Night Train to Mundo Fine (1966)

Gritty neo-noir art film about escaped convict Griffin and his friends, who ran all the way to hell... with a penny, and a broken cigarette.

Director:

Coleman Francis

Writer:

Coleman Francis

Stars:

Coleman Francis, Anthony Cardoza, Harold Saunders

Bottom 100 #54 | See the Bottom 100 movies as voted by our users.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Coleman Francis	...	Griffin / Narrator
Anthony Cardoza	...	Landis / Fidel Castro
Harold Saunders	...	Cook
John Carradine	...	Mr. Wilson
John Morrison	...	Joe
George Prince	...	Cherokee Jack
Lanell Cado	...	Ruby Chastain
Tom Hanson	...	Bailey Chastain
Julian Baker	...	Sheriff
Charles Harter	...	Cliff Weismeyer (as Charles F. Harter)
Elaine Gibford	...	Cliff Weismeyer's Daughter
Frederic Downs	...	Tinsley (as Fredric Downs)
James H. Russell	...	(as Jamie Russell)
Jim Stout
Avilio Silvia	...	Cuban

Storyline

A trio of convicts joins up for an assault on a Cuban stronghold. After they are captured, they plan to escape before they face the firing squad. They eventually make it back to the American Southwest, where they go from town to town, robbing and killing.

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Plot Keywords:

cuba | firing squad | crime spree | helicopter | cult film | 

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Taglines:

Make the Mistake!

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

November 1966 (USA)

Also Known As:

Red Zone Cuba

Filming Locations:

Point Dume Beach, Malibu, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Star Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Coleman Francis:  [light aircraft]  The small airstrip is the same one found in all his films.

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Goofs

At one point you can see the men running across the screen, get about half-way across and then are back on the left side running again.

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Quotes

[sitting in a Cuban jail cell as bombs are being dropped]
Griffin: Bay of Pigs.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Escape 2000 (1996)

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Soundtracks

"Night Train to Mundo Finé"
Written by Ray Gregory
Performed by Ray Gregory and the Melmen
Sung by John Carradine

User Reviews

A horrible, horrible, horrible movie. Why do I love it so?

In the prologue of "Night Train to Mundo Fine," a reporter named Jim Benton (Bruce Love) from "The Gazette" interviews Mr. Wilson (John Carradine), a train engineer, about the time three criminals hopped a train he was working on four years ago, in 1961.

After Carradine sings the title song (not a bad track), we journey to 1961. We witness Griffin (Coleman Francis) escape from prison. He meets two ex-convicts, Landis (Tony Cardoza) and Cook (Harold Saunders). Together, they decide to join a group of government sponsored mercenaries and invade Cuba for $2,000 each.

Hiring pilot Cherokee Jack (George Prince) to take them from New Mexico to somewhere near Cuba, they sign up with the group, headed by Joe (John Morrison) and Bayiev Chastain (Tom Hanson), the latter of whom wants to overthrow Castro so that his grandparents can get their sugar mill back.

The invasion goes haywire and all are captured; Chastain is shot in the leg, and Griffin says that within 24 hours he will die of gangrene. Joe and several soldiers are executed. The three criminals escape, but not before learning about the tungsten and pitchblende that is located on a mountain near Chastain's home.

In Arizona, they throw restaurateur Cliff Weismeyer (Charles Harter) down a well, leaving his blind daughter (Elaine Gibford) and stealing his car. They eventually ditch it and hop the train. They get off the train. Griffin and Landis fight for possession of Landis's ring, given to him by his father; Griffin wins and uses it to buy another car.

They reach Chastain's home, where they meet his wife Ruby (Lanell Cado). Together, the four conspire to raid the mountain. However, the criminals are spotted. Cook and Landis are arrested. Griffin shoots Ruby and flees. Chastain shows up, somehow surviving and escaping, and takes his wife back home. Griffin is gunned down by cops, who find that "Griffin ran all the way to Hell, with a penny and a broken cigarette." End.

WOW! This is one horrible movie! The only redeeming factors are the music (pretty good) and Tom Hanson's performance, which he actually tried to invest dimension into. The script, the other performances, the editing, etc, etc...all are bad.

And yet, I love this film. Why? Is it because of the witty remarks of Tom Servo, Mike Nelson, and Crow T. Robot when they viewed it on "Mystery Science Theater 3000" under the title "Red Zone Cuba?" Or perhaps because of some mysterious quality of the film itself? I don't know. I just know I love it.

And I'd love to see a remake.