WarThriller

The Train

- It carried their hopes, their nation's honour!

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.

Release Date : 1964-09-24

Language :GermanEnglish

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Les Productions Artistes AssociésLes Films ArianeDear FilmUnited ArtistsPolyphony DigitalVides Cinematografica

Production Country : FranceItalyUnited States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Paul Labiche

Original Name : Burt Lancaster

Gender : Male

Character Name : von Waldheim

Original Name : Paul Scofield

Gender : Male

Character Name : Christine

Original Name : Jeanne Moreau

Gender : Female

Character Name : Mademoiselle Villard

Original Name : Suzanne Flon

Gender : Female

Character Name : Papa Boul

Original Name : Michel Simon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Maj. Herren

Original Name : Wolfgang Preiss

Gender : Male

Character Name : Didont

Original Name : Albert Rémy

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pesquet

Original Name : Charles Millot

Gender : Male

Character Name : General von Libitz

Original Name : Richard Münch

Gender : Male

Character Name : Octave

Original Name : Jean-Pierre Zola

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jacques

Original Name : Jacques Marin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Spinet

Original Name : Paul Bonifas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Schmidt

Original Name : Jean Bouchaud

Gender : Male

Character Name : Schwartz

Original Name : Donald O'Brien

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pilzer

Original Name : Arthur Brauss

Gender : Male

Character Name : Major

Original Name : Jean-Claude Bercq

Gender : Male

Character Name : Dietrich

Original Name : Howard Vernon

Gender : Male

Character Name : Railroad Worker

Original Name : Louis Falavigna

Gender : Male

Character Name : Grote

Original Name : Richard Bailey

Gender : Male

Character Name : Robert

Original Name : Christian Fuin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ordnance Officer

Original Name : Helmo Kindermann

Gender : Male

Character Name : Engineer Officer

Original Name : Roger Lumont

Gender : Male

Character Name : Corporal

Original Name : Gérard Buhr

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tauber

Original Name : Christian Rémy

Gender : Male

Reviews

Wuchak

@Wuchak

2021-06-23

**_Burt Lancaster as a French Resistance fighter trying to stop a German train with stolen art_** Paris is on the verge of liberation from Nazi occupation in 1944, so a German colonel (Paul Scofield) loads a train with a priceless cargo of French paintings to take to Germany, which Resistance fighters led by engineer Labiche (Burt Lancaster) are intent on stopping. Jeanne Moreau is on hand as a hotel owner. “The Train” (1964) is a B&W war picture with the unconventional tone of contemporaneous WW2 films “The Young Lions” (1958), “36 Hours” (1964) and “Morituri” (1965). The story starts slow, but becomes increasingly compelling with lots of non-CGI carnage involving tracks and trains. The last act is creative and leaves you with the question: How many lives is art worth? Lovers of steam locomotives should eat this up. The film runs 2 hours, 12 minutes and was shot in France. GRADE: B

JPV852

@JPV852

2021-06-23

Great war suspense-thriller from John Frankenheimer. Heard of this one but never got around to checking it out, just excellent from beginning to end, not to mention wonderful use of sound design along with Maurice Jarre's score. Performances all around were great, especially Paul Scofield. Surprising to see it didn't receive more Oscar love outside of the writing. **4.5/5**

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-02-12

I think this might be my favourite Burt Lancaster role, as he leads the French resistance through an ethical maelstrom involving a trainload of looted artworks. It's "Col. Von Waldheim" (Paul Scofield) who manages to coax and cajole his Göring-fearing superiors into allowing him to load up a train with priceless artefacts and convey them to safety in Germany. The Nazis are starting to lose the war, though, and their logistics are stretched to the point where he basically has to lie to get his train packed and moving. "Labiche" (Lancaster) is in charge of the railway station and is generally charged with thwarting the activities of their occupiers - be here he sees merit in letting this train depart. He decides that maybe it can be diverted away from Germany and thus be preserved for the posterity of the French people. "Papa Boule" (Michel Simon) is a curmudgeonly old driver not averse to a bit of sabotage, but when he is caught and summarily shot, the Colonel concludes that only "Labiche" can be trusted with the train, so he is co-opted on board and the two now play a delicate cat and mouse game with both scrutinising the other closely and neither trusting the other. Their journey is riddled with peril - from the allies, from the French, the Germans - just about everyone. The colonel is becoming more obsessed - everything will be sacrificed to protect the convoy as it rattles along - but to where? There's a nice cameo from the always reliable Jacques Marin - he likes cheese; and another from Jeanne Moreau as the guest house owner who is trying to tread on the eggshells between patriotism and survival. There's a great chemistry on screen between Lancaster and Scofield with the latter's almost maniacal behaviour captivating to watch. Will the train survive? Well I guess everyone wants it to - but...