The Train (1964)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

John Frankenheimer

Writers:

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

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 | Sabotage | Painting | Nazi

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

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:

Il treno (Italy)
John Frankenheimer's The Train (USA) (complete title)
Le train (France)

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:

Burt Lancaster was forced by United Artists to make four films for $150,000 a picture in the 1960s: The Young Savages (1961), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Train (1964) and The Hallelujah Trail (1965) rather than his normal fee of $750,000, because of cost overruns at his production company, Hecht-Hill-Lancaster, for which he was personally responsible.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Once the train starts on its run to Germany, it passes through all the stations without stopping (except briefly at "St. Avold" for the phone call). In reality, the steam locomotive would have had to stop at occasionally to take on water.

Quotes:

Miss Villard: I knew of books being burned, other things... I was terrified that these would be lost.
Colonel von Waldheim: A book is worth a few francs; we Germans can afford to destroy those. We all may not appreciate artistic merit, but cash value is another matter.
Miss Villard: You won't convince me that you're cynical. I know what these paintings mean to you.
Colonel von Waldheim: You are a perceptive woman.
[Schmidt enters, with several other soldiers.]
Colonel von Waldheim: We're removing the paintings. Pack them carefully.
Miss Villard: Where are you taking them?!
Colonel von Waldheim: To a safe place.
Miss Villard: But no place is as safe as Paris!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

A personal favorite and semi-overlooked classic

A standout WWII drama, loosely based on a true story. In 1944, as the Allies spread across France from the Normandy landings, the Nazis looted Paris art museums and loaded the works onto a train, with the intention of carrying them back to the Fatherland and selling or bartering them for scarce war materials. A fairly hare-brained scheme, to be sure, and in reality the train never made it further than a siding just east of the city, but that shouldn't hinder one's enjoyment of what turns out to be a classic action film.

The centerpiece of the movie is a clash of wills between Von Waldheim, a cultured but iron-backed Nazi colonel (well-played by Paul Scofield) charged with getting the stolen artworks to Germany, and a taciturn railway troubleshooter named Labiche (Burt Lancaster). Von Waldheim first enlists Labiche as 'insurance' against any monkey business during the train's journey. Labiche, though, happens to have Resistance connections and, with serious reservations, is drawn into a desperate, improvised plot to stop the train, preferably without damaging the precious artifacts inside.

Although easily enjoyed as a straight action flick, what gives the film weight is the supporting story, in which Labiche at first argues against wasting precious lives on a few crates of paintings he's never seen, then gradually comes round as he begins to understand that the Nazis are effectively carrying off a large piece of the heart of France. Beautiful deep-focus black and white photography, and solid supporting performances by a mostly French cast (of which Jeanne Moreau may be the best-known), convincingly evoke the bleak misery of the Occupation. John Frankenheimer's economical direction manages to present highly-charged action scenes without glossing over the human cost, as Von Waldheim exacts savage reprisals against escalating efforts to hinder the train's passage.

Lancaster, who performed his own stunts, is excellent, furiously athletic as he slides down ladders, leaps onto moving locomotives, and charges over ridges and fields in pursuit of the train. At the same time, he manages to effectively bring a subtle authenticity to his portrayal of the weary, fatalistic railwayman.

Finally, the action set-pieces are nothing short of stunning, and include the train's mad dash through an Allied carpet-bombing attack, a strafing raid on a speeding locomotive, and several wrecks and derailments, all staged full-scale with period equipment donated by the French national railway. Well worth obtaining on DVD, the film may be hard to find on broadcast television these days.