Starring: Burt Lancaster, Jeanne Moreau and Paul Scofield Director: John Frankenheimer Year of original release: 1964 Genre: second world war drama
Set-up
The Train is based on actual events that played out near the end of the second world war. It tells the story of how the German army looted priceless paintings from a gallery in Paris and planned to take them to Germany. Crates of art were loaded onto a special train, but the French Resistance came up with a cunning plan to stop the train leaving France.
One breathtaking train crash in the film was staged outside Paris. It involved a massive locomotive smashing into a derailed engine at a great speed. The resulting scene is one of the most exciting train crashes in movie history. And not one trick shot was used in it.
Plot
France, August 1944. German-occupied France is close to being liberated by the Allies. A German army colonel, von Waldheim (Scofield), decides to lay his hands on Impressionist paintings in the Jeu de Paume gallery and take them to Germany. The gallery's curator contacts the French Resistance to foil Waldheim's plans.