On a train called the “Midnight Limited” going from New York to Montreal a man is robbed of $75,000 worth of diamonds. In the compartment next to him is Joan Marshall (Marjorie Reynolds). She hears what is going on in the next car. She peeks out and is seen by the robber. He forces his way into her car and threatens her. Noticing that she is clutching her purse he looks inside and sees some papers. The papers are important to her, but no one else. He takes the papers believing that his possessing them will keep her quiet. It doesn’t. The robber is known as the Phantom Robber. After he robs someone he pulls the emergency break cord and disappears.
Joan complains to the police, the district attorney and the rail company. She finally has a meeting with Railway Police Special Investigator Valentine Lennon (John King). King is smitten. He agrees to help her, not just because he is smitten but because there’s a robber he needs to catch.
Val and Joan are at Grand Central Station checking the passengers that board the train in hopes that she will recognize one of them. Joan notices that one passenger was on her train but he is not the man who robbed her. He is an older man who appears to be drunk and who was the same way the last time. Following a hunch Val and Joan board the train to keep an eye on the old man.
During the trip another passenger is robbed and a rail policeman is killed. Again the emergency break is pulled and the robber disappears. Everyone is questioned from the porters to the baggage man. At the end of their investigation the only thing they know is that the reservations for both victims were made at the Ritz Plaza hotel and that the old man who was identified as Professor Van Dillon (George Cleveland) was on the train.
They bring the professor in for questioning. He says he was paid $50.00 to take the train and deliver some papers in Montreal. They assign a man to stay with him until he is called with another assignment. Val believes that the only way to crack the case is to pose as a rich Canadian and book a ticket from the hotel. Then when the professor is called to be on that train the railway police will be there. It’s still a risky plan.
“Midnight Limited” was released in 1940 and was directed by Howard Bretherton. It is a poverty row film done by Monogram Studios. For a “B” movie it is pretty decent, although the mystery wasn’t all that intriguing. The acting is good, especially Marjorie Reynolds as Joan.
John ‘Dusty’ King is a little out of his league. Most people recognize him for his roles in cowboy movies, most of them done later in his career, but he’s done a few other things as well. He does fit the cowboy mold much better than the role he is trying to wrangle here.
I did not know King was a singer for band leader Ben Bernie at one time. Perhaps that’s why they had him sing a song to Joan in the movie. His singing was good, but seemed kinda corny being stuck in the middle of a mystery movie.
The movie itself was your standard late 30’s, early 40’s low budget “B” mystery. No more no less.