Time Table (1956)
Time Table (1956)
„Time Table“ is a 1956 Black & White film-noir crime film directed by Mark Stevens, screenplay by Aben Kandel, story by Robert Angus.
Dr. Paul Bruckner, a surgeon whose license has been revoked for alcoholism, poses as Dr. Sloane aboard a train passing through Arizona. His presence there is part of a caper involving Lombard, a patient pretending to be infected with polio, on whose behalf he gains access to his physician’s bag in the baggage car. There he blows the safe and steals a huge cash payroll. Bruckner and his accomplice disembark at a remote small town, escaping in a stolen helicopter.
The insurance company assigns claim investigator Charlie Norman to the case, forcing him to postpone his vacation to Mexico with his wife Ruth. Joe Armstrong, a veteran railroad policeman also investigates.
During the escape, Lombard accidentally shot himself, forcing Bruckner, and the money, to remain with him instead of escaping to Mexico. Charlie’s assignment to the case further complicates matters.
However, Charlie is the secret mastermind behind the plot. He carefully planned the crime after meeting Bruckner, who filed a false accident claim. Charlie plans to disappear in Mexico with Bruckner’s wife Linda, who pretended to be Lombard’s wife, and use the cash to finance his new life. Bruckner, desperate for money, joined in the crime strictly for the cash.
Charlie decides that they should all wait for the investigation to cool before trying to continue on to Mexico. However, Joe, methodically investigating each aspect of the crime, finds an accomplice who leads to another, Al Wolfe, the owner of the „stolen“ helicopter. Charlie realizes that Bruckner and Wolfe double-crossed him, killed Lombard and planned to keep the money for themselves. Charlie kills Wolfe to silence him and makes it appear to be a suicide. Bruckner, trying to escape to Mexico with Linda and his share of the loot, panics during a routine customs check and tries to force his way across the border, but is killed by police. Linda escapes, and Joe arranges to accompany Charlie to Mexico to find her, believing that she has the rest of the loot.
Charlie sees an opportunity to escape and stashes his cut of the money in a briefcase to smuggle into Mexico. He suspects Bruckner had already arranged to leave Mexico for another country with Linda. Charlie also discovers that an unsuspecting Ruth has tried to pull a practical joke on him by substituting fishing gear for his work reports in the briefcase. She has discovered the stolen money and returned it anonymously to the insurance company. While pursuing Linda to take Bruckner’s place in the double-cross plan, Charlie draws the suspicion of Joe and the Mexican police. Forced to abandon Bruckner’s plan, Charlie and Linda are cornered and killed in a shootout.
Cast:
- Mark Stevens – Charlie Norman
- King Calder – Joe Armstrong
- Felicia Farr – Linda Brucker
- Marianne Stewart – Ruth Norman
- Wesley Addy – Dr. Paul Brucker
- Alan Reed – Al Wolfe
- Rodolfo Hoyos Jr. – Lt. Castro
- Jack Klugman – Frankie Page
- John Marley – Bobik
- William Kendis – Eddie, baggage handler
- Art Balinger – Jail Officer
- Anna Navarro – Mexican Bar Fly
- Howard Culver – Pete the detective
- Raymond Bailey – Sam Hendricks
- Robert Anderson – Sheriff Jack of Winston
- John Maxwell – Train Conductor
- Roy Glenn – Train Porter
„Auf den Schienen zur Hölle“ (Time Table) ist ein Schwarz-Weiß-Kriminalfilm aus dem Jahr 1956, Regie: Mark Stevens, Drehbuch: Aben Kandel, Geschichte: Robert Angus.
Dr. Paul Bruckner, ein Chirurg, dem wegen Alkoholismus die Zulassung entzogen wurde, gibt sich an Bord eines Zuges, der durch Arizona fährt, als Dr. Sloane aus. Seine Anwesenheit dort ist Teil eines Gauners, in den Lombard verwickelt ist, ein Patient, der vorgibt, an Polio erkrankt zu sein, und in dessen Auftrag er sich Zugang zur Tasche seines Arztes im Gepäckwagen verschafft. Dort sprengt er den Tresor und stiehlt eine große Geldsumme. Bruckner und sein Komplize landen in einer abgelegenen Kleinstadt und fliehen mit einem gestohlenen Hubschrauber.
Die Versicherungsgesellschaft beauftragt den Schadensermittler Charlie Norman mit dem Fall und zwingt ihn, seinen Urlaub in Mexiko mit seiner Frau Ruth zu verschieben. Joe Armstrong, ein altgedienter Bahnpolizist, ermittelt ebenfalls.
Während der Flucht erschoss sich Lombard versehentlich und zwang Bruckner, mit dem Geld bei ihm zu bleiben, anstatt nach Mexiko zu fliehen. Charlies Beauftragung mit dem Fall macht die Sache noch komplizierter.
