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Union Station

Union Station

Thriller · Crime · 1950

Police catch a break when suspected kidnappers are spotted on a train heading towards Union Station. Police, train station security and a witness try to piece together the crime and get back the blind daughter of a rich business man.

Movie details

Union Station

“... where hundreds of thousands of people pass through every day... AND THIS DAY... ONE OF THEM WAS A DANGEROUS KILLER!”

1950 Thriller · Crime 1h 21m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Police catch a break when suspected kidnappers are spotted on a train heading towards Union Station. Police, train station security and a witness try to piece together the crime and get back the blind daughter of a rich business man.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Union Station?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Desperate

Desperate

Thriller · 1947

An innocent trucker takes it on the lam when he's accused of robbery.

Family Plot

Family Plot

Comedy · 1976

Spiritualist Blanche Tyler and her cab-driving boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.

Pickup on South Street

Pickup on South Street

Thriller · 1953

In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.

The Glass Key

The Glass Key

Crime · 1942

A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.

The Seven-Ups

The Seven-Ups

Thriller · 1973

A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.

This Gun for Hire

This Gun for Hire

Crime · 1942

Sadistic killer-for-hire Philip Raven becomes enraged when his latest job is paid off in marked bills. Vowing to track down his double-crossing boss, nightclub executive Gates, Raven sits beside Gates' lovely new employee, Ellen, on a train out of town. Although Ellen is engaged to marry the police lieutenant who's hunting down Raven, she decides to try and set the misguided hit man straight as he hides from the cops and plots his revenge.

The Naked City

The Naked City

Crime · 1948

After a former model is drowned in her bathtub, Detective James Halloran and Lieutenant Dan Muldoon attempt to piece together her murder.

Palmetto

Palmetto

Crime · 1998

After being released from prison on a bum charge, Harry Barber is out for payback to regain his lost two years. He's hired by Mrs. Malroux to fake the kidnapping of her stepdaughter (the daughter of a dying millionaire). He discovers that he is being set up on multiple levels and will soon face a longer sentence if he doesn't prove the truth.

Cause for Alarm!

Cause for Alarm!

Thriller · 1951

A bedridden and gravely ill man believes his wife and doctor are conspiring to kill him, and outlines his suspicions in a letter.

The Black Windmill

The Black Windmill

Thriller · 1974

A British agent's son is kidnapped and held for a ransom of diamonds. The agent finds out that he can't even count on the people he thought were on his side to help him, so he decides to track down the kidnappers himself.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Rudolph Maté

Written by

Thomas Walsh · Sydney Boehm

William Holden

William Holden

Lt. William Calhoun

Nancy Olson

Nancy Olson

Joyce Willecombe

Barry Fitzgerald

Barry Fitzgerald

Inspector Donnelly

Lyle Bettger

Lyle Bettger

Joe Beacom

Jan Sterling

Jan Sterling

Marge Wrighter

Allene Roberts

Allene Roberts

Lorna Murchison

Herbert Heyes

Herbert Heyes

Henry Murchison

Court is in session

Put Union Station on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Sentimental Softie

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.