The Cassandra Crossing (1976)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

George P. Cosmatos

Writers:

Robert Katz (story) and
George P. Cosmatos (story) ...

Release Date:

9 February 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | Action

Tagline:

The Fear Is Spreading

Plot:

Passengers on a European train have been exposed to a deadly disease. Nobody will let them off the train so what happens next?

Plot Keywords:

Train | Runaway Train | Isolation | Electric Railway | Drug Dealing

Cast

Sophia Loren	...	Jennifer Rispoli Chamberlain
Richard Harris	...	Dr. Jonathan Chamberlain
Martin Sheen	...	Robby Navarro
O.J. Simpson	...	Haley
Lionel Stander	...	Max, the Train Conductor
Ann Turkel	...	Susan
Ingrid Thulin	...	Dr. Elena Stradner
Lee Strasberg	...	Herman Kaplan
Ava Gardner	...	Nicole Dressler
Burt Lancaster	...	Col. Stephen Mackenzie
Lou Castel	...	Swedish Terrorist
John Phillip Law	...	Major Stark
Ray Lovelock	...	Tom
Alida Valli	...	Mrs. Chadwick
Stefano Patrizi	...	Terrorist

Also Known As:

Cassandra Crossing (Italy) (West Germany)
Treffpunkt Todesbrücke (West Germany)

Runtime:

129 min

Country:

West Germany | Italy | UK

Language:

French | English | Swedish | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | West Germany:16 (f) | Finland:K-16 (1997) (video rating) | Finland:K-18 (1977) | Norway:15 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:R | Argentina:13 | Canada:18A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Basel, Kanton Basel Stadt, Switzerland

Company:

Associated General Films

Trivia:

The bridge used in the film is actually Viaduct of Garabit in France. It was built in 1881-1884, manufactured by Gustave Alexandre Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame. It is 122 meters tall by 564.69 meters long. It is still used today as a railway bridge.

Goofs:

Continuity: The locomotive that heads the train into the yard is a different one to that which hauled the train all the way from Geneva. There are other inconsistencies between shots as the train makes its way across country.

Quotes:

Col. Stephen Mackenzie: [On speaker phone] I don't have to tell you what we're up against!
Dr. Jonathan Chamberlain: What you're up against? I may be the only doctor for a thousand potential plague victims if I haven't caught it myself.
Col. Stephen Mackenzie: That's exactly why it's important to contain the disease now and why you'll all be heading for an isolation facility in Poland, where you'll get the very best...
Dr. Jonathan Chamberlain: In the meantime, what do you intend I fight it with? Aspirin?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Neues aus der Anstalt: Die Weihnachtsfeier (#2.10)" (2008)

Everything but the kitchen sink

Wow! Now here's a value for money film. You get an outbreak of plague on a train, heading for a rickety bridge, whose passengers include sundry thieves, arms dealers, terrorists, pretty girls and cute kids. We've got helicopters, shoot-outs, explosions, songs, heroic sacrifices, Martin Sheen as Ava Gardner's kept boyfriend, Lee Strasberg emoting nobly and Burt Lancaster as an Army General who is Not To Be Trusted. George Pan Cosmatos directs at a fair lick, the setpieces are staged with relish, there's some neat bits of dialogue (courtesy of Tom Manciewiez, one suspects) and a spectacular climax. By most definitions, this is a pretty bad, crass, melodramatic, ludicrous film, but it's more fun than many a Good Movie I can think of.