Night Train To L.A. (1975)

A night train going from San Francisco to Los Angeles has 27 passengers and crew. The majority of passengers are policemen including a San Francisco Police commissioner (Rock Hudson) heading to a police convention in L.A. Also on board is an author (Michael Callan) who has written a tell all book exposing police corruption and brutality. When he gets shot to death, will the Police Commissioner be able to solve the murder before they reach L.A.? This telefilm was orginally shown as part of the MCMILLAN & WIFE TV murder mysteries. I'm a pushover for murder mysteries set on trains (Agatha Christie's MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS being the granddaddy of them all), so I was primed for this. I pegged the murderer quite early and was hoping to be proven wrong but I wasn't. Still, I'm the demographic for this sort of thing and I enjoyed most of it up until the very end when it arrives in L.A. and ends with a conventional chase and shoot out. Nothing special but for fellow murder mysteries set on train fans, it's worth checking out. Directed by Leonard Horn. With Linda Evans, Paul Burke, Murray Matheson, John Schuck, Nancy Walker (more annoying than amusing) and Susan Saint James.