Overlooked Films: Sleepers West (1941)

Reading and writing about Frederick Nebel's first novel Sleepers East last week reminded me of still another movie I've never seen. And this is it - the no doubt tortured and twisted Hollywood adaptation of the story - Sleepers West.

The movie stars Lloyd Nolan, in his second of seven appearances as Michael Shayne, so it's pretty obvious that he - a private detective - is the hero of the piece. The twisted thing about this is that in the book, the private detective, appropriately named Izzard, is the only true villain. While the other eleven main characters are motivated by some small sense of honor, Izzard is ready and willing to become (if he isn't already) a cold blooded killer. Of an innocent woman, no less.

I'd also like to see this film for personal reasons. My grandfather was an engineer for the Northern Pacific, and my father was a brakeman, conductor, trainmaster and assistant superintendent. Me, I took a lot of trips from one end of the line to the other, usually riding in sleeper cars just like the one described in the book. I even worked for the NP (and later the BN) myself, doing vacation relief stints in a variety of menial positions. Guess I still have a little railroading in my blood.

 

 

But don't forget. It's really . . . 

More Overlooked Films, as always, at SWEET FREEDOM.