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The heart of this story is a retelling of the Arthurian love triangle. This time around the King rules a Milwaukee Road Railroad Yard with a brick-to-the-side-of-the-head management style not currently taught in the better business schools. He takes a wandering knight (in the guise of a hobo) under his wing only to have the knight and the Queen (O.K. the fiancé) fall in love.

Among the rest of the cast Hugh Herbert does a fine turn playing a Knight of the Road in almost Shakespearen comic relief. Other players do an adequate job, but the real star of the show is the period railroad equipment and operations. Towards the end of the movie we see some great shots of Chicago in the opening days of the Depression.

If you love trains this movie is a must. If you want another reason to see Jean Arthur the movie is worth a try.

I, too, originally saw, and taped, the film from a local PBS channel, and agree with a previous reviewer that it is a difficult film to find. As to the film: the story-line is typical and the acting acceptable; the real "star" of the film is the railroad itself. Made in 1930 during the Age of Steam, the film vividly shows the long-vanished skill and dedication required to keep the trains running. Louis Wolheim plays the hard-as-nails superintendent (such men actually existed) who was absolutely dedicated to maintaining the schedules ("hold up the 'Olympian!' Are you off your nut!"). Filmed on location in Montana on the long-abandoned Milwaukee Road railway, this film is an absolute Must for rail fans who love steam.

This film is billed as a love story (typical love triangle), but the human-to-human love story is left in the dust because the human-to-train love story is much more passionate. I won't tell you how the story ends, but if you love trains (especially steam trains), you will love watching this film. ALL the characters in this film are in love with trains, and you will be, too. Be sure not to miss the lightning train trip to Chicago. The one thing that could have improved this film would have been "brightening up" the night scenes. I have a copy of it in my library - go thou and do likewise (don't know if it can be rented).

I was lucky enough to tape a copy of this once when the local public television station ran it (no commercials!) cause it sure is hard to find. Its not the kind of movie you watch for the story (though it has one) or for it's great acting (its about as bad as "Plan 9 from Outer Space") but if you enjoy trains and a look back at all the work that went on behind the scenes to keep them running, this is the movie for you. One of only a few movies shot in "Natural Vision." I would love to see this projected in a theater where the large vistas would rally come alive.

Entertaining yarn about tough railroad man Dan Thorn (Louis Wolheim), really quite a decent guy in spite of his rough exterior - he seems to help all around him, including his sweet and pretty girlfriend Mary (Jean Arthur) and her father. A new guy recently down-on-his-luck, Larry Doyle, comes to work at the rail yard, thanks to Dan - but when Larry meets Mary - sparks fly. But Mary wants to remain loyal to Dan, who apparently has taken care of her and her father since she was a child - not to mention her dad is completely gung-ho for her to marry Dan.

This is a very good film, with interesting plot line and exciting action scenes, plus lots of well-done, scenic shots of the running trains and railroad yards filmed on location. Louis Wolheim is an appealing actor, I have enjoyed his performance in every film I have seen of his. The romance between Mary and Larry is well played out by the two actors and comes across as realistic. A strong, engaging film, well worth seeing.