The Train (1964)

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

Franklin Coen (screen story) and
Frank Davis (screen story) and
Franklin Coen (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 March 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | War | Action

Tagline:

It carried their hopes, their nation's honour!

Plot:

In 1944, a German colonel loads a train with French art treasures to send to Germany. The Resistance must stop it without damaging the cargo.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Art | Railway | Painting | Nazi

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Burt Lancaster	...	Labiche
Paul Scofield	...	Von Waldheim
Jeanne Moreau	...	Christine
Suzanne Flon	...	Mlle Villard
Michel Simon	...	Papa Boule
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Herren
Albert Rémy	...	Didont (as Albert Remy)
Charles Millot	...	Pesquet
Richard Münch	...	Von Lubitz (as Richard Munch)
Jacques Marin	...	Jacques
Paul Bonifas	...	Spinet
Jean Bouchaud	...	Schmidt
Donald O'Brien	...	Schwartz (as Donal O'Brien)
Jean-Pierre Zola	...	Octave
Arthur Brauss	...	Pilzer (as Art Brauss)

Also Known As:

"John Frankenheimer's The Train" - USA (complete title)

Runtime:

133 min | UK:140 min

Country:

USA | France | Italy

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:13 | Singapore:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | Canada:PG (video rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1965) | UK:PG | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Acquigny, Calvados, France

Company:

Dear Film Produzione

Trivia:

The engines and tanks required for some scenes made so much noise that "action" and "cut" were signaled by codes on the engines' whistles.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The cab of a moving steam locomotive is noisy even when there aren't air raid sirens sounding. Papa Boule should never have been able to hear Labiche shouting at him from 50 feet away.

Quotes:

[The tracks are being cleared after the deliberate wreck.]
Colonel von Waldheim:I asked for two cranes.
Major Herren:It took an order from staff headquarters to get this one. With von Runstedt falling back, the army has other uses for railway equipment.
Colonel von Waldheim:All von Runstedt can lose is men. This train is more valuable.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Peerless war movie

The movie is about the Nazis taking 'degenerate' modern paintings out of Paris as the allies are approaching. The officer in charge of the spoils, Colonel Von Waldheim, is secretly in love with the art he is supposed to hate; his official motivation is based on "cash value." The French train workers, led by Labiche, have no appreciation for the art and are unaware of its cultural importance, but nevertheless fight the Germans out of patriotism, against their better instincts.

Frantic, weary tension comes from the closeness of end of the war, a desperate time that drives the characters well past sane restraint. The Germans can no longer deny their impending doom. Grit comes from massive steam locomotives shot in black and white. The mortal struggle plays out on a personal level. The action is relentless.

The director, John Frankenheimer, relies on the intelligence and empathy of the audience to convey his story. Much of the movie is concerned with the mechanicals of how a railroad works. It shows the dignity and solidarity of the workers, and their huge effort.

The theme is the waste, the cost of war -- what is worth fighting for, what you actually do fight for even though it does not seem to be worth it, and the capricious outcome. The tally comes at the final scene.

"The Train" is a perfect action-adventure war drama.