Mystery Junction 1951

On a snowbound train, a chance encounter sparks a tense, locked-in mystery. Miss Owens, Christine Silver, a middle-aged reader, recognises the mystery writer Larry Gordon, Sydney Tafler, from the cover photo of one of his books, and she tells him she’s a big fan. Gordon agrees to explain how he gets his ideas for his stories.

Suddenly a scream cuts through the carriage. They discover a door has been opened and snow is blown into the car. Gordon and Miss Owens go from car to car, checking on the other passengers. One passenger, Steve Harding, [Martin Benson], is handcuffed to a police officer Peterson, [Ewen Solon], who carries a gun. Harding is due to appear in court the next day, charged with the murder of a young woman. The other passengers—a broker, an engineer, a woman and a young man—are all connected in some way to Harding.

They learn that the train guard has been assaulted and knocked out by an attacker who stole his uniform coat and posed as him. Two female stowaways, actresses out of work and short of money, are found hiding in the guard’s van. With another officer who was escorting Harding now missing, it seems the scream they heard came from him when he was thrown from the train by an accomplice.

All the passengers disembark at a junction station to catch a connecting service, but the connection is cancelled because of the snow. Taking shelter in the station waiting room, the lights fail and, in the darkness, Officer Peterson is shot and killed, allowing Harding to be released by his accomplices. They attempt to slip away through the snowy night, but the brutal weather forces them to pause and regroup. As more police arrive to support Peterson, the true involvement of the other passengers is revealed. A final confrontation ends with Harding shot and Peterson’s killer dead, who had accidentally shot the officer in the darkness while aiming at Harding.

The scene fades back to Gordon concluding his idea to Miss Owens, Christine Silver.