Casablanca Express
Encyclopedia
Casablanca Express is a 1989 action
war film
starring Jason Connery
that was filmed in Morocco. It was produced by Pietro Innocenzi and Umberto Innocenzi and directed by Sergio Martino
. The film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia
.
arrives in Algiers
. He plans to travel on to Casablanca
where he will meet Franklin D. Roosevelt
and Joseph Stalin
for the Casablanca Conference. His aides and army commanders strongly advise against travelling by train, but Churchill is adamant.
Intelligence discovers that Churchill's presence is known to the Germans, and they fear a killing or kidnapping
may be attempted. A especially secure carriage is attached to a train (The Casablanca Express) and a unit of American commando
troops assigned to travel with him. Three intelligence agents, Alan Cooper, Captain Franchetti and Lt. Lorna Fisher are assigned as bodyguards, but Cooper is held back after he chases and kills a French double agent
.
The train proceeds on its way, but a German agent, Otto von Tiblis, is amongst the passengers in disguise. He is detected by Franchetti and a fight on the coach roof ensues. Now revealed, von Tiblis opens fire on the passengers and takes over the engine at gunpoint. The train comes to a halt, and a unit of German paratroopers, awaiting this moment, attack the train. They kill nearly all the American soldiers and wound and kill many passengers.
Back in Algiers, Allied intelligence learn of the attempted kidnap and Cooper volunteers for a dangerous mission. He travels alone by camel
and sneaks up on the train. The coaches have all been wired with explosives in case of attack, but he gets a badly wounded Franchetti to crawl under the coaches and cut the wires connecting the explosives and the detonator
. Cooper, Fisher and Franchetti open fire on the Germans; Fisher is able to send an emergency radio signal to Algiers, at which point a trainload of heavily armed US Marines leaves to intercept the Express.
All the Germans have been killed, but von Tiblis manages to get the train going. He soon comes face to face with the Marines, who shoot up the train and kill him.
Franchetti dies, but Cooper and Fisher, badly wounded, return to Algiers. They learn that the 'Churchill' they battled to protect was actually a decoy, and the real Churchill has travelled to Casablanca by plane
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
starring Jason Connery
Jason Connery
Jason Joseph Connery is an English actor.-Early life:Connery grew up in London. He attended Millfield School, a co-educational independent school in Somerset, England, and later at the independent Gordonstoun School in Scotland. He was later accepted into the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School...
that was filmed in Morocco. It was produced by Pietro Innocenzi and Umberto Innocenzi and directed by Sergio Martino
Sergio Martino
Sergio Martino is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre.Martino is the brother of producer Luciano Martino. They collaborated frequently in their respective professions...
. The film was later featured in an episode of Cinema Insomnia
Cinema Insomnia
Cinema Insomnia is a nationally syndicated American television series presented by horror host Mr. Lobo.- Format :Typically, Mr. Lobo opens each episode by promising to screen a well-known horror or science fiction classic ; however budgetary limitations, acts of God or other circumstances...
.
Plot
In 1942 Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
arrives in Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
. He plans to travel on to Casablanca
Casablanca
Casablanca is a city in western Morocco, located on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Grand Casablanca region.Casablanca is Morocco's largest city as well as its chief port. It is also the biggest city in the Maghreb. The 2004 census recorded a population of 2,949,805 in the prefecture...
where he will meet Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
and Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
for the Casablanca Conference. His aides and army commanders strongly advise against travelling by train, but Churchill is adamant.
Intelligence discovers that Churchill's presence is known to the Germans, and they fear a killing or kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
may be attempted. A especially secure carriage is attached to a train (The Casablanca Express) and a unit of American commando
Commando
In English, the term commando means a specific kind of individual soldier or military unit. In contemporary usage, commando usually means elite light infantry and/or special operations forces units, specializing in amphibious landings, parachuting, rappelling and similar techniques, to conduct and...
troops assigned to travel with him. Three intelligence agents, Alan Cooper, Captain Franchetti and Lt. Lorna Fisher are assigned as bodyguards, but Cooper is held back after he chases and kills a French double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
.
The train proceeds on its way, but a German agent, Otto von Tiblis, is amongst the passengers in disguise. He is detected by Franchetti and a fight on the coach roof ensues. Now revealed, von Tiblis opens fire on the passengers and takes over the engine at gunpoint. The train comes to a halt, and a unit of German paratroopers, awaiting this moment, attack the train. They kill nearly all the American soldiers and wound and kill many passengers.
Back in Algiers, Allied intelligence learn of the attempted kidnap and Cooper volunteers for a dangerous mission. He travels alone by camel
Camel
A camel is an even-toed ungulate within the genus Camelus, bearing distinctive fatty deposits known as humps on its back. There are two species of camels: the dromedary or Arabian camel has a single hump, and the bactrian has two humps. Dromedaries are native to the dry desert areas of West Asia,...
and sneaks up on the train. The coaches have all been wired with explosives in case of attack, but he gets a badly wounded Franchetti to crawl under the coaches and cut the wires connecting the explosives and the detonator
Detonator
A detonator is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the latter two being the most common....
. Cooper, Fisher and Franchetti open fire on the Germans; Fisher is able to send an emergency radio signal to Algiers, at which point a trainload of heavily armed US Marines leaves to intercept the Express.
All the Germans have been killed, but von Tiblis manages to get the train going. He soon comes face to face with the Marines, who shoot up the train and kill him.
Franchetti dies, but Cooper and Fisher, badly wounded, return to Algiers. They learn that the 'Churchill' they battled to protect was actually a decoy, and the real Churchill has travelled to Casablanca by plane
Cast
- Jason ConneryJason ConneryJason Joseph Connery is an English actor.-Early life:Connery grew up in London. He attended Millfield School, a co-educational independent school in Somerset, England, and later at the independent Gordonstoun School in Scotland. He was later accepted into the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School...
as Alan Cooper - Francesco QuinnFrancesco QuinnFrancesco Daniele Quinn was an Italian-born actor. The third son of Oscar winner Anthony Quinn and Jolanda Addorlori , Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role as Rhah in Oliver Stone’s Academy Award-winning Platoon...
as Captain Franchetti - Jinny Steffan as Lt. Lorna Fisher
- Manfred Lehmann as Otto Von Tiblis
- Jean SorelJean SorelJean Sorel is a French actor.He also worked in Italian cinema, and Spanish cinema with directors such as Luis Buñuel or Luchino Visconti. However since 1980 he has worked mostly in television...
as Major Valmore - Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
as Colonel Bats - Glenn FordGlenn FordGlenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
as Major Gen. Williams - Luisa Maneri as Nanny
- Horst Schön as Priest (as Horst Schon)
- David BrandonDavid BrandonDavid A. Brandon is the director of intercollegiate athletics for the University of Michigan. He was formerly chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and manager of Domino's Pizza. He is also a former regent of the University of Michigan. Brandon took over Domino's in March 1999 when...
as Jason Lloyd - John EvansJohn Evans- Academics :*Sir John Evans , English archaeologist and geologist*John Davies Evans , English archaeologist specialising in the prehistory of the Mediterranean and Malta, former Director of the Institute of Archaeology, London...
as Winston ChurchillWinston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice... - Marina Viro as Olga
- Giulia Urso as Liz
- Giovanni Tamberi as Julian
- Augusto Poderosi as Barry