he has quite a legitimate axe to grind against an all-conquering railroad that rode rough shod over people and townships alike during it's construction. There's no doubt as to the conclusion of this feature film - a condensed version that is based around the first few and the last few parts of a twelve part serialisation, and it is largely filmed as if it were a silent movie with a sound effects disc running efficiently now and again in the background to liven it up. What dialogue there is, is delivered in a seriously stilted fashion suggesting the actors were reading cue cards just out of shot and so isn't the most natural. The photography is basic, but it's also quite exciting at times when it's on the trains and we are whizzing around at speed. I don't think this abridged version is particularly good nor memorable but I do reckon it could have made for quite an entertaining week-to-week serial with cliffhanger endings each time. It's watchable as a piece of low-budget cinema nostalgia - it illustrates gently that just as the plane is overtaking the train, sound movies are overtaking the silent ones.

I watched the eighty minute condensed version of this show and actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Unfortunately, the DVD i bought wasn't made from a great print(i would certainly buy a better one if could). Anyhow, it was a very fun trip back in time to the days when John Wayne was a young pup and Hollywood was becoming, well, Hollywood.

As you might expect the condensed version was very fast moving and there were lots of stunts, some really scary, like when Wayne or a double jumps from a moving car onto a moving train. Yikes!!! You had to be crazy to be a stuntman back in those days.

The story isn't really that much by todays standards but it makes for a pretty good little action film. The girl is cute and yeah I'm sure she and Duke probably saw some action between takes. Ha, why not? I'm sure that the entire serial would prob get boring so don't waste your time with that, the short version works really well. Hopefully you can get a better transfer though. Overall, this is a nice time capsule that takes you back to a earlier and more innocent America and Hollywood. If nothing else you might enjoy the vintage trains, planes, and automobiles. The DVD i bought included this movie and three more and i paid fifty cents for it at kroger. This movie was the second best behind Paradise Canyon which was a great movie and was made from a great print.

The full length version runs about 227 minutes. "Gone With the Wind",long known for its length, has a run time of about 222 minutes. To experience the full historic flavor of an old time serial, I suggest trying the full length version, but try it as it was originally viewed. (An episode at a time!) Lots of thrills, chills, and spills, and a mystery that can't be solved until the very last episode in which the murderer turns out to be XXXXX. Bit of trivia: The plane used in the movie is a Ford Tri-Motor. (Old Henry built about 200 of them, largely at the instigation of his son Edsel.)In some scenes, its identification has been painted over. In other scenes it can be read. The plane is model 5-AT-49 registration number NC-8411, built in 1929 and destroyed in a crash in the mountains of Columbia in 1939. The "TAT" (Transcontinental Air Transport) logo is visible on the plane. (The fore-runner of Howard Hughes' TWA.)All interior scenes were shot in a prop department mock up with increased height and width. Of especial note is the single throttle. The Ford Tri-Motor had three! Dean Jacksonville, FL (Where Shirley Gray died in obscurity.)

Despite a great title, "The Hurricane Express" (referring to a crack passenger train which we hardly even see at all) is very slow and talky. Most of the film time is spent in static conversation about who might be wrecking the railroad company's trains. This serial came from the bargain-basement Mascot studio, and seems as if it were done by a high-school film class. There is John Wayne, of course, and some worthwhile vintage train, airplane and outdoor footage, but if that's all you want, keep poised onto the fast-forward button. The editing (or lack thereof) is the worst thing about "The Hurricane Express"; scenes are allowed to run on interminably, and it's as though Mascot didn't want to throw any precious film away. Shy away from the full-length film and look instead for any condensed version .... which still might be too long. So, who wrecked "The Hurricane Express"? Mascot Pictures did. Recommended only for curiosity-seekers.

In a random moment to homage a few actor's who attended the 'Save the Rose Theatre' spectacular street event in1989, I watched a classic from the '40's featuring Roy Roger's, upon same compilation DVD, there's an R. Scott feature but also the trimmed serial of Hurricane Express.

If there's a mystery worth pursuing purely for cultural nostalgia it has to be how the many earliest B & W serial westerns, turned a completely average actor, into the phenomenon that was 'John Wayne'. Something that even the many tribute documentarys have barely scratched the surface.

This serial has strong historical aspects in many of its vehicular scenes that rivals the 'Keystone Cops' or 'Charlie Chaplin' features, its weakness is from the mutilation that condensed editting of 12 episodes does to create a re-releasable movie.

Production values of the original are clearly shown to emphasise the stock single placement of camera with minimal focus or extra lighting. Giving the film, more a variety of grey hues to give sense of depth, completely inadequate to enable more emotive range for the cast.

Fortunately, what remains of its convoluted plot is more that enough to pursue 'Action', and this has more old-style brawls and chase scenes than you'll find in any modern feature.

In relative comparison, the closest series in modern terms of storyline and effects to this would be 'Mission Impossible' in either '60's or Cruise control era's.

As for resolving the two mysteries?

Well there's the Mascott, itself in one scene only, sadly the Wayne factor appear to have been removed in the trimming, as dramatically even the heroine gets enough involvement to be strongly regarded a bonus for actress Shirley Grey, who survived the switch to colour features extending career in acting by 30+ roles.