The Train

John Frankenheimer's war and action film The Train was made in black and white in 1964. It is a joint American, French and Italian production for United Artists, starring Burt Lancaster, Paul Scofield and Jeanne Moreau, with Michel Simon in support. It won critical acclaim and grossed 6.8 million dollars. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1966.

The story takes place in August 1944, during World War II. German Colonel Franz von Waldheim (Paul Scofield) tries to carry priceless paintings plundered from French museums and private collections to Germany by rail. Opposing him is the railwayman and Resistance member Paul Labiche (Lancaster), who with his colleagues risks his life to stop the cargo. Franklin Coen, Frank Davis and Walter Bernstein wrote the screenplay, loosely based on Rose Valland's book Le front de l'art on stolen artworks. The interception scenes drew on train No. 40,044, seized outside Paris.

Arthur Penn began as director but was replaced by Frankenheimer three days into shooting. Real trains and stations were used, with help from French railwaymen and the army. Lancaster did his own stunts, and one view ranks the film among the fifteen best works of his career. Maurice Jarre wrote the music and Jules Bricken produced.