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Douglas Fairbanks Jr. stars in "Union Depot" a pre-code effort from Alfred E. Green that follows the myriad stories found roaming within the hustle and bustle at a train station. Fairbanks is a shrewd tramp who weasels his way into interesting situations, which include getting into the suit of a rich man. Once he cleans up (quite nicely), he crosses paths with the gorgeous Joan Blondell, who plays a chorus girl desperate to get to Salt Lake City where a new gig awaits her if she can arrive in time.

"Union Depot" is a very busy, fast paced film full of fun coincidences, and those highly improbable circumstances that make classic Hollywood fare so refreshing. It never quite becomes the "Grand Hotel" in a train station it desired to be, but it's a nice place to spend a little over an hour nonetheless.

Union Depot is a 1932 precode film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Guy Kibbee, and Joan Blondell.

Chick (Fairbanks) and Scrap Iron Scratch (Kibbee) are two hobos during the Depression, hungry and hanging around Union Depot to beg for money and look for opportunities to get money.

The first opportunity comes in the form of a conductor's uniform hanging in the mens room, which Chick steals by sticking a pole through the mens room window. Then he gets a real windfall - a man (Frank McHugh) leaves his suitcase in the mens room. Chick chases him to return it, but the man is gone. Inside is everything Chick will need to look like the handsome man that he is: a suit, shaving cream, shaver. He emerges from the mens room looking great. He also has money that was in the suit pocket.

He goes to a diner and orders soup to nuts and racks up a huge bill of $1.75. I can't believe the prices in those days. He sees a forlorn looking young woman in the station. It's Ruth (Joan Blondell) who needs $64 to get to Salt Lake City to join a show that she was in before she broke her ankle. And she'll do anything to get it. That's fine with Chick. He takes her to a private dining room and makes a pass. She tries, but she can't go through with it. She finally tells Chick her full story, that besides needing to get to the show, she's running from a creep that lived in her rooming house. Chick believes her and says he'll buy her ticket.

Somewhere along the line, he meets up with Scratch, who has found a wallet with a pawn ticket. The pawn ticket is for a violin in a case. Chick takes it to the pawnbroker across the way. While the pawnbroker is taking care of another customer, Chick opens the violin and finds $13,000 -- the equivalent of nearly a quarter of a million dollars today. Frankly, I could use the $13,000 now, and it's over 80 years later.

Chick hides the violin case and leaves Scratch in charge of it and takes some of the money with him. And there the fun begins.

This is a fast-moving, entertaining story that leaves one with a tinge of sadness. I am a huge fan of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. I think he was a very underrated actor. He's marvelous here, as effective as a hobo as he is as a dapper gentleman. Both his comedy and dramatic work are marvelous. Joan Blondell is adorable -- so pretty and sweet, but with an edge that shows that the character has been through hard times.

Precode has a more liberal view of sex. People have it, for one thing. And you don't have to be married. Fairbanks is fairly cavalier about it and angry when Blondell doesn't come across.

Very good movie - if you see that it's on TCM, don't miss it. I would have liked a less downbeat ending, but hey, it was the Depression.

At a busy train station, handsome hobo Douglas Fairbanks Jr. (as Charles "Chic" Miller) finds an abandoned piece of luggage with a perfectly fitting suit and shave case. After changing and shaving, Mr. Fairbanks finds a wad of money in a suit pocket. He gets a good meal and decides to enjoy sex with a prostitute, mistaking pretty blonde chorus girl Joan Blondell (as Ruth Collins) for a train station whore. She's "been around," but is basically "decent," Ms. Blondell tells Fairbanks. Naturally, Fairbanks decides to help Blondell. She needed fare to get to Salt Lake City for a job, and is also being chased by a sleazy limping George Rosener (as Bernardi). Meanwhile, Fairbanks' scruffy companion Guy Kibbee (as Scrap Iron Scratch) finds a discarded claim check, which he gives Fairbanks to redeem - it's for a fiddle case full of cash...

Lurking around among the travelers are suspicious-looking Alan Hale (as Bushy Sloan) and agents David Landau and Earle Foxe. Everything comes together quite neatly and suspenseful, arguably with the exception of Blondell's pursuer, who could have been more fully examined. "Union Station" was reportedly inspired by the book "Grand Hotel" and came out before the movie. The setting is a rich playground for director Alfred E. Green, but it's not quite an "ensemble" of drama. Fairbanks is clearly the central figure and the film could have been titled "Gentleman for a Day" after one of his closing lines. He is excellent in the role, by the way. Co-star Blondell beautifully leads the Warner Bros. supporting cast of characters. The pace, performances and excitement levels head off some production creakiness. The ending is surprisingly effective.

******* Union Depot (1/14/32) Alfred E. Green ~ Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Joan Blondell, Guy Kibbee, Alan Hale

Interesting Pre-Code movie about a hobo (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) at a train station who finds a bag with money and clothes that he uses to transform himself into a gentleman, at least on the outside. He meets a woman (Joan Blondell) who's down on her luck and, after initially treating her pretty rough, decides to try and help her out. There are other characters with their own stories and eventually they all intersect.

Doug Fairbanks is good in a role that's hard to like at first. He has nice chemistry with Joan Blondell. Joan's both sexy and cute, playing slightly against the types of parts she was normally playing then. Guy Kibbee is fun as Fairbanks' friend Scrap Iron. Frank McHugh has an amusing bit as a drunk, Alan Hale is a counterfeiter, David Landau a tough cop, and George Rosener a perverted weirdo after Blondell. The movie moves along at a quick pace and gets the most out of its 67 minutes. Colorful characters and a snappy script with some laughs, drama, and even action. It's solid entertainment but also has some interest for those curious about Depression-era America.

This film may not be as pretty as Grand Hotel but its on-par entertainment with that film. What drew me to this film was its Pre-Code status and Joan Blondell. Those things were definitely worth watching but let me put it this way, I came for Joan but stayed for Douglas. He carries this film and carries it well and I love his pairing with Guy Kibbee. I recognized Guy from the films Gold Diggers and I believe 42nd Street-some other pre-code gems. He's playing a very different character here than in those films and plays it well. I recently took a chance and purchased this on warner archive.com and I'm glad I checked out these helpful reviews. I decided to add my own review as every little bit helps and I while I love most old films they all aren't worth the time but this one is. The ending is especially real and I can't help but wonder if it in some small way inspired the ending for Casablanca. Watch it so you'll know what I mean. 9 out of 10!