Romance on the Orient Express

Cheryl Ladd and Stuart Wilson played an American student and a British man who meet aboard a train ten years prior and have a romance. They're romance ends abruptly. Viewers learn the history through flashbacks. Ruby Wax has a supporting role as Susan Lawson, an American photographer from New York City, traveling with Lily Parker (Cheryl Ladd) from Venice, Italy to Paris, France aboard the Orient Express. Stuart Wilson played Alex Woodward, a British suitor who falls in love with Lily Parker. The love story could have been better told though. The scenery was lovely especially Paris and Venice. Sir John Gielgud played Alex's father in a few scenes. This film was probably a made for television movie in the mid-eighties. Cheryl Ladd and Stuart Wilson were fine and believable. I actually wanted to see Ruby Wax in the film and she does a fine job.

Unfortunately for this review, I have just finished viewing the Robert Mitchum-Deborah Kerr 1985 TV movie "Reunion at Fairborough" when I came upon "Romance at the Orient Express" starring Stuart Wilson and Cheryl Ladd and decided to view it. (I must have misread the title and thought it was a new version of an Agatha Christie mystery novel; I was awaiting the report of a murder at any time. I took a second look at the title and true enough, it's a romance, not a murder mystery.) Ha-ha! Surprisingly, "Orient " and "Fairborough" have the exact same plot. It is the hackneyed template of across-the-pond lovers separated by unavoidable circumstances (a contractual marriage in Orient Express and the end of the war in Fairborough.) In the Wilson-Ladd romance, the man (Alex Woodward) is English and the woman (Lily Parker) is American. In the Mitchum-Kerr romance, the woman (Sally Wells Grant) is English and the man (Carl Hostup) is American. Unbeknownst to the man in each story, during the long separation, the woman gave birth to his baby and singlehandedly raised it, so that there is much surprise when years later (about 40 years with the Mitchum-Kerr couple; 10 years with the Ladd-Wilson couple) they inadvertently meet again. But that's where the similarities end. In the Wilson-Ladd romance, their baby, initially not shown in the film, is a nine-year-old girl given the feminine version of her father's name, Alexandra. In the Mitchum-Kerr romance, their baby (also not shown in the film) is a grownup wife and mother who died with her husband in an accident, leaving Mitchum and Kerr with a 19-year-old obnoxious granddaughter who is an annoying peace activist and dismissive of Americans. I'm sorry to say, Romance on the Orient Express cannot even begin to hold a candle to Reunion at Fairborough. Aside from the sweet love between the young couple, there's very little substance to back up the story in Orient Express. Only the character of Susan Lawson as Ruby Wax gives it a small uplift but it's not enough. It shows Cheryl Ladd bitterly moping and moping and moping about something Stuart Wilson and this movie viewer could never fathom. OK, I get it. The love-of-her-life a long time ago disappeared without a trace, leaving her to raise their daughter alone. But, lucky her (not all abandoned women have that fortune) he has come back, more loving than ever, extremely sorry for what had happened, consoles and comforts her, ready to endure whatever punishment she might want to deal him with, even makes love to her the way she had long longed for. Yet she cannot forgive and she continues to mope and mope. I'm sorry, because of her irritating endless moping, I stopped watching the film some way before the end. Contrast that with the Deborah Kerr character (Sally Wells Grant) who receives her former lover with a cordial (courteous and friendly) wait-and-see attitude until she feels safe enough to rekindle the spark. She does it with real class and elegance that even in her old age, rekindling the romance is far from cringey. Moreover, Fairborough satisfies in many levels. The heartwarming reunion members of WWII bomb squadron provides a great back up to the story and their different tales of heartbreaks and triumphs give much substance to the film. On the other hand, Romance on the Orient Express is a flat, slow-moving story, set in a fast-running train. Boring.

It's my favorite movie, and I love the story very much from the first time I saw it. Now I taped it to make a video CD, so that I can keep it ever, and review it anytime. I cannot forget Lily's eye sight, Alex's face, and the beautiful song when they were sightseeing on a river boat: If you could-- save the time-- in the box--

Very nice TV movie... with lovely landscapes and beautiful music! Excellent performances of the casting and 10 points photography. The problem is that I can´t find the movie in VHS so I can buy it. Please people of AMAZON ... ! where I can get this movie? I want to buy it. If you are at home one saturday afternoon with nothing to do... rent this movie, get a COKE some chocolate cookies and with a middle open window put the video in your player and enjoy it! It´s very smart advice from an argentinian movies expert.

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

I saw this movie on TV a while back. I thought it was a good movie. Cheryl Ladd acted well and so did her male lead. I don't know why it was never released on DVD when so many other movies are released and many are not as good as this movie. The story is about Cheryl Ladd's character meeting an old flame who abruptly ended their relationship years earlier and she meets him again on the Orient Express and wants to find out why he ended their relationship for reasons she never got to know. The Orient Express has beautiful furnishings and is very impressive. The music is romantic and well done. Too bad this movie never got on DVD or even Turner movies so I could record it on VHS.

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

First off, cheryl ladd isn't a virgin by any stretch of the imagination and she implies any man in pants will do so there you go .. ready set go ...let me exit before i puke ...awful bad film...wretching

It's my favorite movie, and I love the story very much from the first time I saw it. Now I taped it to make a video CD, so that I can keep it ever, and review it anytime. I cannot forget Lily's eye sight, Alex's face, and the beautiful song when they were sightseeing on a river boat: If you could-- save the time-- in the box--

I saw this movie on TV a while back. I thought it was a good movie. Cheryl Ladd acted well and so did her male lead. I don't know why it was never released on DVD when so many other movies are released and many are not as good as this movie. The story is about Cheryl Ladd's character meeting an old flame who abruptly ended their relationship years earlier and she meets him again on the Orient Express and wants to find out why he ended their relationship for reasons she never got to know. The Orient Express has beautiful furnishings and is very impressive. The music is romantic and well done. Too bad this movie never got on DVD or even Turner movies so I could record it on VHS.