The Hurricane Express main backdrop
The Hurricane Express main poster

The Hurricane Express

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5.1/10 • 15

1932-08-011h 19m

AdventureMysteryCrimeAction

A CRASHING ADVENTURE SERIAL!

The Wrecker wrecks trains on the L & R Railroad. One of his victims is Larry Baker's father. Baker wants to find the evildoer, among a host of suspects, but it will be difficult since the Wrecker can disguise himself to look like almost anyone

Directors
J.P. McGowan, Armand Schaefer
Editors
Ray Snyder

Top Billed Cast

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  1. John Wayne

    John Wayne

    The Air Pilot

  2. Tully Marshall

    Tully Marshall

    The Railroad Manager

  3. Conway Tearle

    Conway Tearle

    The Railroad Attorney

  4. Shirley Grey

    Shirley Grey

    The Secretary

  5. Edmund Breese

    Edmund Breese

    The Secretary's Father

  6. Lloyd Whitlock

    Lloyd Whitlock

    The Air Line Manager

  7. Al Bridge

    Al Bridge

    The Station Agent

  8. Matthew Betz

    Matthew Betz

    The Engineer Jordan

  9. Joseph W. Girard

    Joseph W. Girard

    The Railroad Detective

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Nov 8, 2023

5/10

John Wayne is "Larry", an airline pilot who only just manages to land his plane in a field and rush to the scene of a railway accident in which his father, the driver, has perished. He is livid and when he discovers that this was sabotage, he determines to track down the culprit. Meantime we discover just who is behind these attacks - but that he has quite a legitimate axe to grind against an all-conquering railroad that rode rough shod over people and townships alike during it's construction. There's no doubt as to the conclusion of this feature film - a condensed version that is based around the first few and the last few parts of a twelve part serialisation, and it is largely filmed as if it were a silent movie with a sound effects disc running efficiently now and again in the background to liven it up. What dialogue there is, is delivered in a seriously stilted fashion suggesting the actors were reading cue cards just out of shot and so isn't the most natural. The photography is basic, but it's also quite exciting at times when it's on the trains and we are whizzing around at speed. I don't think this abridged version is particularly good nor memorable but I do reckon it could have made for quite an entertaining week-to-week serial with cliffhanger endings each time. It's watchable as a piece of low-budget cinema nostalgia - it illustrates gently that just as the plane is overtaking the train, sound movies are overtaking the silent ones.

Media

  • The Hurricane Express backdrop
  • The Hurricane Express backdrop
  • The Hurricane Express backdrop

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
--
Revenue
--
Keywords
train accidentrailroadmovie serial