The Train (1964)

[4]

Burt Lancaster stars in this fictionalized account of the Nazis’ attempt to abscond with France’s most treasured paintings before the Allied Forces meet up with them. It’s up to Lancaster, playing a Resistance train station master, to head up an elaborate plan to dupe the Nazis and stop the train from leaving France without damaging it’s precious cargo.

I love the idea of Resistance fighters joining together to save priceless art, “the pride of France” as many call it in the film. Several characters put their lives on the line and even die for these works, which include many by Picasso, Renoir, Matisse, and others. But The Train is a long procedural movie about precisely how the heist is executed. Maybe it if were truly based on a true story, I’d care more. But since it’s not, I found the film to be two hours and twelve minutes of trains going here, trains going there, levers being pulled, railway tracks being shifted, and, man… if I never hear another train whistle again, it’ll be too soon.

There are some great scenes of railroad destruction and aerial bombings, and near the end of the film second-billed Paul Scofield becomes perhaps the most interesting character in the entire movie. He plays a Nazi commander who gets increasingly desperate to get those paintings across the German border. Lancaster suffices, though his character could probably have been played by anyone, since the film commits very little to character development. Perhaps if it were shorter, I’d have enjoyed it more. It’s just a little too preoccupied with plotting and maneuvering than I can get interested about. Directed by John Frankenheimer.

Oscar Nomination: Best Original Screenplay