User reviews

Not a bad murder mystery with an interesting slant, gathering the usual suspects together in one place to flush out the guilty one takes place at the beginning of the film rather than at the end as would normally be the case. This enables the story to unfold in flashback fashion as told by each of the suspects. Van Heflin shines in one of his early roles. He seems a bit brash in places but otherwise is excellent. Patricia Dane in one of her few cinema appearances does well as the nasty gold digger who is murdered. Sam Levene made good money playing the dumb police inspector in several films of the period including two Thin Man's. So he knew his part by heart. And it's good to see veteran actor Millard Mitchell in one of his early roles.

When I first watched "Grand Central Murder," I reasoned it was taken from a play because that is how it runs. There are a few action scenes involving trains, especially at the end, but otherwise it could all have taken place on stage. This makes the movie very talkative and is a major weakness. I was surprised to see that the screenplay was adapted from a novel by Sue MacVeigh. So director S. Sylvan Simon must be to blame. The script is well-written with many witty lines. Not a bad way to spend 73 minutes.

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.

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.

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.

... and this being a B MGM picture, Van Heflin as Rocky Custer is the civilian sleuth helping the rather befuddled detectives solve a murder, not William Powell.

The picture starts out with a man convicted of murder escaping his police escorts and calling his accuser (Patricia Dane as Mida King), a headliner in a Broadway show. He tells her she doesn't have long to live, and terrified, she leaves in the middle of the show to lock herself in her private railway car. Later she is found dead and, at first, presumed raped.

Unlike the Thin Man movies though, this film rounds up all of the suspects first, and then through them telling their stories in flashback do we find out that Mida was really a pretty awful person and that each person there does have a reason to have killed her. She has been walking on people since the day she hit puberty, and was about to hit her big score in a man with seven million dollars, already planning her Reno divorce before she is even married. The murderer may be guilty of homicide and deserve to go to the chair, but he is probably also eligible for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award for disposing of this completely amoral person. Also unlike the Thin Man films, Rocky Custer, our civilian sleuth, and his wife/assistant are also suspects and therefore herded with the others.

The group of suspects is herded from an interview room, to the theatre where Mida worked, and finally to the private car and murder scene itself, usually by Rocky artfully goading and manipulating head detective Gunther (Sam Levene). What is taking so much time here besides the fact that everybody had reason to be glad Mida is dead? The medical examiner is having a terrible time figuring out what exactly killed her.

Having the entire group together the whole time makes the film a bit claustrophobic, but the flashbacks help with that some. Van Heflin is just great here, and stands head and shoulders above the cast with his performance, not that the others are bad. He just takes what could have been a somewhat dull B picture and brings out the best in the other characters, making it almost an A production. Do pay attention to the dialogue - it is fast, furious, and most of it is consequential to the plot. It is easy to miss something.

Just one more comment - somebody in the comment section said that this was a remake of Murder in the Private Car. They share absolutely no similarity in plot other than the fact that railroads are involved. Recommended.

Van Heflin brings flair to "Grand Central Murder," a 1942 B movie from MGM about a golddigging musical comedy star (Patricia Dane) who winds up dead in the private car of a train. The suspects include a escaped prisoner named Turk, (Stephen McNally, here billed as Horace McNally), an on and off boyfriend played by Tom Conway, etc. Heflin plays Rocky, a detective who was hired to get evidence so that Turk can get a new trial. At the time of the murder, Rocky and his wife Butch (a young Virginia Grey) were around the murder scene. Rocky and the police lieutenant assigned to the case (Sam Levene) attempt to solve the murder while at loggerheads with one another. Each character tells his or her story in flashback.

This film moves fairly quickly but is ultimately let down by a preposterous denouement. The acting, however, when it isn't great is at least interesting. Heflin is superb - sharp, smart, and funny as Rocky. Sam Levene gets a bad rap for his performance - yes, the director needed to tone him down. Levene was an accomplished Broadway actor and was giving basically a stage performance. Patricia Dane, once married to orchestra leader Tommy Dorsey, is pretty and talks like Jean Harlow, particularly when Harlow would try to sound upper class. Dane didn't get much chance at developing her potential once she told off an MGM executive. In this role, she comes off as cheap and annoying, which is right for the part.

Fairly enjoyable especially for Heflin.

**SPOILERS** Sharp and witty whodunit set in New York's Grand Central Station. The conniving and cold-hearted Broadway star Mida King,Patrica Dane, being found dead in her fiancée David V. Henderson's, Mark Daniels,private railroad car has the policeman on the case Inspector Gunther, Sam Levene, wanting to find and arrest who murdered her. With all the people in the movie who had it in for Mida it seemed to him that almost everyone who knew her was a prime suspect in her murder.

This all started when Mida's old boyfriend Turk, Stephen McNally, escaped from the two cops taking him back to NYC, on the New York North Railway. Turk was to be retried for a crime he was convicted of. Turk on the loose later calls Mida, between scenes in her play at the Harmony Theater, telling her that she's hasn't long to live. This causes Mida to cut short her performance and run and hide in David's private rail car parked in Grand Central Station the "Thanaopsis".

Private Eye Rocky Custer, Van Heflin,and his secretary wife Sue, Virgina Gray, has been on Turk's case and now that he's blown all the leg-work he did for him, that can get him a new trial and find Turk innocent, Rocky takes a personal interest in Turk's run in with the law and now Mida's murder. Captured in a police dragnet Turk is now the main suspect in Mida King's murder since he was the one who called and threatened her just before her body was found in David's railroad car.

Just when you, and Inspector Gunther, feel that all the evidence point's to an indictment and conviction of Turk as Mida's killer in pop's PI Rocky Custer and starts to spin a web of intrigue and deception, on the part of Mida's real killer. Rockys evidence point's to her past as a gold digger and social climber which draws in everyone she ever had any relationships with in achieving her aims, sexual and financial.

Milda had used persons as far flung as her nutty old step-father known professionally as "The Magnificent Ramon", Roman Bohnen, to her ex-husband Paul Rinehart, George Lynn, who she took for a ride and then dropped him when he ended up broke. Among those suspected in Milda's murder there's even the heart-broken blue-blooded and beautiful Constance Furness ,Cecilia Parker, and her equally upset father industrialist Mr. Roger Furness ,Samual S. Hinds, who's childhood friend and long time lover David V. Henderson Milda stole from her. Not to mention the producer of the play that Mida was in, that had her drop the broke and out of work Turk to get involved with him, Broadway and Hollywood entrepreneur Frankie Ciro, Tom Conway.

We later learn that both Rocky and Sue was on the scene just after Mida was found dead and figured out just who was responsible for her death. It came as no surprise that it was one of the many persons that she crossed during her climb to the top of the Broadway scene. That set up the film's "Grand Central Murder" thrilling and fast paced ending.

A bit too complicated for a 73 minute B-movie "Grand Central Murder" has so many plots and sub-plots, that we see in a series of flashback, involving who was with Mida King in the last fifteen or so minutes of her life and who could have murdered her that by the time the killer is exposed you almost lost interest in who and what he, or she, is anymore.

It's the fine acting from Van Haflin on down and witty script that keeps you watching and staying with the film's slow moving story that takes a while to take hold but the final few minutes more then make up for it.

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.

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.

Not bad. Handsomely filmed and directed with some skill and style by S. Sylvan Simon. Still, it's a cold picture. The mystery is fairly intricate but there's probably two or three too many suspects, and all of them are thinly drawn. As the "plot thickens" you find yourself not caring all that much because the movie is so anchorless. The dilemmas aren't sharply enough drawn. It's all plot and posturing, precious little character development.

Acting honors go to Van Heflin, as the wiseacre private detective/suspect who has a hard time keeping his smart mouth shut. Heflin's free, relaxed, supremely confident technique is in stark contrast to the more formal (some might say "stiff") acting of most of his co-stars (specifically expressionless Tom Conway). Dishonors go to Sam Levene as the ill-tempered homicide cop assigned to the case. I believe he was a highly respected actor in his day, though mostly for his stage work, but in practically every screen performance I've seen, he seems uncomfortable. He's "acting" not "being." He appears to be on unfriendly terms with the camera, always aware of it.

Those who enjoy whodunits may find its flaws forgivable.

Turk has been convicted of murder and escapes from police custody while being transported on a train. He calls to threaten former girlfriend and Broadway starlet Mida King. She turns up dead in a private train in Grand Central station. Private detective Rocky Custer (Van Heflin) has been trying to clear Turk's name. Now he has to solve another murder. The police gathers Mida's many acquaintances for the investigation including Rocky and his wife. The group of people each recounts their experiences with her troubled life.

This is essentially an old style whodunnit ending stretched over a majority of the movie. It's the part where all the suspects are gathered and the murder is solved. This is mostly told in flashbacks and that's not my favorite way to tell a story especially when it's done in pieces. It's a B-movie private eye flick. This may be trying to launch Rocky and his wife as a new crime solving duo but they are almost side characters in their own movie. They really should take the lead. As a whodunnit, I'm lost in the labyrinth of memories and quite frankly, these are all unreliable narrators. I don't know if they do any of that. It's fine but it fails to launch Rocky as a new private detective star.

Private detective Van Heflin and police inspector Sam Levene butt heads in this lighthearted murder mystery set in and around the train station. Heflin is assisted by his wife; the interaction between Heflin's "Rocky" and Virginia Grey's "Butch" sparkles but, alas, only in little bits at a time—this screenplay moves along much too swiftly to allow a lot of character development. But that's okay; what dialog is here is snappy, concise and often delivered at a rapid-fire pace.

No tears are shed for stage star Mida King (played by Patricia Dane mainly in flashbacks). Mida has been murdered—and everyone had a motive. But how was it done? And by whom? It takes Heflin just over an hour to sort it out.

This is a quickie, all right, but script, acting, direction are all smoothly proficient. No one will confuse this MGM product with something from a poor sister studio like, say, Monogram.

MGM assembled a dandy little cast for a B picture that would be an A list product at a studio like Universal, Republic, or RKO. Grand Central Murder is replete with snappy dialog, mostly coming from Van Heflin as he plays a private detective hired by Stephen McNally to get him out of a frame for murder. McNally doesn't help his case any by making a threatening phone call to Patricia Dane whose evidence has him in custody.

In fact Dane has a whole host of suspects, enough for a Thin Man feature who'd like to knock her off. She'll do whatever it takes to climb into the easy life. She's traded up until she finally has landed seven million dollar Mark Daniels who dumped Cecilia Parker for her.

The film is told in flashback by any number of suspects and witnesses so that we get a picture of what Dane was like. As Heflin says whoever knocked her off is in line for a Nobel Prize.

The Thin Man connection with this film is aided by the presence of Sam Levene as investigating police detective. As Lieutenant Abrams in some of the Thin Man series Levene is not stupid, just not as smart as Nick Charles. Here he's a blithering idiot who Van Heflin is constantly shooting down with some pointed barbs.

It's a puzzler all right. Dane is found dead in the shower of a private railroad car in Grand Central Station without a mark on her. But the cops smell murder and they investigate it as such.

You do feel kind of sorry for the perpetrator in the end. In fact he kills twice in this film, the second victim being Roman Bohnen who was Dane's stepfather and a fake psychic and a blackmailer. Another loss that wasn't mourned by many.

Grand Central Murder is a great B film which might have been meant as a Thin Man feature. Heflin makes with the cracks just as good as William Powell ever did and is just as sharp.

Van Heflin in an early starring role is a private detective with a gorgeous assistant who happens to be his spouse. A gold-digging actress who ran through men as fast as the hapless detective inspector gulps one bottle of "pop" after the other is found dead in a private railway car in Grand Central Station (usually known as Grand Central Terminal).

Many movies have been set in or feature New York's beautiful rail station. In this wartime film, a studio set substituted for the very busy and vital rail center. The sets aren't too convincing - this film was done on a small budget but so what?

Murder is usually serious but the antics of the inspector and his lackluster squad as they try to figure out whodunit make this film, with some sprightly dialogue and good character roles, very humorous. This is a real 1930s-40s view of police as folks who can't find a murderer on a bet (which is also part of this story) without the aid of an outsider, here the indefatigable and comedic "Custer," Van Heflin.

A short film running less than an hour and a half, "Grand Central Murder" is a good party movie. Van Heflin shows the acting ability that led to his appearances in far more serious films.

When an escaped con seems to have knocked off an up and coming broadway star at the train station, the cops move in fast. Sam Levine is Inspector Gunther. He goes around the room of suspects and family members. Flashbacks, as we hear how they are all connected to Mida King ( Patricia Dane). Tom Conway (one of the Falcons!) is way down in the cast list as Ciro. Connie Gilchrist is the loud, pushy Pearl Delroy, who seems to know a lot about Mida, and her friends. Van Heflin has a co-starring role, but sure got top billing. It's good. Has some clever, light banter, as the suspects all seem in a hurry to solve this thing. Based on the novel by Sue MacVeigh. Directed by Sylvan Simon; died so young at age 41. He managed to work with the big names in his short career. This came out a couple months after the country had been pulled into WW II, but no discussion of the war. Although they do say See at the end of almost every sentence, like every good murder mystery. One fun observation - the author's real name is Elizabeth Custer Nearing... she managed to name two of the married characters Custer. Fun. With so much talking, which takes place at the train station, this feels like it started out as a play.

Grand Central Murder is a classic whodunnit where a woman is murdered using an unknown method in an enclosed space. What starts as a film where you think the killer is obvious quickly turns into a mystery with a ton of suspects. I appreciate the multitude of possible murderers far more than a movie that is solely a man-on-the-run story. They have motives all over the place mostly because they make the victim a thoroughly unpleasant person. Her past doesn't cast a very favorably light on her either. It almost plays like one of those murder mystery dinners where a group of community theater actors play out a case while you eat and then pause to allow the audience to guess the killer. However, my struggle with these stories is that they feel open-ended almost to the point that the writer could restructure the ending to make a different person guilty each time. In that case, can you really guess the truth at all?

I love the fact that one of the suspects is actually a private eye. The back-and-forth between the police detective and this PI is delightful. It brought some good comedy to the film, and occasionally made me wonder whether they were using it as a bluff and he might actually be the guilty party. I am all for a movie that is efficient and doesn't drag, but I would almost say that Grand Central Murder was too short. I would have enjoyed it if they allowed some of the scenes to breathe a little more, and gave you time to suspect someone of being the killer before they exonerated them and moved on 2 minutes later. It didn't diminish the fun of the mystery, but possibly held it back from being truly great. There's a lot going for Grand Central Murder, though. It is a complex mystery with a few twists and turns, and some solid acting. However, it left me with one lingering question...do railway cars typically have a fully-functional shower?

When Broadway musical star Mida King is found murdered, Inspector Gunther hauls in a rum assortment of suspects which includes Mida's greedy phony psychic stepfather Ramon; her ex-husband Paul Rinehart (George Lynn), who works at the terminal; and her producer Frankie Ciro (Tom Conway), Mida's maid, ex-burlesque singer Pearl Delroy (Connie Gilchrist) and her daughter "Baby" (Betty Wells), Mida's understudy.

The victim was a calculating gold digger. Like the inspiration of her stage name, King Midas, everything (or rather every man) she touched, turned to gold for her purse. She had used each successive boyfriend as a stepping stone, then discarded each in turn, in her climb up the social ladder.

There's not a shortage of suspects which makes it more difficult for the inspector to figure out who the murderer is ...

The unique feature of this well-crafted murder mystery thriller is that all the suspects gather in the police station (later at the theatre) and explain their connection with the victim. It has snappy dialogue, a clever shift of suspicion on each suspects and an engaging plot line. Patricia Dane as the victim is a real beauty and really steals the scene as the horrid gold digger. The only gripe is that I found Van Heflin a trifle annoying, but then I'm not a big fan of him. He's a good actor, but a little boring.

Gold-digging stage performer Patricia Dane is found dead in her private car, parked on a siding at Grand Central Terminal. The medical examiner can't figure out what she died of, so it's off to the autopsy room. Meanwhile, Police inspector Sam Levene assembles nine suspects at the site and begins to grill them. But one of them is private investigator Van Heflin, who won't let Levene get a word in edgewise.

It's good to see Heflin get a lead role, and play a blithe character for a change, even if the fairness of the mystery is compromised by Heflin knowing what actually killed Miss Dane when he announces his solution. Still, it's nice to see the MGM gloss in terms of whom they could cast, and director S. Sylvan Simon shows how he could make a murder mystery into a comedy.

Observant readers will note that I refer to "Grand Central" terminal above. That's its formal name. It's the third of three stations built on the site; the second one was the only one formally named "Grand Central Station." However, since the subway system and the nearby Post Office use the "station" in their names, everyone calls it that.

Fun B-movie mystery with a great cast, snappy dialogue, and some clever direction. A gold-digger (Patricia Dane) is murdered at Grand Central Station. Through a series of flashbacks, we see all the various suspects and their possible motives for killing her.

Van Heflin gives a fun performance. He was always a good actor but this is the only Heflin role I can think of where he plays this type of character: charming, snarky, tough ladies man. Lovely Virginia Grey is great but she doesn't get much to do. Sam Levene plays, you guessed it, a frustrated police detective. He's entertaining as always. Tom Conway is debonair as ever, with a hint of villainy. Millard Mitchell is lots of fun as a cop that just wants to keep a date. Connie Gilchrist gives an effortless authentic performance. Samuel S. Hinds, Cecilia Parker, and Stephen McNally also offer strong support. It's really a good cast of actors for a B picture.

Interesting film with exciting finale. Moves at a crisp pace. Yes, the story is dialogue-driven, but I wouldn't call it "talky," as some have. It keeps moving and is never a drag to sit through. Also some good train stuff, for train buffs like myself. It's a solid B movie that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys detective mysteries from the '30s & '40s.

This is a silly film. Because it is set in an interesting fashion largely at Grand Central Station in New York, involves a private train car on a siding where a murder takes place, and makes use of the many trains and tracks, etc., it could have amounted to something. But alas it is just a piece of nonsense which attempts to be a 'comedy thriller'. And if we know anything, we know that comedies and thrillers don't mix. There was plenty of opportunity for atmosphere, and think what a real director like Fritz Lang could have done with it! But this was all thrown away. 'The sensational new star' Van Heflin (who had already appeared in 12 films by the way and was not really new at all) makes his appearance as a private detective, but he need not have bothered. Not only is he uninteresting and his part is a big nothing, but the whole project is a waste of time. Connie Gilchrist is, as usual, very good at being a tough gal who speaks her mind. But nobody else adds anything, except for the ever-urbane Tom Conway in a minor role. And as for the screaming and hysterical Sam Levene as a police chief who shouts and interviews twenty people at once in a room, he acts like one of the Three Stooges and the whole thing is worse than a school play. This was a good idea which could have been a movie, but instead it is a movie that has no idea.

This little B-movie mystery is a real charmer. It's gives us a clever twist on the traditional who- done-it by telling the story in flashbacks after the murder has taken place. Witty script, great casting and interesting look at train-travel of yore. It provides a preview of the type of roles that several future famed character-actors will fill. Namely: the always entertaining Sam Levene, the near-comic cop of Millard Mitchell, the handsome and dark heavy of Stephen McNally and the usually, and unfortunately under-used Virgina Grey. The main reason for the 10 is because of the aforementioned cigar-smoking maid of Gilchrist's and her brief appearance as a dancing and (yes) singing showgirl. Go Connie! A definite must-see.

This 40's B movie is full of familiar faces and basically familiar situations. But the setting in Grand Central Station(Terminal) is unusual and gives us a look into those days when train stations were the heart of the city. Here it is the venue for the murder of a not very well loved entertainer and gold digger and everybody is a suspect.

Van Heflin, in the beginning of his career and the lovely Virginia Grey play Nick and Nora Charles wannabes but without the sparkling dialogue that was the trademark of the the Thin Man films. They pass muster however, and Heflin, playing a little against type, is a snappy, mouthy private eye who just can't keep quiet, much to the disgust of the police detective portrayed by a rather irritating Sam Levine Everybody pops up in this film and most are right on target with their characters since they played the same type of roles in film after film. Tom Conway is wasted here but he was to go on to some semi-success later in the decade. Connie Gilchrist is particularly good as the cigar smoking maid.

There is an overabundance of talk in this film as everybody tells their story and it tends to slow down the action. Red herrings abound but it doesn't take long to figure out who the killer is and why. This is another of those double feature films that were so popular in the 30s and 40s........all tied up in a neat little package for your viewing pleasure.

There are many suspects, everyone being involved with this cabaret star and several wanting to marry her, while at the same time she is chased for other reasons. Too many had a motive to murder her, but the biggest problem is that it's impossible to say how she died. Detective Van Heflin, superb and interesting as always, quarrrels with the inspector throughout the film about this and other things, and there are even some fisticuffs on the way and guns pulled but not fired. Another mysterious death at the station adds to the confusion of the plot, but ultimately everything makes sense in spite of all.

The main asset of the film is the brilliant dialog and the ingenious direction. The dialog fires intermittently all the way, you get as little chance to relax for a moment as all the suspects, and they are all confined on the spot of the murder for the investigation with an occasional visit at the theatre with some theatrical controversies to add to the complex turnings of events. It's wonderfully entertaining all the way, the flow is terrific, there are constant dramatic surprises and several efforts at getaways, but ultimately it all sums up, and you have saved another evening and can walk away satisfied, while you only feel some need to see it over again.