Romance on the Orient Express (1985)

Cheryl Ladd takes the Orient Express with a girlfriend, as she remembers her past and a past love. OR is he, a past love? This must have been shown on British TV in 1985, because it doesn't look like anything that was ever on CBS, ABC or NBC in the 1980s. The locales, Sir John Gielgud and the romantic aura it has all come together to make a very rare television film, and one I think will be a favorite for true romantics. In her thoughts and the flashback, we see her and her girlfriend traveling through Europe and meeting Alex and his friend. Cheryl as Lily and Alex have an interlude but are separated. 10 years pass until present day when Cheryl and another girlfriend (who of course plays up the "where are the men on this train?" attitude and who looks a lot like Vicki Lawrence) are on the Orient Express and Alex has found her and tries to make up for what he did. Some dialogue and somewhat awkward scenes could be found unintentionally funny, but on the whole this is a very deeply felt and sincere little film for the true romantic at heart.

Beautiful story and scenery! Great chemistry between Alex (Stuart Wilson) and Lily (Cheryl Ladd). Alex looks so pitifully sweet toward the last scene of the movie! I loved that! If the story hadn't ended the way it did, I would have been UPSET!!! This is one of my favorites for romantic movies. 10/10

***SPOILERS**** I was prepared for this one to be a drippingly saccharine bit of foolishness, although somehow it manages to transcend that, but the script is weak and predictable. With some beautiful on-location scenes in Venice and Paris, and the luxury of the famous Orient Express, it's as good as any Barbara Taylor Bradford TV movie for a wet afternoon.Cheryl Ladd is strikingly beautiful as Lily, who is pursued by handsome Alex (Stuart Wilson) whom she met on a train 10 years before and had an affair with while travelling through Europe. Lily harbours a secret, and so does Alex, who disappeared, abandoning her without a word in Paris, plunging Lily into a distrust of men and commitment. Wilson, in a rare romantic straight role, is gorgeous and once again handles a change between a youthful 22 year old backpacker and a groomed 10-year-older-businessman remarkably well considering he was nearly 40 when it was filmed. Wilson still manages to transcend age gaps astonishingly well (recently in MASK OF ZORRO, LUZHIN DEFENCE) and is worth the price of the video. Did anyone ever consider him for Bond ? John Gielgud hams it up as Alex's stuffy rich father. Ruby Wax provides comic uplift as Lily's brassy friend and travelling companion who eventually confides Lily's secret accidentally to Alex, bringing about the happier ending. Lily's moping indecision, stubbornness, and uncommunicative attitude when Alex desperately and apologetically tries to explain to her what happened that fateful time 10 years ago, is so irritating you want to shake her, but though tears flow, you know that everything turns out fine in the end. And ultimately that's all you want of a reasonable feelgood movie. 6.5 out of 10.

Call me a romantic fool. But when I first did see this movie I cried. Years later there was this re-run on tv so I taped it. Now I could see this wonderful movie whenever I wanted. And now I am 29 I still cry seeing Romance On The Orient express. Wanna know why? Everything is excellent in this movie: the actors, the setting and of course the story. Its about a boy and girl who fall in love in France and they love each other so much they never will part. But of course they do and when they meet up ten years later you can feel the sorrow and the pain of ten lost years. Like I said, I am a romatic fool and now I am in love for 14 months I probably gonna see this movie with my girlfriend soon. So we can say we never will part. And if we do, we meet up in Paris ten years from now. Like the characters in this film