I was grabbed immediately by this intriguing episode of Kraft Suspense Theatre, but unfortunately once it reveals the tale's secrets midway through it becomes a rather tame show. It's a shame because this story by Ben Maddow (the renowned writer of "The Asphalt Jungle" whose career was ruined by McCarthy-era blacklisting) has terrific elements.
This could have been fashioned into a solid film project for Orson Welles, as it deals with the search for an enigmatic "great man" played by Lloyd Bochner. Jeffrey Hunter, hiding behind a strange-looking pair of horn-rimmed glasses, he plays a geologist out to see his old college buddy of over a decade back, with a proposition to sell options to a Canadian parcel of land where he's discovered a rich lode of titanium (currently back in the news via the Apple iPhone).
After a meet cute in the hotel bar with Tippi Hedren, Hunter finds himself in a deadly situation revolving around his old friends, with many an odd detail, including Bochner's mania for recording and listening to sounds of trains (hence the title).
Unfortunately, William Wood's teleplay from Maddow's ingenious story runs out of gas -the more that's revealed about these characters and what's really going on, the less interesting the story becomes. It was assigned to journeyman TV director Douglas Heyes (whose only film I've enjoyed is the campy "Kitten with a Whip" shot the year before this show) and lacks any style, relying strictly on dialogue. Warren Stevens makes a smooth villain, but the ending is poorly staged and unsatisfactory.
This could have been fashioned into a solid film project for Orson Welles, as it deals with the search for an enigmatic "great man" played by Lloyd Bochner. Jeffrey Hunter, hiding behind a strange-looking pair of horn-rimmed glasses, he plays a geologist out to see his old college buddy of over a decade back, with a proposition to sell options to a Canadian parcel of land where he's discovered a rich lode of titanium (currently back in the news via the Apple iPhone).
After a meet cute in the hotel bar with Tippi Hedren, Hunter finds himself in a deadly situation revolving around his old friends, with many an odd detail, including Bochner's mania for recording and listening to sounds of trains (hence the title).
Unfortunately, William Wood's teleplay from Maddow's ingenious story runs out of gas -the more that's revealed about these characters and what's really going on, the less interesting the story becomes. It was assigned to journeyman TV director Douglas Heyes (whose only film I've enjoyed is the campy "Kitten with a Whip" shot the year before this show) and lacks any style, relying strictly on dialogue. Warren Stevens makes a smooth villain, but the ending is poorly staged and unsatisfactory.
