Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison take the "Night Train to Munich"

Night Train to Munich (1940) is a British-American war thriller directed by Carol Reed and starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison.

When German forces take over Czechoslovakia in 1939, Axel Bomasch (James Harcourt) is flown to Britain for his own protection. His daughter, Anna (Lockwood) is arrested and sent to a concentration camp. At the concentration camp, she meets a fellow prisoner, Karl Marsen (Paul (von) Henried who befriends her. The two escape from the concentration camp, but Marsen is really a Gestapo agent assigned to befriend Anna and find out where her father is.

Dickie Randall (Harrison), a British intelligence officer attempts to rescue Anna and her father from the Nazis. Will his efforts be successful or will Anna and her father be turned over to the Gestapo?

Rex Harrison and Margaret Lockwood

Carol Reed (1906 – 1976) was an English film director. He directed several classic films including The Fallen Idol (1948), The Third Man (1949), and Oliver! (1968). Reed worked in a theatrical company in his teens. He eventually entered the film business in the UK where he worked his way up to the position of assistant director. He got his big break as a director with The Stars Look Down (1940) based on a novel by A. J. Cronin and starring Michael Redgrave. Other British films followed including Night Train to Munich (1940) starring Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison, Kipps (1941) with Redgrave again, and The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) starring Robert Donat.

Margaret Lockwood and Paul Henreid

Margaret Lockwood (1916 – 1990) was an English actress who began her career on the stage but gained fame as one of Britain’s most popular movie stars during the 1930s and 1940s. She had a starring role in Bank Holiday (1938), directed by Carol Reed. The movie was a huge success and made Lockwood a star. Next up would be The Lady Vanishes (1938), which brought her to the attention of Hollywood. Lockwood didn’t take to Hollywood and soon returned to England where she made a series of popular costume dramas including The Wicked Lady (1945) co-starring James Mason.

Rex Harrison (1908 - 1990) was an English stage and screen actor. He won a Best Actor Academy Award for his role as Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1964). He created the role of Higgins on Broadway in 1957. Harrison established himself as a film star in England in the 1930s but he also found success in Hollywood in films like Anna and the King of Siam (1946), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), Cleopatra (1963), Doctor Dolittle (1967). He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1989.

Paul Henreid (1909 - 1992) was an Austrian-British-American actor, producer, writer, and director. Henreid is probably best known for two films released in 1942: Casablanca and Now, Voyager. Henreid was under contract with Warner Bros. where he was a popular leading man starring opposite the studio's top actresses including Bette Davis, Ida Lupino, and Eleanor Parker. After he left Warner Bros. Henreid made a series of adventure films. He later directed films and television shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Maverick, and The Big Valley.

Night Train to Munich trivia

• This was the last of seven films that Lockwood made with director Reed.
• Paul Henreid was billed as Paul von Henreid, his real name.
• The film debut of Hugh Griffith (uncredited) as a sailor.
• The film is considered the first to have an actor depicting Adolph Hitler (Billy Russell).
• In some publicity for the film, it was referred to as a sequel of The Lady Vanishes (1938).

To watch the movie on YouTube, click on the link below.

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Discussion questions

1. This film is often compared to The Lady Vanishes (1938). Do you see the comparison?
2. The movie was released a year before the United States entered World War II. Do the events in this movie seem realistic, based on your knowledge of the war?
3. What did you think of the performances of Margaret Lockwood and Rex Harrison? Did they have on-screen chemistry?
4. Did you recognize Charters and Caldicott from The Lady Vanishes?
5. Was the ending believable and/or satisfying?