The Phantom Express is a 1932 Pre-Code film.
A train engineer ends up having a collision when he thinks he sees an oncoming train, only to discover there was no train, resulting in the deaths of several passengers. Eventually, the son of the railroad company owner investigates, and discovers that a rival railroad company has been engineering collisions to trick his father into selling out.
Terror rides the tropes!
- Clear My Name: D.J. "Smokey" Nolan sets out to prove his innocence after being accused of negligence resulting in a train collision.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: The rival railroad owner engineers collisions in order to drive the Southwest Pacific Railroad stock down try and make Mr. Harrington sell out.
- Make It Look Like an Accident: The collisions are engineered by the rival railroad owner who wants to purchase Southwest Pacific.
- Railroad Baron: The rival railroad owner is an expansionist who uses dirty methods, including engineered deaths made to look like accidents, to buy Southwest Pacific at a reduced price.
- Race Against the Clock: Bruce Harrington uncovers the plot against his father's company just hours before the latter signs it away, and has to race to prevent it from being sold.
- Railroad Plot: The rival railroad owner drives the stock of Southwest Pacific down through engineered incidents to buy it out at a reduced price and therefore expand his own network.
