The Interrupted Journey is a 1949 British thriller film directed by Daniel Birt and starring Valerie Hobson, Richard Todd, Christine Norden and Tom Walls.

John North, a struggling writer, plans to elope with his mistress, Susan Wilding, following an incidental quarrel that morning with his wife Carol who is frustrated that her husband refuses employment offered by her father, considering their perilous finances.

When he then thinks he sees Susan's husband further along the corridor, John panics and pulls the emergency communication cord to stop the train.

Eventually, John admits to his wife that he was on the train and had been running away with another woman, but had pulled the cord and jumped off after changing his mind.

When she says she will stand by him, he determines to confess to Clayton, only to hear on the radio that the crash had been caused by a failed signal rather than his pulling the cord.

There, he finds Wilding, who tells him that he was on the train and murdered his wife for being unfaithful, and then planted his identifying papers on one of the dead.

Havelock-Allen was married to Valerie Hobson at the time and he also felt the film might make a good vehicle for Richard Todd who had just become a star with The Hasty Heart.

[6] To help accurately portray officers of the Plymouth City Police, Havelock-Allan wrote to the Chief Constable, Mr J.F.

[1] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The standard of playing in a small cast is adequate, though Richard Todd's technique would be more suited to the theatre.

The most remarkable elements in the film are the camerawork and lighting, on which the director, Daniel Birt, must have concentrated his attentions.

Striking use of the camera is especially noticeable in a scene in the hall of a small hotel, where an amusing cameo by Vida Hope is played against a background of innumerable soft highlights and intense shadows, which lend a fine sense of depth and atmosphere.

"[9] Kine Weekly wrote: "The first half is fairly plausible and exciting, despite Richard Todd's immature acting, but the second is too fantastic for words.

"[10] Variety wrote: "The theme allows for good meaty action and crisp direction has kept the story moving at a steady pace.