The Train
Encyclopedia
The Train is a 1964
war movie directed by John Frankenheimer
from a story and screenplay by Franklin Coen and Frank Davis, based on the non-fiction book Le front de l'art by Rose Valland
. It stars Burt Lancaster
, Paul Scofield
and Jeanne Moreau
.
Set in August 1944, the film sets Resistance
-member Labiche (Lancaster) against German Col. von Waldheim (Scofield), who is attempting to ship art masterpieces from a French museum to Germany.
by the German Army
from French museums are being shipped to Germany; the officer in charge of the operation, Colonel Franz von Waldheim (Paul Scofield
), is an art lover and is desperate to bring the art to Germany. After the Germans remove the art chosen by Waldheim from the Jeu de Paume
Museum, curator Mademoiselle Villard (Suzanne Flon
) seeks help from the French Resistance
. Given the imminent liberation of Paris
by the Allies
, they need only delay the train for a few days — still, it is an extremely dangerous operation and it must be done in such a way that does not risk damaging the priceless cargo.
Although the Resistance initially rejects the plan, the men have a change of heart after a cantankerous elderly engineer, Papa Boule (Michel Simon
), is executed for trying to sabotage the train on his own. After that sacrifice, reluctant French railway area inspector Paul Labiche (Burt Lancaster
) joins the effort to stop the theft. The Resistance devises an elaborate ruse to reroute the train, temporarily renaming railway stations to make it appear to the German escort as if they are heading to Germany when they are actually traveling in the opposite direction. They then arrange a double collision that will block the train without risking the cargo. Labiche, although injured, escapes on foot while other Resistance members involved in the plot are caught and executed.
Now working alone, Labiche continues to delay the train after the tracks are cleared, to the mounting rage of von Waldheim. Finally, Labiche manages to derail the train without endangering civilian hostages that the colonel has placed on the engine to prevent it being blown up. The colonel flags down a retreating army convoy and learns that the Allies are not far behind. The colonel orders the train unloaded and attempts to commandeer the army trucks, but is denied by the officer in charge. Waldheim orders the hostages killed, and then the train's small German contingent joins the retreating convoy.
Colonel von Waldheim remains behind with the abandoned train. Crates are strewn everywhere between the tracks and the road, labeled with the names of famous artists. Labiche now reappears and the colonel castigates him for having no real interest in the art he has saved, saying:
In response, Labiche turns and looks at the murdered hostages. Then, without a word, he turns back to von Waldheim and shoots him dead.
book Le front de l'art by Rose Valland
, the art historian at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
, who documented the works of art placed in storage there that had been looted by the Germans
from museum
s and private art collections throughout France
and were being sorted for shipment to Germany in World War II
.
In contrast to the action and drama depicted in the film, the shipment of art that the Germans were attempting to take out of Paris on August 1, 1944 was held up by the French Resistance
with an endless barrage of paperwork and red tape
and made it no farther than a railyard a few miles outside Paris.
German veterans' organizations, including the SS veterans' group HIAG
, objected to Wehrmacht soldiers being depicted casually executing hostages and Resistance members in the film. They said that SS or uniformed Sicherheitspolizei
(the Sicherheitsdienst
and Gestapo
) personnel should have been used for those scenes.
. The Train had already begun shooting in France when star Burt Lancaster had the original director fired and called in Frankenheimer to take over the film. Penn envisioned a more intimate film that would muse on the role art played in Lancaster's character, and why he would risk his lives to save the country's great art from the Nazis. He did not intend to give much focus to the mechanics of the train operation itself. But Lancaster wanted more emphasis on action in order to ensure that the film would be a hit, after the failure of his film The Leopard
. The production was shut down briefly while the script was rewritten, and the budget doubled under Frankenheimer's direction. As he recounts in the Champlin book, Frankenheimer used the production's desperation to his advantage in negotiations. He demanded and got the following: his name was made part of the title, "John Frankenheimer's The Train"; the French co-director, demanded by French tax laws, was not allowed to ever set foot on set; he was given total final cut; and a Ferrari.
The film contains multiple real train wrecks. The Allied bombing of a rail yard was accomplished with real dynamite, as the French rail authority needed to enlarge the track gauge. This can be observed by the shockwaves traveling through the ground during the action sequence. Producers realized after filming that the story needed another action scene, and reassembled some of the cast for a Spitfire
attack scene that was inserted into the first third of the film. French Armée de l'Air Douglas A-26 Invaders are also seen later in the film.
The film includes a number of sequences involving long tracking shots and real locations, a style of filmmaking rarely seen today. Much of the film was photographed using wide-angle lenses, with both foreground and background action in focus.
Noteworthy tracking shots include:
During an interview with the History Channel, Frankenheimer revealed:
Frankenheimer remarked on the DVD commentary, "Incidentally, I think this is the last big action picture ever made in black and white, and personally I am so grateful that it is in black and white. I think the black and white adds tremendously to the movie."
Throughout the film, Frankenheimer often juxtaposed the value of art (or money) with the value of life. This may also be read as an allegorical commentary on patriotism and war in general.
1964 in film
The year 1964 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 29 - The film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is released....
war movie directed by John Frankenheimer
John Frankenheimer
John Michael Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films...
from a story and screenplay by Franklin Coen and Frank Davis, based on the non-fiction book Le front de l'art by Rose Valland
Rose Valland
Rose Antonia Maria Valland was a French art historian, a member of the French Resistance, a captain in the French military, and one of the most decorated women in French history...
. It stars Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
, Paul Scofield
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
and Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau
Jeanne Moreau is a French actress, singer, screenwriter and director.She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française...
.
Set in August 1944, the film sets Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
-member Labiche (Lancaster) against German Col. von Waldheim (Scofield), who is attempting to ship art masterpieces from a French museum to Germany.
Plot
In 1944, art masterpieces lootedNazi plunder
Nazi plunder refers to art theft and other items stolen as a result of the organized looting of European countries during the time of the Third Reich by agents acting on behalf of the ruling Nazi Party of Germany. Plundering occurred from 1933 until the end of World War II, particularly by military...
by the German Army
German Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
from French museums are being shipped to Germany; the officer in charge of the operation, Colonel Franz von Waldheim (Paul Scofield
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
), is an art lover and is desperate to bring the art to Germany. After the Germans remove the art chosen by Waldheim from the Jeu de Paume
Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is a museum of contemporary art in the north-west corner of the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.The building was constructed in 1861 during the reign of Napoleon III...
Museum, curator Mademoiselle Villard (Suzanne Flon
Suzanne Flon
Suzanne Flon was a French film actress and comedienne.-Early life:Her father was a railway worker and her mother crafted jewelry....
) seeks help from the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. Given the imminent liberation of Paris
Liberation of Paris
The Liberation of Paris took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of the occupying German garrison on August 25th. It could be regarded by some as the last battle in the Battle for Normandy, though that really ended with the crushing of the Wehrmacht forces between the...
by the Allies
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
, they need only delay the train for a few days — still, it is an extremely dangerous operation and it must be done in such a way that does not risk damaging the priceless cargo.
Although the Resistance initially rejects the plan, the men have a change of heart after a cantankerous elderly engineer, Papa Boule (Michel Simon
Michel Simon
Michel Simon , was a Swiss actor. The actor François Simon is his son.-Early years:...
), is executed for trying to sabotage the train on his own. After that sacrifice, reluctant French railway area inspector Paul Labiche (Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
) joins the effort to stop the theft. The Resistance devises an elaborate ruse to reroute the train, temporarily renaming railway stations to make it appear to the German escort as if they are heading to Germany when they are actually traveling in the opposite direction. They then arrange a double collision that will block the train without risking the cargo. Labiche, although injured, escapes on foot while other Resistance members involved in the plot are caught and executed.
Now working alone, Labiche continues to delay the train after the tracks are cleared, to the mounting rage of von Waldheim. Finally, Labiche manages to derail the train without endangering civilian hostages that the colonel has placed on the engine to prevent it being blown up. The colonel flags down a retreating army convoy and learns that the Allies are not far behind. The colonel orders the train unloaded and attempts to commandeer the army trucks, but is denied by the officer in charge. Waldheim orders the hostages killed, and then the train's small German contingent joins the retreating convoy.
Colonel von Waldheim remains behind with the abandoned train. Crates are strewn everywhere between the tracks and the road, labeled with the names of famous artists. Labiche now reappears and the colonel castigates him for having no real interest in the art he has saved, saying:
Labiche! Here's your prize, Labiche. Some of the greatest paintings in the world.Does it please you, Labiche? You feel a sense of excitement at just being near them? A painting means as much to you as a string of pearls to an ape. You won by sheer luck. You stopped me without knowing what you were doing or why. You are nothing, Labiche. A lump of flesh.
The paintings are mine. They always will be. Beauty belongs to the man who can appreciate it. They will always belong to me, or a man like me.
Now, this minute, you couldn't tell me why you did what you did.
In response, Labiche turns and looks at the murdered hostages. Then, without a word, he turns back to von Waldheim and shoots him dead.
Cast
- Burt LancasterBurt LancasterBurton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
as Paul Labiche - Paul ScofieldPaul ScofieldDavid Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
as Colonel Franz von Waldheim - Jeanne MoreauJeanne MoreauJeanne Moreau is a French actress, singer, screenwriter and director.She made her theatrical debut in 1947, and established herself as one of the leading actresses of the Comédie-Française...
as Christine - Suzanne FlonSuzanne FlonSuzanne Flon was a French film actress and comedienne.-Early life:Her father was a railway worker and her mother crafted jewelry....
as Mademoiselle Villard - Michel SimonMichel SimonMichel Simon , was a Swiss actor. The actor François Simon is his son.-Early years:...
as Papa Boule - Wolfgang PreissWolfgang PreissWolfgang Preiss was a German theatre, film and television actor.The son of a teacher, in the early 1930s Preiss studied philosophy, German and drama. He also took private acting classes with Hans Schlenck, making his stage début in Munich in 1932...
as Major Herren - Albert RémyAlbert RémyAlbert Rémy was a French actor best known for his supporting roles in François Truffaut's first two feature films. He played Antoine Doinel's father in The 400 Blows and Charlie Koller's brother in Shoot the Piano Player...
as Didont, Fireman
- Charles Millot as Pesquet, Engineer
- Richard MünchRichard MünchRichard Heinrich Ludwig Münch , better known as Richard Münch, was a German actor, best known for portraying Alfred Jodl in Patton...
as General Von Lubnitz - Jacques MarinJacques MarinJacques Marin was a French actor on film and TV. Marin's good command of the English language and his resemblance to the stereotypical Frenchman looks made him a familiar face in some major American and British productions and Disney movies Jacques Marin (September 9, 1919, Paris – January...
as Jacques, the Stationmaster at Rive-Reine - Paul BonifasPaul BonifasPaul Bonifas was a French actor, born in Paris.In the 1920s, while working for the French customs service, Bonifas took classes in acting at the Conservatoire de Paris in his spare time...
as Spinet - Jean Bouchaud as Schmidt
- Donald O'Brien as Sergeant Schwartz
- Howard VernonHoward VernonHoward Vernon was a Swiss actor.Vernon was born Mario Lippert to a Swiss father and an American mother and was fluent in German, English, and French...
as Dietrich
Historical background
The Train is based on the factual 19611961 in literature
The year 1961 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*First English production of Bertolt Brecht's The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui*Michael Halliday publishes his seminal paper on the systemic functional grammar model....
book Le front de l'art by Rose Valland
Rose Valland
Rose Antonia Maria Valland was a French art historian, a member of the French Resistance, a captain in the French military, and one of the most decorated women in French history...
, the art historian at the Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume
The Galerie nationale du Jeu de Paume is a museum of contemporary art in the north-west corner of the Tuileries Gardens in Paris.The building was constructed in 1861 during the reign of Napoleon III...
, who documented the works of art placed in storage there that had been looted by the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
from museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s and private art collections throughout France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and were being sorted for shipment to Germany in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In contrast to the action and drama depicted in the film, the shipment of art that the Germans were attempting to take out of Paris on August 1, 1944 was held up by the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
with an endless barrage of paperwork and red tape
Red tape
Red tape is excessive regulation or rigid conformity to formal rules that is considered redundant or bureaucratic and hinders or prevents action or decision-making...
and made it no farther than a railyard a few miles outside Paris.
German veterans' organizations, including the SS veterans' group HIAG
HIAG
Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS was an organization founded in 1951 by former members of the Waffen-SS....
, objected to Wehrmacht soldiers being depicted casually executing hostages and Resistance members in the film. They said that SS or uniformed Sicherheitspolizei
Sicherheitspolizei
The Sicherheitspolizei , often abbreviated as SiPo, was a term used in Nazi Germany to describe the state political and criminal investigation security agencies. It was made up by the combined forces of the Gestapo and the Kripo between 1936 and 1939...
(the Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst
Sicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
and Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
) personnel should have been used for those scenes.
Production
This film was taken over from another director, Arthur PennArthur Penn
Arthur Hiller Penn was an American film director and producer with a career as a theater director as well. Penn amassed a critically acclaimed body of work throughout the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:...
. The Train had already begun shooting in France when star Burt Lancaster had the original director fired and called in Frankenheimer to take over the film. Penn envisioned a more intimate film that would muse on the role art played in Lancaster's character, and why he would risk his lives to save the country's great art from the Nazis. He did not intend to give much focus to the mechanics of the train operation itself. But Lancaster wanted more emphasis on action in order to ensure that the film would be a hit, after the failure of his film The Leopard
The Leopard (film)
The Leopard is a 1963 Italian film by director Luchino Visconti, based on Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa's novel of the same name.-Cast:* Burt Lancaster as Prince Don Fabrizio Salina* Claudia Cardinale as Angelica Sedara / Bertiana...
. The production was shut down briefly while the script was rewritten, and the budget doubled under Frankenheimer's direction. As he recounts in the Champlin book, Frankenheimer used the production's desperation to his advantage in negotiations. He demanded and got the following: his name was made part of the title, "John Frankenheimer's The Train"; the French co-director, demanded by French tax laws, was not allowed to ever set foot on set; he was given total final cut; and a Ferrari.
The film contains multiple real train wrecks. The Allied bombing of a rail yard was accomplished with real dynamite, as the French rail authority needed to enlarge the track gauge. This can be observed by the shockwaves traveling through the ground during the action sequence. Producers realized after filming that the story needed another action scene, and reassembled some of the cast for a Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
attack scene that was inserted into the first third of the film. French Armée de l'Air Douglas A-26 Invaders are also seen later in the film.
The film includes a number of sequences involving long tracking shots and real locations, a style of filmmaking rarely seen today. Much of the film was photographed using wide-angle lenses, with both foreground and background action in focus.
Noteworthy tracking shots include:
- Labiche attempting to flag down a train, then sliding down a ladder, running along the tracks and jumping onto a moving locomotive, performed by Lancaster himself, not a stunt double;
- A scene in which the camera wanders around Nazi offices that are hastily being cleared, eventually focusing on von Waldheim and following him back through the office;
- A long dolly shot of von Waldheim travelling through a marshalling yard at high speed on a motorbike;
- Labiche rolling down a mountain, across a road and staggering down to the track. Frankenheimer noted on his DVD commentary that Lancaster performed the entire roll down the mountain himself, filmed by cameras at points along the hillside.
During an interview with the History Channel, Frankenheimer revealed:
- The marshalling yard attacked during the Allied bombing raid sequence was demolished by special arrangement with the French railway, which had been looking to do it but had lacked funding.
- The sequence in which Labiche is shot and wounded by German soldiers while fleeing across a pedestrian bridge was necessitated by a knee injury Lancaster suffered during filming. Lancaster stepped in a hole while playing golf, spraining his knee so severely that he could not walk without limping.
- When told that Michel SimonMichel SimonMichel Simon , was a Swiss actor. The actor François Simon is his son.-Early years:...
would be unable to complete scenes scripted for his character as a result of prior contractual obligations, Frankenheimer devised the sequence wherein Papa Boule is executed by the Germans. Jacques MarinJacques MarinJacques Marin was a French actor on film and TV. Marin's good command of the English language and his resemblance to the stereotypical Frenchman looks made him a familiar face in some major American and British productions and Disney movies Jacques Marin (September 9, 1919, Paris – January...
's character was killed for similar reasons. - Colonel von Waldheim was originally to engage Labiche in a shootout at the film's climax, but after Paul ScofieldPaul ScofieldDavid Paul Scofield, CH, CBE , better known as Paul Scofield, was an English actor of stage and screen...
was cast in the role, Frankenheimer re-wrote the scene to provide Scofield a more suitable end — taunting Labiche into killing him.
Frankenheimer remarked on the DVD commentary, "Incidentally, I think this is the last big action picture ever made in black and white, and personally I am so grateful that it is in black and white. I think the black and white adds tremendously to the movie."
Throughout the film, Frankenheimer often juxtaposed the value of art (or money) with the value of life. This may also be read as an allegorical commentary on patriotism and war in general.
Awards and honors
- Nominated for the 1964 film award of the British Academy of Film and Television ArtsBritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
. - Nominated for the 1965 Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay (story and screenplay written directly for the screen).
- Included in the second edition of The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, published 2004.