Broadway Limited

Victor McLaglen was at his best in Gunga Din or The Quiet Man, as a boisterous, brawling Scot (in real life, McLagelen had been a military provost in WWI in (if I recall properly) Constaintinople and was well used to using his fists and strength to enforce British military law). Unfortunately, The Broadway Limited was more of a romance than an action movie (except for some very good railroad scenes on the Pennsylvania RR), and McLaglen's acting appears forced and uncomfortable for the big man. On the other hand, J. Farrel McDonald once again demonstrated that he must have been a railroad man prior to becoming a good character actor. Too bad that Wallace Beery wasn't in this movie as well, since Beery had been an engine hostler for the Santa Fe and would have been more at home romancing the love interest.

This movie turned up in one of those cheap 50 movie comedy DVD packs recently and I was surprised to see a number of great character actors of the 40s playing lead parts.

The story itself is pretty simplistic and has been covered by other reviewers. Having typed that, I should add that the script is tight, the performances fine and the direction good. So what you have is a typical 40s screwball comedy which will provide an enjoyable diversion for all age groups.

Finally but most interesting of all are the outstanding Pennsy railroad scenes, especially the pacing shots. Unusually, railroad fans are treated to a number of long shots and station scenes.

All in all, good fun for railroad and comedy fans alike.

Broadway Limited is a madcap, low-budget comedy from 1941. It stars Marjorie Woodworth, Dennis O'Keefe, Leonid Kinskey, Victor McLaglen, Patsy Kelly, and Zazu Pitts.

Wanting publicity for his star, April (Woodworth), a director, Ivan (Kinskey) wants her to take a baby with her on a train going from Chicago to New York.

The director's secretary (Kelly) asks her old beau, who is the train's engineer, for help. He hears from a stranger that he has just such a baby. Once on the train, April runs into an old love, Harvey (O'Keefe), who knew her at school.

Meanwhile the search is on for a kidnapped baby, and the engineer wonders if the baby on the train is that child.

The best scenes in the film are those showing the Pennsylvania Railroad trains, equipment, and the pacing shots. Excellent.

Kinskey, Pitts, and McLaglen are just great, very funny. I admit that I've never cared for Patsy Kelly. She had a loud voice and a flat delivery (to me) and that's about it. O'Keefe and Woodworth were okay - with a touch better casting, this comedy might have gone up a few notches. Woodworth was apparently pushed into stardom before she was ready, and O'Keefe, always solid and likable, doesn't have a flair for comedy.

Fun and enjoyable. The baby is cute, too.

Plot Summary:

A Hollywood publicity stunt staged upon the Pennsylvania Railroads' once infamous Broadway Limited, from Chicago to Manhattan, goes awry when it is discovered that a baby involved is kidnapped. Much scurrying about and plenty of off the wall shenanigans ensue in this light-hearted Hollywood romp.

What I thought of it:

A typical period piece, that is both surprisingly enjoyable as well as accurate in it's portrayal of Pennsylvania Railroad locomotives and equipment and the track-side shots of the train taking nearly the same Route that Amtrak's Broadway limited still takes to this day.

If you are a rail-fan, you're bound to enjoy it. Otherwise it's enjoyable, just pretty bland by todays standards. I loved this movie, unfortunately it is extremely difficult to find. It can be purchased however through the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania's gift shop, and several smaller online railroad merchandise retailers, you just have to have the patience to look around.

One more little side note: One of the Pennsylvania Railroad Locomotives #1223, a small 4-4-0 steam engine featured in "Broadway Limited", was re-dressed as a NYC locomotive and featured in the Beginning of Hello Dolly in 1969. That same locomotive was featured in a number of other TV shows and movies, and operated on the Pennsylvania Railroad until 1950. She then went on to operate on the Strasburg Railroad from the mid 60's until 1990 when she was retired and put on display at the Railroad museum of Pennsylvania where she still stands to this day.

The only really surprising thing about this pleasant little caper is that LEONID KINSKEY (a very funny character actor) has a major part and runs off with most of his scenes. Even when actors like VICTOR McLAGLEN and DENNIS O'KEEFE are around. Pretty MARJORIE WOODWORTH is the bland romantic lead as O'Keefe's love interest, a movie star on a publicity stunt involving a baby that turns out to be the subject of a kidnapping investigation.

The misunderstandings pile up as everyone takes a turn at shielding the baby from the police. PATSY KELLY and ZASU PITTS supply some comedy relief and do well enough to provide a few chuckles.

Gordon Douglas directs, keeping the farce moving along at a rapid enough pace except for a few lulls where things get a little dull due to script problems.

Summing up: Nothing special about this harmless enough B-film that manages to be cheerful enough but entirely forgettable. Railroad fans get to see the Broadway Limited in action with plenty of shots of trains and tracks for good measure.