Grand Central Murder

When a not so sympathetic victim (Patricia Dane) is murdered in a private side car at Grand Central Station, detective Van Heflin and a crusty inspector (Sam Levene) join forces to solve the case. A neat little mystery yarn, this was an above average B-picture from MGM that gave us an early glimpse of Van Heflin, a young actor who was certainly blessed with enormous talent. Virginia Grey, Stephen McNally, Samuel S. Hinds, Connie Gilchrist, Tom Conway and Millard Mitchell are fine in supporting roles and the ending comes as a satisfying, if not probable, conclusion.

This is the sort of film that played the lower half of a double bill when released in 1942, but even then it was praised as an above average thriller. It moves at a swift pace and is guaranteed to hold your interest.

Excellent 1940's era comedy/who-done-it played out as a series of flashbacks in response to the detective's questions. Good dialog is complemented by unusual use of lights and interesting shots of characters in and amongst trains. Everyone had a motive, most everyone the opportunity, but only the private detective knows how murder was committed. The killer is trapped into revealing him/herself.

Unusual casting. Van Heflin and Virginia Grey appear to be playing Nick and Nora Charles – she only gets one good set of lines and he is nowhere as dapper as William Powell. Connie Gilchrist is excellent as the maid. Tom Conway is miscast but casting of police is excellent. No wasted time in this tight mystery. Highly recommended.

In the same year that Van Heflin won the supporting Oscar for "Johnny Eager," he gave another wonderful performance as a comedic investigator involved up to his head in a murder mystery.

Mida King has it all. She is a Broadway star who is about to marry a millionaire before dumping him and cashing in on all that money.

Involved with a mob figure, (Steve McNally) in an unusually restrained performance, King, played by Patricia Dane, meets an untimely end as the film is the usual who did it with comic overtones.

Besides Heflin, Connie Gilchrist shines as the maid. Her Brooklyn accent suits her well here and she is forever endearing in the part.

Sam Levene, as the police detective, caught up in this mayhem does a fine job here.

This film is definitely well worth watching. Look for wonderful comic timing by Heflin.

It was great viewing this 1942 film that was suppose to take place in Grand Central Station, New York City, but 95 percent of the film was produced in Hollywood. Van Heflin, (Rocky Custer) plays the role as a private detective along with his wife, Virginia Grey, (Sue "Butch" Custer) who works side by side with her husband in order to solve many of his murder cases and investigations. Patricia Done (Mida King) plays the role of a gold digger who will flirt with any man old or young in order to get all their money or gifts and turn it all into cash and hid the money, because she did not believe in banks. Mida King made many friends, but also made many men grow to hate her. One man that was not very happy with Mida was Frankie Ciro, (Tom Conway) who owned a night club and made her his star and she walks out on opening night during the second act. Inspector Gunther,(Sam Levene) gives a great supporting role as the policeman in charge of the investigation and has a great deal of trouble trying to find out just who the killer is and even accuses Rocky Custer and many other people in the cast.

Although this movie stars Van Heflin, you'd almost swear that it's a series detective film. If the names were only changed, I could imagine that this could have been a decent plot for Boston Blackie, the Lone Wolf or the Saint. That's because although the story is told through a series of flashbacks, in most other ways it is identical to a series film. It features the usual daffy lead police detective, his dumber than a tomato assistant, great snappy dialog, accusations that the private eye himself committed the murder, a sidekick for this guy and more twists and turns than any crime film deserves to have! For lovers of the genre, this film is a must-see---especially since Heflin's performance is so good and apparently effortless. While the movie occasionally bogs down a tad here and there (it is a bit too "talky"), it is generally quite interesting and the film's conclusion is truly horrific yet exciting to watch. Good stuff well worth your time.