''The Silk Express'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Ray Enright Ray Enright (March 25, 1896 – April 3, 1965) was an American film director. He directed 73 films between 1927–53, many of them for Warner Bros. He oversaw comedy films like Joe E. Brown vehicles, five of the six informal pairings of Joa ...

and written by Houston Branch and

Ben Markson Benjamin Allen Markson (August 6, 1897 – October 20, 1971) was an American screenwriter active from the very beginning of the sound film era through the end of the 1950s. During his 30-year career he was responsible for the story and/or screen ...

. The film, starring Neil Hamilton, Sheila Terry,

Arthur Byron Arthur William Byron (April 3, 1872 – July 16, 1943) was an American actor who played a mixture of British and American roles in films. Early years Born in Brooklyn, Byron was the son of actors Kate Crehan and Oliver Doud Byron. He was a n ...

Guy Kibbee Guy Bridges Kibbee (March 6, 1882 – May 24, 1956) was an American stage and film actor. Early years Kibbee was born in El Paso, Texas. His father was editor of the ''El Paso Herald-Post'' newspaper, and Kibbee learned how to set type at age ...

, Dudley Digges and

Arthur Hohl Arthur Hohl (May 21, 1889 – March 10, 1964) was an American stage and motion-picture character actor. Formative years and family Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 21, 1889, Hohl began appearing in films during the early 1920s. He playe ...

, was released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

on June 10, 1933.

Plot

Donald Kilgore is determined to take a shipment of silk from

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

by rail to break a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

set up by gangster Wallace Myton. Also aboard the train are Professor Axel Nyberg and his daughter Paula. He is paralyzed (except for the use of his eyes) and needs an operation in New York urgently to save his life. Myton has agents planted on the train to make sure the silk does not arrive in time. When Kilgore's secretary is found murdered in a sealed railroad car, Detective McDuff sees a chance to finally make a name for himself and insists the train remain where it is until he solves the crime. Kilgore, however, has him knocked out, and the train proceeds at a record-setting pace. Then Clark, the conductor, is also killed. Professor Nyberg has seen something and knows who the killer is; he is finally able, by blinking once for "no" and twice for "yes", to let the others know. Before he can reveal the murderer's identity, the train enters a tunnel. In the darkness, the criminal tries to silence him, but Kilgore spots some movement in the unlit compartment and saves the professor's life. The killer and his accomplice draw their guns, but "tramp" Rusty Griffith turns out to be a

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

undercover investigator and bluffs them into surrendering their weapons. The train arrives at its destination in time.

Cast

* Neil Hamilton as Donald Kilgore * Sheila Terry as Paula Nyberg *

as Conductor Clark *

as Railway Detective McDuff * Dudley Digges as Professor Axel Nyberg *

as Wallace Myton *

Allen Jenkins Allen Curtis Jenkins (born Alfred McGonegal; April 9, 1900 – July 20, 1974) was an American character actor, voice actor and singer who worked on stage, film, and television. He may be best known to some audiences as the voice of Officer Charl ...

as Robert 'Rusty' Griffith *

Harold Huber Harold Huber (born Harold Joseph Huberman, December 5, 1909September 29, 1959) was an American actor who appeared on film, radio and television. Early life Huber was born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrants from Imperial Russia, who had arrived in ...

as Train Guard Craft * G. Pat Collins as Train Guard Harry Burns *

Robert Barrat Robert Harriot Barrat (July 10, 1891 – January 7, 1970) was an American stage, motion picture, and television character actor. Early years Barratt was born on July 10, 1891 in New York City, and educated in the public schools there. He left ...

as Mr. Calhoun, Attorney * Vernon Steele as Dr. Harold Rolph *

Ivan Simpson Ivan F. Simpson (8 February 1875 – 12 October 1951) was a Scottish film and stage actor. Life and career Simpson was born on 8 February 1875 in Glasgow, Scotland, and went as a young man to New York City, where he worked for four dec ...

as Johnson * William H. Strauss as Merchant

Reception

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' praised Enright's direction, characterizing the film as "neatly measured and nicely balanced", as well as the cast's acting.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Silk Express 1933 films 1933 crime drama films American crime drama films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Ray Enright Films set on trains Warner Bros. films American black-and-white films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun English-language crime drama films