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The Train

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

1964-09-24 War 2hr 13m

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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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.

  • Released
    1964-09-24
  • Revenue
    $6,800,000
  • Budget
    $5,800,000
  • Runtime
    2hr 13m
  • Genre
    War, Thriller
  • Status
    Released
  • Language
    Deutsch, English
  • imdb-logo
    7.8
  • Production
    Les Productions Artistes AssociƩs, Les Films Ariane, Dear Film, United Artists, Polyphony Digital, Vides Cinematografica

Crew

Walter Bernstein
Screenplay
Jules Bricken
Producer

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The Train
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The Train
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Movie Reviews

Reviews for The Train
reviewer avatar

A Review by Wuchak 7

Written by Wuchak on 2020-08-08

**_Burt Lancaster as a French Resistance fighter trying to stop a German train with stolen art_** Paris is on the verge of liberation fro... read more

**_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. ā€œThe Trainā€ (1964) is a B&W war picture with the unconventional tone of contemporaneous WW2 films ā€œThe Young Lionsā€ (1958), ā€œ36 Hoursā€ (1964) and ā€œMorituriā€ (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

reviewer avatar

A Review by JPV852 9

Written by JPV852 on 2020-12-30

Great war suspense-thriller from John Frankenheimer. Heard of this one but never got around to checking it out, just excellent from beginnin... read more

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**

reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 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... read more

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 Gƶring-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...

Read Full Review (The thoughts and opinions expressed here are solely those of the reviewer.)
A Review by Wuchak

**_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 ...

reviewer avatar

A Review by Wuchak 7

Written by Wuchak on 2020-08-08

**_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 Scofiel...

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by JPV852 9

Written by JPV852 on 2020-12-30

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...

read more
reviewer avatar

A Review by Geronimo1967 7

Written by Geronimo1967 on 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...

read more