''The Ghost Train'' (german: Der Geisterzug) is a 1927 German-British

crime comedy Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

film directed by

Géza von Bolváry Géza von Bolváry (born Géza Gyula Mária Bolváry Zahn, german: Géza Maria von Bolváry-Zahn; 26 December 1897 – 10 August 1961) was a Hungarians, Hungarian actor, screenwriter, and film director, who worked principally in Germany and Aust ...

and starring

Guy Newall Guy Newall (25 May 1885 – 25 February 1937) was a British actor, screenwriter and film director. He was born on the Isle of Wight on 25 May 1885. He began his film career by acting in the 1915 film '' The Heart of Sister Ann''. In 1920 he direc ...

, Ilse Bois and

Louis Ralph Louis Ralph (born Ludwig Josef Musik; 17 August 1878 – September 1952) was an Austrian film actor and director. He was born Ludwig Musik in Graz, Styria, Austria-Hungary (now Austria), and died in Berlin at age 68. Selected filmography * ''D ...

.BFI.org
/ref> It is an adaptation of

Arnold Ridley William Arnold Ridley, OBE (7 January 1896 – 12 March 1984) was an English playwright and actor, earlier in his career known for writing the play '' The Ghost Train'' and later in life in the British TV sitcom ''Dad's Army'' (1968–1977) as ...

's play '' The Ghost Train''. The film was a co-production between

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

and

Phoebus Film Phoebus Film or Phoebus-Film was a German film production and distribution company active during the silent era. It was one of the medium-sized firms established during the early boom years of the Weimar Republic. It had a distribution agreement wi ...

and was shot at the latter's

Staaken Studios Staaken Studios was a film studio located in Staaken on the outskirts of the German capital Berlin. A large former zeppelin hangar, it was converted to film use following the First World War and operated during the Weimar Republic. In July 1923 it ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. The film was released in France as ''Le Train Fantome''. Some sources have reported over the years that the film was directed by famed Hungarian director

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...

but, according to critic Troy Howarth, "he's not credited on the prints, nor is the title attributed to him in any reputable source". The story was filmed again (with sound) in 1931.

Plot

Some strange supernatural phenomenon starts to occur in a railway station, leading members of the public to avoid the place. It turns out some criminals are faking the strange events to keep people away from the station to protect their smuggling operations.

Cast

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* 1927 films 1920s ghost films Films of the Weimar Republic British crime comedy films British silent feature films German crime comedy films 1920s crime comedy films Films directed by Géza von Bolváry 1920s German-language films 1920s English-language films British films based on plays Films set in England Rail transport films Gainsborough Pictures films Phoebus Film films Films produced by Arnold Pressburger Films shot at Staaken Studios German silent feature films British black-and-white films German black-and-white films 1927 comedy films Silent crime comedy films 1920s multilingual films 1920s British films Silent horror films 1920s German films {{1920s-UK-film-stub