The Train
7.6/10
Rating
133 min
Runtime
1964
Release Year
John Frankenheimer
Director
Cast
Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield, Jeanne Moreau, Suzanne Flon, Michel Simon
Quick Synopsis
In August 1944, as Allied forces near Paris during World War II, German Colonel Von Waldheim is determined to transport France's most valuable paintings to Germany. He secures a train to carry the artwork amid the chaos of the German retreat. Meanwhile, the French Resistance aims to stop the theft of these national treasures but has orders from London not to destroy the art. Labiche, the local train station master, is responsible for managing the train's schedule and operations, but he is also secretly part of a small resistance group working to prevent the paintings from leaving France. Together with others, Labiche devises a complex plan to keep the train within French borders and protect the artwork from being taken by the Germans.
Detailed Synopsis of The Train
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.
