The Phantom Express

I can't review the movie itself because the two DVD copies I obtained of this title were defective. Both discs began playing only to almost instantaneously lock up in each of my players, with a pixeled picture showing on the screen. Do not waste your time and money on this item until Amazon makes it known that all of its current (defective) stock of this movie is off the market (returned to the manufacturer and/or destroyed) and new DVDs that have gone through quality control at the time of production are now available to the public. Until such appropriate action by Amazon is taken, purchasing this item after this review's date, 10 January 2020, will likely only result in frustration.

I'm a William "Buster" Collier, Jr. fan, and despite the fact that he made 90 films, it's not that easy to find much with him in it. This film, though fairly low-budget and with near zero "special effects", was, however, enjoyable to me. Not for those who aren't fans of films of the early 30s. ;-)

For railroad train buffs, a real treat. Comments on how workers were treated. Were?! Interesting ending with an engineering marvel used by... no spoilers please!

Not too bad.Has a perfect ending.

A

Excellent service. Great product.

A weak plot and acting. It is also so old that it is hard to see...

There are other films ,same era, that give a better view of 1930s railroading,( 'Danger Lights; would be one). " Phantom Express" cuts corners by using a 'standard" gauge TOY TRAIN in some of the footage.... Im not impressed with this one.

quality of picture very good for 1932

Dating back to 1932, those wanting the technical quality and special effects associated with modern-day films (or even those of the 70s) will be very disappointed. All in black and white, noticeably soft and lacking in detail, it's hard to imagine anything worse in terms of technical quality. Also, the opening scenes of the phantom train approaching, show poor filming technique. The camera needs to be much closer to the action, to impart any sense of fear.I also get the impression that the sound track was dubbed rather than live (the speech doesn't seem right some how)! There is also plenty of over-acting by the character "Smokey" when he looses his job (yes, he's sad; I do get it, really I do, please don't labour the point any more)!You might now be thinking why 4 stars instead of 1? There are some lovely shed scenes that are bound to appeal to the enthusiasts and the last ten minutes when "Smokey" takes an engine down the line at speed, with weather about as bad as it gets, is breathtaking. Also, the plot reaches a sensible conclusion and (without giving anything away) the explanation of how the phantom train materialises, takes you by surprise (you realise your theory was way out).Please note, that the 4-star rating takes cost into consideration; I paid £3.25. Anything more than this and the rating would be lower! At £20, I'd have given it only 1 star.