Plot

Yet another long-lost silent railroad melodrama from the husband-and-wife team of J.P. McGowan and Helen Holmes, Peril of the Rail featured a couple of express drivers (Edward Hearn and Wilfred North), who, along with pretty Helen Martin (Holmes) and her dog, Rex, manage to foil a scheme to rob the railroad company. Lloyd Whitlock played the master villain and the film was produced by Morris R. Schlank's Anchor Productions. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, Rovi

Review

A surprisingly engaging silent thriller, Perils of the Rail holds up well across more than 75 years. Director/producer J.P. McGowan may have staked out a claim on Poverty Row a little early, but he knew how to move a story forward and get the most out of his actors, and he does just that here, in a brisk and economical manner that has echoes of the much higher-budgeted Tom Mix vehicle The Great K & A Train Robbery from the same year. It's all great fun, and at least one extant VHS edition -- from Hollywood's Attic -- includes a more-than-adequate stock orchestral score. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi

Credit

J.P. McGowan - Director, Betty Davis - Editor, Morris R. Schlank - Executive Producer, Walter Griffin - Cinematographer, J.P. McGowan - Producer, William E. Wing - Screenwriter

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