Expressens Mysterium (1914)

The industrialist Laroque uses every means, fair or foul, to ruin his competitor, Frédéric Nessières. By means of a kind of hypnotic power, he has completely subjugated Madeleine, Frédéric’s wife, and gets her to hand over her husband’s notes on the running of the company. He then lures workers away from Frédéric’s factory by offering them wages far higher than Nessières can afford to pay his employees. Finally, armed with Frédéric’s pistol, which Madeleine has given him, Laroque enters the compartment of the express train on which his rival is travelling. At the next station, the police remove Laroque’s body from the train and arrest Frédéric. Madeleine, who has completely recovered after Laroque’s death, and Lepellier, a family friend and lawyer, try unsuccessfully to clear Frédéric. Only shortly before the death sentence is pronounced does a railway worker who was present when Frédéric was arrested produce evidence in the courtroom that makes it possible to solve the mystery of the express train. Frédéric is promptly released, as he is not liable for any crime.