THE TRAIN and 13 RUE MADELEINE June 22, 2007

Saturday, June 30 – 7:30 PM

WWII Intrigue Double Feature:

THE TRAIN, 1964, MGM Repertory, 133 min. After the 1944 Allied landing at Normandy, train station manager Burt Lancaster thinks it is frivolous to help the French Resistance save a large cache of priceless paintings from Nazi colonel Paul Scofield (A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS), especially when so many lives will be put at risk. But a succession of events and the stubborn efforts of some of his own colleagues – particularly cranky old train engineer Michel Simon – soon convince him otherwise. What follows is one of the most spellbinding, action-packed odysseys ever committed to celluloid as Lancaster dives headfirst into stopping the wholesale looting of France’s artistic heritage. Lancaster, as usual, did all his own stunts. That, along with director John Frankenheimer’s spectacular staging of derailments, air raids, shootouts and the like, makes for one incredibly hair-raising wartime adventure. Co-starring Jeanne Moreau, Wolfgang Preiss.

New 35mm Print! 13 RUE MADELEINE, 1947, 20th Century Fox, 95 min. Director Henry Hathaway was a pioneer of the hardboiled docudrama trend in the 1940s, especially with his noir efforts (HOUSE ON 92nd STREET; KISS OF DEATH). This hard-as-nails WWII espionage yarn is in the same runaway-locomotive-to-hell league, a fast-moving chronicle of OSS counterspy James Cagney trying to ferret out the Nazi mole in the Allied agents’ British training camp as D-Day quickly approaches. The barbaric, clandestine struggle takes him into the heart of occupied France where he is aided by French Resistance fighter Annabella (SUEZ) and village mayor Sam Jaffe. Richard Conte is excellent as the main suspect, a seemingly average American Joe who may be a high-ranking SS officer. Cagney’s final scene is about as hardboiled as it gets, easily rivaling the climax of WHITE HEAT for blistering visceral impact.

$10 General Admission
$8 Seniors and Seniors
$7 American Cinematheque members

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