Le train (1964)

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.

Directors:

John Frankenheimer, Arthur Penn (uncredited)

Writers:

Franklin Coen (screen story), Frank Davis (screen story)

Stars:

Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Burt Lancaster	...	Labiche
Paul Scofield	...	Colonel Franz 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)

Storyline

As the Allied forces approach Paris in August 1944, German Colonel Von Waldheim is desperate to take all of France's greatest paintings to Germany. He manages to secure a train to transport the valuable art works even as the chaos of retreat descends upon them. The French resistance however wants to stop them from stealing their national treasures but have received orders from London that they are not to be destroyed. The station master, Labiche, is tasked with scheduling the train and making it all happen smoothly but he is also part of a dwindling group of resistance fighters tasked with preventing the theft. He and others stage an elaborate ruse to keep the train from ever leaving French territory.

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Plot Keywords:

train | art | german | french | painting | 

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Taglines:

It carried their hopes, their nation's honour!

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Genres:

Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

7 March 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

John Frankenheimer's The Train

Filming Locations:

Acquigny, Calvados, France

Box Office

Budget:

$6,700,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Ariane, Les Productions Artistes Associés

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Spitfire attack sequence, when the train finds shelter under a tunnel, nearly cost the lives of director Frankenheimer and the helicopter pilot aboard which the two took place to put the scene in the can.

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Goofs

When the German officer throws his pipe down, it lands on a chair, spilling ashes onto the chair seat. The next time we see the pipe, there are no ashes.

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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 ...

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: PARIS August 2-1944 1511th day of German occupation

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Connections

Referenced in Vision and Conflict: Collaborating on the Wallace Saga (2009)

User Reviews

An intense suspense War drama from the beginning to the end…

The big star of Frankenheimer's film is the train itself... And the plot is based on the characteristic of railroads—engines and cars all over the tracks, cabs and steam—all shown on enough detail to keep the viewer in great suspense… The aerial strike shots are also wonderfully taken…

The film begins in Paris, August 2, 1944…

It's 1511th day of German occupation… The liberation of Paris seems very close…

Nazi Colonel Von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) decides suddenly to remove by train to Germany the best of Impressionist masterpieces… His objective is clear: "Money is a weapon. The contents are as negotiable as gold and more valuable."

Mademoiselle Villard (Suzanne Flon) informs the Resistance of the shipment…The Resistance reaction is to stop the train without damaging the national heritage… "They are part of France." But stopping the train is not a simple task… You can get killed especially if you are French and the train is German…

Labiche (Burt Lancaster), the Chief Inspector of the French Railway System, is not impressed… However, he never communicates his political, ideological, or nationalistic convictions, "For certain things, we take the risk," he said; "but I won't waste lives on paintings."

When an aged engineer, Papa Boule (Michel Simon), is accused of sabotage in spite of saving the train through the Allied's bombs at the risk of his own life, Labiche is forced into combat…

It begins with a long sequence where an armament train and the art train are both trying to leave the yard in the morning… As they are being moved back and forth across the tracks, the viewer knows that British planes will hit the yard in that moment at exactly 10:00 o'clock…

New complications are introduced, but the central conflict always returns to an obsessive art lover against a man with no appreciation for art… Labiche's only concerns is to slow down the Nazis keeping himself and his compatriots alive…

Now, two forces control the film… The first is Frankenheimer's cleverness to choreograph the real trains… Frankenheimer and his cinematographers capture the heat of the engines, the noise and sound of the cars in motion, the fault in the oil line, the crushing strength implicated when the machines come into collision and the derailment… The second force is Lancaster, the "headache" of the fanatical obsessed Colonel whose desire is to see the priceless paintings in Nazi Germany...