Holiday Flix: Casablanca Express

On this day, we celebrate Troops around the World.  In my case, I do it with fictional ones.  Today's Film is Casablanca Express, a 1989 Thriller about WWII.  The Plot is simple- the Germans want to capture Winston Churchill while he's in Africa.  Can he be rescued from a train?  On the job are the Sons of 2 famous Actors- Jason Connery and Francesco Quinn.  Oftentimes when I'm talking about a Film, I'll describe the 'tone' or 'look' as being 'all over the map.'  In this case, it is literal.  Let's break this down by Country, shall we?  England brings us our fictional Protagonists like Churchill and Connery's Character- not to mention Connery himself.  Canada brings us legendary Character Actor  Glenn Ford in a key role.  Africa- specifically Alger- brings us the setting...even though they actually shot it in Morocco.  Our Female Lead is from Argentina (thankfully not Brazil).  Finally, Italy brings us Quinn and nearly everyone else behind the Scenes.  The Director- Sergio Martino- has a crazy Resume with over 60 Credits behind the Camera.  Of note, he's done Giallos like The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, All The Colors of the Dark and my personal favorite Title- but not Film- Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key.  He also did such Films as 2019: The Fall of New York, The Fishmen and their Queen and Slave of the Cannibal God.  If anyone was the right pick to tell a tale of British heroism in Africa, it was clearly the guy behind The Great Alligator!  Is this barely-remembered Film worth a second look?  To find out, read on...

In 1942, Churchill is in Africa, albeit in secret.  Obviously you can't let the Nazis know where he is right now!

Desperate to get him out, they turn to a 'fixer' of sorts- Connery- who knows how to do extractions.

For all the build-up he gets, however, he's attacked and subdued by Agents that same day.

He is spared, but he doesn't know why (until later).

He works with two other Agents, the latter of whom he's also in a relationship with.

They go on the train, which was the backup plan they went to after the earlier attack.

Did they make the right call?

Nope- it was all a trick!

The earlier attack was to get them to abandon the Plane plan and go to the Train.  An inside man- Ford- then would end up tipping off the Nazis.  Ruh roh.

Connery manages to get to the train- which was stopped by a bombing- and make an elaborate rescue attempt for his comrades and Churchill.

He manages to save many- but not all- of the hostages and Churchill, although his comrade- Quinn- doesn't make it.

In the aftermath, he finds out that this was actually the *double* of Churchill and he's upset.  All's fair in love and (World) War (II), right?

A strange mix of realism and bombastic adventure.  The Film, first and foremost, is pretty darn good.  It won't 'blow you away' or anything, but it is good.  It feels real- since they shot it in Casablanca-, it can feel gritty- lots of people get shot and killed- and it can feel relatively-epic.  The Film never seems to feel like the big-budget stuff that it is trying to ape.  This is 1989, so they are clearly going for Indiana Jones in many ways.  It doesn't *quite* succeed, but the almost-John Williams Score does its best.  I'm kind of amazed that they weren't sued over this.  The confusing part of this one for me is that it wants to be fun and bombastic throughout...until suddenly it gets somber.  A Priest gets shot, a little girl is wounded and many people die.  War is hell...but so are jarring transitions.  We first met Connery and then it went to a playful bit with him and his lady in the Shower.  An hour later, he's been beaten, their comrade has been shot and a dozen people are dead.  Wow.  I don't necessarily fault them for being somewhat-realistic here- as Nazis did kill many people- per se, just the manner in which they did it.  Tonal shifts aside, this has a fun, pulp feel to it and I enjoyed it.  If you're looking for Films about this time and with this kind of feel that you haven't seen, check it out.  I'm sure that you'll have a...Pleasence time...

Next time, we resume our regularly-scheduled program.  It's going to be a Horror Movie, but that won't exactly narrow things down for you.  Stay tuned...