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Union Station (1950)

Director: Rudolph Maté

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From Time Out Film Guide

Despite implausibilities in its police procedural aspects, a sharp, brilliantly staged thriller about the kidnapping of a blind girl (Roberts), and the massive surveillance operation set up at Chicago's Union Station, the contact point established with the girl's father. Luck aiding, the kidnapper's plan starts to unravel almost immediately, with one associate trampled to death by cattle after being pursued into the stockyards; another spilling all he knows when cops threaten to throw him under a train; and a third (Sterling) left dying in the gutter when the hideout has to be abandoned. Undeterred, the dementedly vindictive kidnapper (Bettger) stashes the blind girl alone in a tunnel under the station strewn with naked high tension wires, then proceeds to try to collect the ransom... Agreeably ruthless on both sides of the law, the whole thing is considerably boosted by being shot on location (though not actual locations). Good performances down the line too, from Holden as the caring cop, Fitzgerald as the cynical one, and Olsen (secretary to the girl's father) as the bystander whose sharp eyes help crack the case.

Author: TM 0000-00-00 00:00:00

Time Out Film Guide

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Cast & crew

Director: Rudolph Maté

Producer: Jules Schermer

Cast: William Holden, Nancy Olson, Barry Fitzgerald, Lyle Bettger, Jan Sterling, Allene Roberts full cast

Genre(s): Film Noir

Duration: 80 mins


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