Peking Express (DVD)

In this thrilling remake of Josef von Sternberg’s Shanghai Express, Joseph Cotten (The Third Man) stars as World Health Organization doctor Michael Bachlin, traveling by train from Shanghai to Peking. Among the other passengers on board the Peking Express are Michael’s former lover (Corinne Calvet, Rope of Sand), a priest (Edmund Gwenn, Foreign Correspondent) and a reporter (Benson Fong, Deception), all fleeing Chinese Communist rule. But when an outlaw (Marvin Miller, Dead Reckoning) and his terrifying gang hold the train hostage, the refugees are plunged into even greater danger. Director William Dieterle (Portrait of Jennie, The Turning Point) mixes gripping film noir with breathtaking action-adventure in Peking Express, featuring gorgeous cinematography by Charles Lang (A Foreign Affair) and an excellent script by John Meredyth Lucas (Dark City), Jules Furthman (The Outlaw) and Harry Hervey (Road to Singapore).