THE TRAIN
(directed by John Frankenheimer, 1964)
***** (out of 5)
.
> After RONIN and THE YOUNG SAVAGES, this was the third exceptional John Frankenheimer film I saw this month, courtesy a collection of his films I scored at my local library.
. Curiously, Arthur Penn was set to direct this picture, but was replaced by Frankenheimer three days into filming. I am unclear what the issue was, but the result is a classic film.
. Again, we are treated to an intense Burt Lancaster, giving a fine performance in a truly exceptional action flick. It is the closing days of WWII. The allies are closing in, and France will be liberated any day now. This reality is not lost on driven Nazi officer Paul Scofield- almost as good as he was in MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, and that’s saying a lot! Scofield’s rigid, pitiless officer is a monster- but a cultured monster. The man is an evil art lover, overseeing the illicit collection of fine art that Germany looted from the museums of Europe, as their juggernaut rolled across the continent. He sees something his superior officers fail to understand: these masterpieces from the likes of Picasso, Cézanne, Monet and Miró are potentially even more important than moving or supporting troops. They are worth untold millions- and money is a weapon that could potentially reverse Germany’s fading fortunes.
. Lancaster plays an absolutely unconvincing Frenchman- a fierce resistance fighter who does not see the value of art in the midst of vicious war- or at least, does not see how it is worth risking human life for. He is enlightened by a very sympathetic Jeanne Moreau, who shelters him from the Nazis and provides some unexpected human warmth in a storm of violence.
. THE TRAIN is a caper film: All the priceless stolen art is loaded aboard a single train, carefully packaged for shipping behind German lines. Lancaster and his team of fearless monkeywrenchers must stop the train any way they can- without harming its precious cargo. To complicate matters: the allied air forces are on their way to bomb the train station, and the only way to mark the train to make it safe from destruction is to whitewash the roof- right under the noses of the German army!
. I remember seeing this film on TV in the 60’s, but it did not register how truly classic it is. This is the man who directed BIRDMAN OF ALCATRAZ and SEVEN DAYS IN MAY, (also featuring Lancaster), plus SECONDS and THE ICEMAN COMETH and the truly great THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Despite a career that faded badly half way through, that’s quite a track record.
– And THE TRAIN stacks up with the best of ‘em.
*
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