''Casablanca Express'' is a 1989

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

starring

Jason Connery Jason Joseph Connery (born 11 January 1963) is a British actor and director. He is the son of Sean Connery and Diane Cilento. On screen, he is best known for appearing in the third series of the ITV drama series ''Robin of Sherwood'' in 1986. He ...

and

Francisco Quinn Francesco Daniele Quinn (March 22, 1963 – August 5, 2011) was an Italian-born American actor. The first son of Oscar-winner Anthony Quinn and Iolanda Addolori (Anthony Quinn's second wife), Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout rol ...

that was filmed in Morocco. It was produced by Pietro Innocenzi and Umberto Innocenzi and directed by

Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...

. The film was later featured in an episode of ''

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 (such as ''Creatu ...

''.

Plot

In 1942

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...

arrives in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

. He plans to travel on to

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

where he will meet

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

for the

Casablanca Conference The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. In attendance were U ...

. 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 In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

may be attempted. An especially secure carriage is attached to a train (The Casablanca Express) and a unit of American

commando Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...

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 In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...

. 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 A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...

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 A detonator, frequently a blasting cap, is a device used to trigger an explosive device. Detonators can be chemically, mechanically, or electrically initiated, the last two being the most common. The commercial use of explosives uses electri ...

. 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 The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

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

as Alan Cooper *

Francesco Quinn Francesco Daniele Quinn (March 22, 1963 – August 5, 2011) was an Italian-born American actor. The first son of Oscar-winner Anthony Quinn and Iolanda Addolori (Anthony Quinn's second wife), Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role ...

as Captain Franchetti *

Jinny Steffan Jinny is a feminine given name which may refer to: * Jinny Beyer (born 1941), American quilt designer and quilter * Jinny Jacinto (born 1976), Canadian contortionist * Jinny or Jinny Lee, a stage name of South Korean pop singer Chae Yeon (born ...

as Lieutenant Lorna Fisher *

Manfred Lehmann ''Manfred: A dramatic poem'' is a closet drama written in 1816–1817 by Lord Byron. It contains supernatural elements, in keeping with the popularity of the ghost story in England at the time. It is a typical example of a Gothic fiction. B ...

as Otto Von Tiblis *

Jean Sorel Jean Sorel (; born 25 September 1934) is a French actor. Born Jean Bernard de Chieusses de Combaud de Roquebrune, he worked extensively in European cinema during the 1960s and 1970s with directors such as Luis Buñuel and Luchino Visconti. How ...

as Major Valmore *

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

as Colonel Bats *

Glenn Ford Gwyllyn Samuel Newton "Glenn" Ford (May 1, 1916 – August 30, 2006) was a Canadian-American actor who often portrayed ordinary men in unusual circumstances. Ford was most prominent during Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age as ...

as Maj. Gen. Williams * Luisa Maneri as Nanny *

Horst Schön Horst may refer to: Science * Horst (geology), a raised fault block bounded by normal faults or graben People * Horst (given name) * Horst (surname) * ter Horst, Dutch surname * van der Horst, Dutch surname Places Settlements Germany * Horst ...

as Priest (as Horst Schon) * David Brandon as Jason Lloyd * John Evans as

* Marina Viro as Olga *

Giulia Urso Giulia may refer to: People * Giulia (given name) * Giulia (wrestler) (born 1994), English-born Italian-Japanese professional wrestler Places *Cappella Giulia, a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome * Friuli-Venezia Giulia, one of the 20 region ...

as Liz * Giovanni Tamberi as Julian * Augusto Poderosi as Barry

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Casablanca Express 1989 films 1980s English-language films English-language Italian films Italian World War II films Macaroni Combat films Films set in Algeria North African campaign films Films directed by Sergio Martino Films scored by Luigi Ceccarelli Rail transport films Cultural depictions of Winston Churchill 1980s Italian films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links