Mystery Train
Short description
Mystery Train is set in Memphis, Tennessee, where the Arcade Hotel becomes the meeting point for several strangers over a single night. Among the guests are a young Japanese couple who have come to explore the city's rock 'n' roll heritage, an Italian widow whose travels take an unexpected turn, and a group of men on the run after a drunken night goes wrong. The hotel's eccentric night clerk and a hapless bellboy watch over the comings and goings as the separate stories unfold and occasionally brush against each other.
Jim Jarmusch wrote and directed the film, his fourth feature, following Down by Law and preceding Night on Earth. It was produced by Jim Stark, with a cast that includes Youki Kudoh and Masatoshi Nagase as the Japanese visitors, Screamin' Jay Hawkins as the night clerk, Cinqué Lee as the bellboy, Nicoletta Braschi and Elizabeth Bracco. Thirty-five credited cast members and ninety-four crew worked on the production.
Released in September 1989, the film had a budget of about three million dollars and earned roughly two million at the worldwide box office. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.5 from around 33,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.3 from over 500 votes. Film critics gave it a rating of 7.3 from 36 reviews, placing it in line with the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- A song by the great bluesman Screamin' Jay Hawkins, who played the role of a night clerk, was featured in Jim Jarmusch's earlier film "Stranger Than Paradise".
- The role of the hotel porter was played by Jim Jarmusch's friend and the younger brother of director Spike Lee, Cinque Lee.
- The role of Louise (the "Ghost" novella) was played by the wife of director Roberto Benigni (a long-time friend of Jim Jarmusch), Nicoletta Braschi.
- The role of Johnny (the "Lost in Space" novella), who was often called Elvis in the film due to his resemblance to Elvis Presley, was played by Joe Strummer, the leader of the British punk band The Clash and Jim Jarmusch's co-star in "Straight to Hell".
- This film contains some of the last known footage of the Stax Records recording studio. The studio building was demolished in 1989, giving the film footage documentary value.
- The Arcade Hotel, where three stories converge, no longer exists. However, it can be seen in the film 'Big Balls of Fire' (1989), in a scene where Alec Baldwin is repairing his broken car.
- Near the Arcade Hotel is the Lorraine Motel, on the balcony of which Martin Luther King Jr. was shot in 1968. Following a series of riots after the assassination, the crime situation in this area of Memphis worsened, and by the 1980s both hotels had fallen into a state of disrepair.
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