Casablanca Express (1989) User Reviews

Churchill On The Marrakesh Express

[bkoganbing · 3/10 · 21 October 2008]

Other than the fact that Casablanca Express is actually filmed in Morocco and in Casablanca itself, there isn't all that much to recommend it to viewers. I'd stick with the Warner Brothers Casablanca made quite well on their back lot.

This film involves an attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill while on the way to Casablanca for that conference with FDR. It's a combination of The Lady Vanishes and any of the Indiana Jones films in that last half.

Our Nazi friends hear that Churchill is traveling by train to Casablanca and set up a paratrooper raid. No doubt they got the idea from the folks who planned that raid that freed Mussolini after the Fascist government in Italy was overthrown. Possibly Churchill was riding the Marrakesh Express.

Leading the effort to save Winston Churchill are the sons of a pair of movie legends, Jason Connery and Francesco Quinn. Also helping our intrepid heroes out is Jinny Stefan who wields one mean machine gun against the paratroopers.

Standing around and looking like they were waiting for the checks to clear the bank are Glenn Ford and Donald Pleasance playing an American and British officer in charge of Churchill's safety.

Well, we all know Churchill made it to Casablanca intact. But why isn't this in the history books? Well if you're curious you'll see the film.

There's not much other reason for doing so.

Inept train-bound WW2 film

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 9 June 2016]

CASABLANCA EXPRESS is a last-ditch Italian WW2 film, actually shot in Casablanca in part and set on a train for much of the running time. It comes to us courtesy of Sergio Martino, a man who has created films like THE CASE OF THE SCORPION'S TAIL and MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD throughout a lengthy career, though it's undoubtedly one of his lesser efforts.

The story is about Winston Churchill embarking on a train journey and the attempts by the Nazis to have him assassinated en route. Thankfully, the powers that be employ some top counter-agents to fight off the threat, and the stage is set for plentiful action. What a pity, then, that the film turns out to be so cheap, shoddy and inept, fumbling what should be suspenseful action sequences and generally proving to be less than enthralling.

CASABLANCA EXPRESS boasts not one but two offspring of famous movie stars; Jason Connery, son of Sean, is the wooden lead, while Francesco Quinn, son of Anthony, supports him. A trio of famous names - Jean Sorel, Donald Pleasence, and Glenn Ford - feature heavily on the cast list and advertising, but are largely limited to those 'sitting around talking' type roles that are included for tokenism. There's a nice little role for STAGE FRIGHT's David Brandon, though. This film also features the worst Chuchill lookalike after ever.

If CASABLANCA EXPRESS had featured halfway decent action and suspense scenes it might have been good, but it all feels quite inept. There isn't a great deal of realism here, a lot of the acting is over the top, and the shoot-outs and explosions do look very staged.

Boring, Sloppily Made Action Flick

[SgtSlaughter · 3/10 · 28 June 2003]

An old-fashioned WWII adventure piece, starring some elderly Hollywood vets and the sons of some great stars. Unfortunately, even with a great cast and crew, the movie comes off as forced and corny all the way.

Churchill takes a train to meet with Roosevelt and Stalin in Casablanca. German paratroopers attempt to capture the train and take Churchill alive, but their efforts are hampered by Allied commandos.

The movie is, honestly, really bad in just about every department. Jason Connery and Francesco Quinn (PLATOON) try really hard, and have enough talent to squeak by, but neither would be as convincing or at ease as their fathers (Sean Connery and Anthony Quinn). Manfred Lehmann is a pretty nasty-looking but very incompetent German officer who leads the assault on the train. Donald Pleasence (THE GREAT ESCAPE) and Glenn Ford (IS PARIS BURNING?) are onhand as the Allied generals running the show from headquarters.

The movie is chock full of supporting characters and plot elements which have absolutely nothing to do with the action. There's a Catholic priest, a couple prostitutes, nuns, Arab sheiks, and British civilians riding the train who all end up getting killed. So much emphasis is put on these characters, all of whom are focused on only to be thrown away.

There are a lot of plot holes and such which also hamper the story's credibility. Glenn Ford seems to hate Churchill and blames him for Pearl Harbor and the death of his son, but this subplot is forgotten about halfway through the movie. Men sit around talking for the first thirty minutes or so about nothing that matters, providing lots of details on events and actions which don't matter a bit. The Germans manage to take over the train quite rapidly and wipe out a platoon of American guards, but in the final act a couple good guys with MP40s are able to wipe out just about the entire German unit with no effort at all. The Germans fail to secure the entire train, just some cars; they don't bother to look underneath the cars for saboteurs; they are portrayed as buffoons and idiots all the way.

The action scenes are ultra-corny, usually involving few pyrotechnics and a couple of good guys mowing down the German paratroops or vice versa. It's all set to a typically garbage (yet serviceable) Luigi Ceccarelli music score, which is typical synthesize garbage that never makes it's potential. To make matters worse, the bulk of the action was shot on what looks to be a desert soundstage, with the train parked and not much movement of the actors or any exciting stunts. There is one nail-biting fisticuff atop the speeding train which did have me on the edge of my seat, though.

I watched CASABLANCA EXPRESS on a Portuguese videotape. The colors were bright, fresh and intense. There was occasional print damage, but for the most part this movie was well-preserved for video transfer.

CASABLANCA EXPRESS is a corny - and appropriately so - but doesn't fit bill for a late 80s war movie. Audiences could expect better from such an experienced cast and crew - even for an Italian production, it's not very good for its day.

RATING: 3/10

Couldn't have been much worse.

[Aylmer · 1/10 · 29 July 1999]

Ultra lame World War II flick. Absolutely flat dialog scenes, boring action sequences, and some of the worst music ever devised by man! I'm usually a big fan of Sergio Martino's work, but this film was far too weak to stand up. The two stars, Francesco Quinn and Jason Connery, are the sons of Anthony Quinn and Sean Connery. Star-power (or son-of-star-power) is what the film relied upon too heavily. The result is a 90 minute waste of time, with some of the most startling historical errors ever committed to film. Far too boring to be funny.

Really Bad

[ETO_Buff · 2/10 · 12 May 2005]

It is difficult to find enough bad things to say about this movie. It is even more difficult to imagine why Glenn Ford and Donald Pleasance would agree to be in this movie. As far as realism and historical accuracy: Non-existent. The only way a person could find this movie realistic is if they just moved here from another planet.

Here are just a few technical examples of the poor quality of this film:

The U.S. Army personnel are wearing uniforms that are currently in use (issued in the early 1980s). The soldiers use helmet liners instead of complete helmets (liner and "iron pot"). The U.S. flags that are shown have 50 stars (instead of the 48-star flag which was in use from 1912 until 1960).

I rated it two stars because unfortunately, I have seen worse movies.

waste of film

[ebokneez · 1/10 · 6 February 2014]

I can only guess some of these actors were looking for paychecks and they are the only ones who profit from this. Nothing is good ; the camera-work is poor, the script is poor, there is no closed captions, and the sound really sucks. you can almost see 20 foot booms with mics dangling from them, instead of mics on the actors. Alright, the scenery is OK. And this is proof that just because you have actors as parents doesn't mean you get any talent from the genes. This was one of the last movies for Glenn Ford, an iconic actor from the 40's and 50's. Even Donald Pleasence is in this, the same year he shot Halloween 5. Some of the chase scenes were overly long and not necessary to the story. Unnecessary nudity and "love scenes" used as filler.

Words cannot describe the sub-mediocrity of this movie

[alumni72 · 2/10 · 8 August 2006]

...but I'll try anyway.

I got this movie in a package containing a dozen WW2 movies and documentaries, all for about $14.99. While the packaging didn't advertise the fact, I am convinced it was originally marketed as The World's Worst WW2 Movies - while this may be the worst of the lot, it isn't by much.

The actor playing Winston Churchill looks so unlike him that in closeups they only show his hand holding a cigar - the voice is close enough that, combined with the cigar, you can figure out who it is supposed to be, though. And for shots from farther away, the actor is never shown head-on; only in profile or looking away at an angle.

The plot makes absolutely no sense, and how Glenn Ford and Donald Pleasence got roped into taking part in this travesty is beyond me.

The only decent part of the movie is.........wait - I apologize. There IS no decent part of this movie. If you paid even a penny to see this movie, you got robbed! And if you saw it for free - you're within your rights to ask for your 90 minutes back.

Technically One Of The Worst War Movies Made

[jfn007 · 2 May 2004]

As a 22 year Army veteran, I become almost nauseous viewing war movies with numerous technical errors. The "Marine" assault battalion fires a 3.5" rocket launcher from a moving train without regard to the back blast effect on the Marines riding directly behind the weapon.

The army uniforms were hokey. Army officers, under the rank of general, have two insignias per lapel, a "U.S." and a branch insignia. About half the time one of our heroes has his worn correctly, the other half of the time incorrectly.

The rescuing Marines have corpsmen with them that have ludicrous looking helmet liners with huge red crosses on them. Those crosses would have made great targets for even a blind sniper.

The soldiers accompanying the train were geared up for combat wearing their helmet liners sans helmets. They also were wearing an American flag patch on their left shoulders. These flag patches should have been on their right shoulders (I know D-Day invasion forces had these flags sewn on, but I am not too sure about our soldiers in Africa) and their unit patches on their left.

Certainly wish some of the directors/producers could spring a few bucks and hire some ex-GI's as technical advisers.

Name Recognition Casting but Perfunctory Plotting

[OneView · 5/10 · 14 August 2018]

Star power is perhaps less important in movies today than it was in decades past. Films are more often sold on a concept rather than a name and it is far less common for a star to have the ability to 'open' a film on their name power alone. The casting for Casablanca Express, a World War II set tale shot in Morocco and Italy demonstrates two types of name casting of the period.

The first is the use of actors who had substantial careers but were perhaps past the point of being headliners themselves anymore. Glenn Ford at the age of 73 and Donald Pleasance at 70 are given substantial supporting roles that rely on their presence and the ability for their names to be used in print and related advertising. Ford had given very few acting performances in the previous decade, whilst Pleasance had been hugely busy in a large range of low budget features. The older audience would be familiar with the actors' work and be happy perhaps to see them again in a feature.

The second form of name recognition used is to cast the offspring of known actors, in this case the sons of Sean Connery and Anthony Quinn, relying perhaps on curiosity value from the audience about whether they would be equivalent level stars to their parents. In this case neither has a great deal of charisma but their evident willingness to engage in complex stunt work un-doubled for the most part is impressive. The complex action sequences atop and around trains go a long way to adding to the conviction of the film.

The plot is fairly perfunctory though with a non-cheat twist ending and the remote locations through which the train of the title travels are fairly evocative. Dialogue is at time unintentionally hilarious and extensive post-production dubbing appears to have occurred.

I enjoyed my first viewing of Casablanca Express but did not feel it had sufficient depth or other items of interest that would support a repeat viewing.

Stars' offspring in World War II drama

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 7 July 2007]

This film was on a DVD with another film, "The Swiss Conspiracy," so comparisons are inevitable. I gave this a 6 because I thought it was better than "The Swiss Conspiracy." Which isn't saying much. But I actually liked this film a little better than most of the other people who commented on this board.

Its stars are Jason Connery, son of Sean, and Francesco Quinn, son of Anthony, along with Glenn Ford, Donald Pleasance, Jean Sorel and Jinny Stefan. One thing that made me deeply regret watching this film was that I had never seen Glenn Ford in anything he did after Superman - until this 1989 movie. Though I give him credit for not wearing a hairpiece or getting a face lift, his appearance was an unwelcome shock.

The story concerns getting Churchill to Casablanca via train. I am not the World War II expert that some of the other reviewers here are, so I can't speak to the inaccuracies. I found the action sequences, especially those concerning the train, exciting, suspenseful, and well directed. One thing that was somewhat stupid - one of the Germans goes through the train, shooting anybody in his way - we're talking men, women, or children. Then he tells his commander that one man, whose dead body the commander sees, came after him and he had to shoot in self defense. "I told you not to kill any civilians," the commander says. So much for following orders - there was hardly anyone left alive or not wounded on the entire train of civilians!

As for the rest of the movie, forget it. I didn't feel that Quinn or Connery had any charisma or acting ability, though I notice that both men continue to rack up jobs. However, they are very handsome. Connery and Tyrone Power Jr. (who isn't in this) seem to come from the same Star Children Acting Academy - when they don't know what to do, they shake their heads and tighten their lips as a reaction to some event. This normally means that the camera is on them when they have no dialogue, and they think they have to do something. They do, but on film, often an internal thought that expresses itself in the eyes is better. Sometimes less is more. Of course, less can be less, too. Connery did this grimace/head business constantly, never changing expression.

The film had that grainy, cheap look to it and poor color. Possibly the people in this movie have moved up to better quality projects. I don't know whether that's a good or a bad thing.

epic style Indiana Jones type flick not to be taken too seriously

[drystyx · 5/10 · 10 February 2010]

The plot is a WWII attempt by Axis powers to kidnap Winston Churchill.

What we have is an epic style film here, one of those larger than life Indiana Jones type flicks that isn't meant to be taken seriously, and goes instead for the thrills and bangs.

And it pretty well does that. We have mega stars Pleasance and Ford doing the older officer bits, and we have young action heroes doing quite well in the "not to be taken seriously" action. Of course it is off the wall action, but there really isn't any attempt by the director to disguise this. This is James Bond or Indiana Jones style escapism.

The characters are not overly deep, but more intended to convey comedy. Again, there is no attempt to disguise this.

We have some surprises, especially in the identity of the spy. Nothing big, just enough to make it entertaining.

Lots of needless shooting and silly action scenes. If you like Bond flicks, you'll like this, though. Same thing.

Glenn Ford on the spot!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 24 December 2014]

Despite its many negative reviews, I quite enjoyed this movie. It's full of action, moves at an admirably brisk pace from start to finish, and was obviously shot on some really exotic locations. Admittedly, I'm a train buff and any movies featuring a train – especially an exotic train such as this one – immediately get my vote! I'm also a Glenn Ford fan and it was good to see the Alpha DVD going all out to promote him on the cover ahead of everyone else. Incidentally, while I have the DVD in front of me, the cover maintains that the film "contains nudity." I don't remember any nudity. Maybe I slept through that scene, but I could have sworn I had my eyes glued to the set from start to finish. Getting back to Ford, true, Glenn is too old for the role (and so is Donald Pleasence for his part), but why quibble? Any movie with Glenn Ford is a good movie – and this one is tops! Available on a very good Alpha DVD.

Saving your enemies life doesn't fit the Nazi image

[sol1218 · 6/10 · 12 January 2013]

***SPOILERS*** Fictional war movie about a real event in how British Prime Minister Winston Churchill,John Even, got to meet US President Frankie "D" Roosevelt at Casablanca to talk over strategy in how to defeat the Nazis in WWII. It seems that there wasn't any secure transportation for Churchill to get to Casablanca so the allies, British US & Free French, had to devise a secret plan to sneak him into the city and keep the Nazis from kidnapping or killing him. It's US Major General Williams played by a bored and wishing he were somewhere else Glenn Ford who's job it is to get Churchill safe and sound to Casablanca and has his two top men British commando Alan Cooper, Jason Connery, and US Secret Service or OSS Agent Captain Franchetti, Francesco Quinn, recruited to get the job done.

In a game of cat and mouse Gen.Williams has it known through the allied grapevine that Churchill is being flown to Casablanca to fool the Nazis headed by North African intelligence chef Col. Otto Von Tiblis, Manfred Lehman. It's Tiblis' job to capture Churchill dead or alive, alive preferable, and use him to embarrass the British by forcing Churchill, by him being drugged juiced with booze or at gunpoint, to tell the British people via Radio Berlin to give up the fight against the Germans. It's both Cooper and Franchetti's job to make sure that doesn't happen!

Better then you would expect action scenes with a squad of German elite paratrooper capturing the train that Churchll in on with Cooper Franchetti as well as pretty British secret agent Lorna Fisher, Jinny Steffan, doing their best to fight them off. The German paratroopers who are known for refraining in doing the horrible things that their fellow Nazi SS storm troops did in WWII are about the most criminal bunch of Nazis ever seen in a WWII film. That includes even those those made by Hollywood and the British during WWII where in a life and death struggle with Nazi Germany it was open season to show the Germans in the worst light possible. We have these kill crazy German paratroopers gunning down civilians Catholic priests and even young children with total impunity for no reason at all! That made it impossible to have the usual good German who hates Hitler and the Nazis but loves his Fatherland, that was very popular in post-WWII movies, among them.

****SPOILERS**** After all the killing and shooting is over were all in for a big surprise in what's behind all this secrecy in getting Churchill by train to Casablanca. And it's not in just his meeting with Roosevelt in discussing strategy to defeat the Nazis and win WWII. Which when you hear what's really behind it makes all the killing and carnage in the film a total moot point! But it still makes for a good & exciting action war movie!

Funny Story because of historical inaccuracies

[tsharp1948 · 3/10 · 2 March 2008]

You'll find yourself laughing at the many historical errors and incongruities in this movie. For example: The average North African home surrounded an open court, why in the world would anyone place an anti-aircraft machine gun in the middle of a small courtyard unless he felt there was a good chance they would only be attacked by dive bombers!!! Or how about two hand painted vertical stripes on the helmet of an American captain, so oversize and off center, it's hard to miss his rank. Or how about the HUGE red cross bullseye's on the helmets of the medics. Otherwise the movie was fun but not in the way the producers ever intended.

What a dismal film

[Warfilmman · 11 July 2000]

Its amazing how an actor of Sean Connery's charisma can have passed on zero percent of his ability to his son Jason. This spagetti WWII film is notable for Jason Connery's complete lack of acting ability. Much better is Francesco Quinn who though in a thankless role manages to give the film some much needed charisma. The plot is about as daft as you can get. German paras attack a train carrying Churchill and Connery sets about saving the day. Donald Pleasence and Glenn Ford have little to do, but show glimmers of past succeses. The rest of the cast are typically terrible and authenticity-wise the film has more holes than a colander.

Having said that its one of those "so bad its good" films, but don't take it seriously. For a better film about attacking a train stick to Von Ryan's Express.

The Prime Minister Vanishes

[wes-connors · 4/10 · 6 March 2010]

UK Prime Minister "Winston Churchill is traveling across Africa during the second World War. Nazi terrorists sabotage the train and take Churchill hostage. Counter-espionage agents Jason Connery (son of Sean Connery) and Francesco Quinn (son of Anthony Quinn) attempt to save him, and perhaps prevent the collapse of the allied war effort," according to the DVD sleeve description, "'Casablanca Express' is a taunt thriller with explosive action sequences."

Interesting to see the sons of two very accomplished actors in such an unimpressive movie. The younger Connery and the younger Quinn are, arguably, more handsome in appearance, but less attractive on screen. At least in this movie; "Casablanca Express" is only one film, and not a very good one. It really seems to be set in the 1980s, poorly pretending to be World War II of the 1940s. Allied actors Glenn Ford, Donald Pleasence, and Jean Sorel amount to naught.

**** Casablanca Express (12/22/89) Sergio Martino ~ Jason Connery, Francesco Quinn, Jinny Steffan, Glenn Ford

Cheap Italian War Flick With International Cast, Set in Morocco

[Jakealope · 4/10 · 17 November 2010]

Cheap Italian flicks, especially aimed at an international market, are always fun. It is like an Italian meal with some good dishes and some bad ones indifferently put together but served with panache. You know the plot by now, it is set in WW ll just before the Casablanca Conference where they have to move Prime Minister Winston Churchill there safely, in spite of a German plot to kill him. It takes advantage of the fact that Nazis had plenty of collaborators in North Africa amongst the Vichy French administration that the Allies left in charge and Arabs too. There is a secret agent trio, played by two star's sons and some pretty woman, then a couple of old heavy actors brought in as HQ high officer types. Basically it is "The Eagle Has Landed" in North Africa, right down to the German paratroopers, but told from the good guy's point of view. It is fun but nothing to take serious or go out of your way. It provides a lot of action, mainly a lot of machine gunning but little gore. It had the hijacked plot element in it, when the paratroopers took over the train full of a smörgåsbord of Europeans & North Africans. In this part of the movie, there was shameless sentimentality with a wounded girl, shot by the paras, being saved & a dying priest being ministered to by his Islamic seat mate.

Run-of-the-mill wartime movie about a commando is assigned to protect Prime Minister Winston Churchill

[ma-cortes · 5/10 · 15 December 2021]

Allegedly based on historical events it is set in Algiers, 1942 , a commando has to carry out a perilous trek when it is learned that the Nazis are plotting to kidnap him . The special counter-intelligence agent , Alan Cooper (Jason Connery) , is assigned by Headquarter commandants : Major Valmore : Jean Sorel , Colonel Bats : Donald Pleasence , Major Gen. Williams : Glenn Ford, -though one of them resutlts to be a traitor- to protect the British Prime Minister , Winston Churchill , who is aboard the Casablanca Express , on his way to a top-secret meeting with Franklin D. Roosevelt , and Joseph Stalin at a Casablanca summit . As it develops the classic plot about ordinary team of brave soldiers of World War II assigned to a extremely perilous mission . However , the Nazis already know everything about their scheme , and a tactical unit of German paratroopers under orders of officer Otto Von Tiblis (Manfred Lehmann) take the commando guards by surprise , intent on abducting Churchill . As British S. I. S. And U. S. Marines attempt to rescue Winston Churchill from Nazi storm troopers in the Moroccan Desert . Now, it's up to Cooper (Jason Connery) and his fellow officers , Captain Franchetti (Francesco Quinn) and Lt. Lorna Fisher (blonde Jinny Steffan) . As they must participate in the suicidal mission behind the enemy lines , to wipe the German group by means of a violent assault over a strongly protected train while saving Churchill . In a World War II desert stand-off, two superpowers will be tested...Stop...Escape is the only means of survival!.Rescue Churchill at all costs. Nazi plot to kidnap Churchill.

An entertaining film with two sons : Jason Connery , Francesco Quinn , of greatest legends : Sean Connery , Anthony Quinn , as tough officers to carry out a secret mission . This Casablanca Express (1989) is a late entry to an Italian subgenre which was brought to attention by a larger audience by director Quentin Tarantino . These types of B-war films have never enjoyed enormous popularity in Italy because they were made mostly just to make money, especially with foreign distribution in poor countries and little conviction on the part of the producers . Macaroni Combat were Italian war films inspired by Hollywood films of the 60s/70s produced to try to make money . They often used titles and plots from the various blockbusters made in the US. All had seasoned actors aka "Italian yankees" and often they were older stars whose popularity had faded in their own countries. As with the spaghetti westerns or the poliziesco genres , it rode the wave of success the original genre films started in Hollywood . Instead of The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich) , Navarone Guns (J. Lee Thompson) , Battle of the Bulge (Ken Annakin) , Where eagles dare (Brian G. Hutton) , Kelly's heroes (Brian G. Hutton ), Tobruk (Arthur Hiller), Devil's Brigade (Andrew V McLagen) , while the Italian titles include the following ones : The Guns Still Thunder , The Battle of El Alamein , Last Panzer battle , Hell commandos , A Bullet for Rommel , When heroes die , Commandos , Five for Hell , Eagles Over London , these were films made mostly in De Paolis (Rome) or the Egyptian desert .The typical team was made up of an Italian director, Italo-Spanish technical staff, and a cast of Italian and Spanish actors and sometimes German and French, sometimes a fading Hollywood star. The films were primarily shot in Spain, Italy , North Africa and later, the Philippines.

In Casablanca Express (1989) we have the usual heroes undertaking a risked assignment , going across the dangerous desert , where there are lots of chase sequences , shootouts , to lead a desperate counter-attack on a train before all is lost . In the hands of hardboiled director Sergio Martino and a tough-as-leather cast headed by Jason Connery as a stubborn U. S. Army captain , that's all the plot that's needed to make one rip-roaring wartime flick . The first half of the film allows the colorful cast of character actors to have their fun and subsequently developing shaky relationships . The final part is all action, as the commandos wreak havoc and spectacular fights on the train , then run for their lives . Despite the fact that few of the "heroes" survive the bloodbath , the message here isn't that war is hell . Rather, it seems to be : war can be a hell of a good time... if you've got nothing to lose . The relentless assignment is set against strong obstacles , risked adventures and hazardous feats . Ordinary plot being scripted by sub-genre expert , prolific Ernesto Gastaldi and Sergio Martino himself , based on a story by Roberto Leoni. This moving film packs frantic thrills, perilous adventures , relentless feats , and buck-loads of explosive action and violence . The noisy action is uniformly well-made, especially deserving of mention the rip-roaring final scenes on the train , including some spectacular shootouts and bombing . Apart from the values of team spirit , the film is full of feats , suspense , and thrills . Rough Jason Connery gives a passable acting as leader to thwart the Nazi schemes, as well as the largely secondary cast with special mention for some famous , though wasted actors as Glenn Ford , Jean Sorel and Donald Pleasence . Along with some familar faces from Eurotrash genres as Manfred Lehmann and David Brandon. This Italian B-movie was regularly directed by Sergio Martino . Talented and versatile writer/director Sergio Martino has made a vast array of often solid and entertaining films in all kind of genres as horror, Giallo , comedy, Western , and science fiction in a career that spans over 40 years . He was specially expert on Western as proved in ¨Mannaja¨ ,¨Arizona returns¨ and Giallo such as : ¨The case of scorpion's tail ¨ , ¨Torso¨ ,¨The scorpion with two tails¨ , ¨The strange vice of Mrs Ward¨ , Cannibal movie as "Mountain of the Cannibal God", Italian crime thrillers as "Violent Professionals" and Sci-Fi such as ¨Destroyer¨ , "2019: After the Fall of New York" . Rating : average 5/10.

CASABLANCA EXPRESS (Sergio Martino, 1989) *1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 3/10 · 7 October 2006]

This could have been a fairly engaging WWII adventure - it deals with a Nazi attempt to kidnap/eliminate Winston Churchill aboard the titular train - but, being a product from the tail-end of the Euro-Cult style, it's a tired ride (excuse the pun!) with little panache and a cast made up of equally worn veterans (Glenn Ford, Donald Pleasence and Jean Sorel) and totally uncharismatic newcomers - both of whom happen to be the offspring of a famous international star - in the form of Jason Connery and Francisco Quinn! Apart from the venerable "danger-on-a-train" theme, the ingredients are there for 90 solid minutes of entertainment - exotic locations, action, romance, treason, a decoy flight, an impossible one-man mission, a violent corpse-strewn climax, and even a clever (if predictable) twist ending - but, as I said, the film never really takes off and Martino handles the proceedings in lackluster fashion, with none of his trademark stylistics. Besides, the relentless and highly irritating synthesizer score is wholly inappropriate and seems to have been discarded from badly accompanying a Silent film...

Steffan's ample attributes not exploited

[meransom · 4/10 · 22 June 2008]

Since I like World War Two as a movie genre, I tend to be a bit more kind in my criticism than others. I found the set designs, wardrobe and ambiance acceptable. I found Jinny Steffan more than appealing, and believe the film would have been much more tolerable for me if her ample "attributes" had been exploited more. And, as others have pointed out, this film is anything but memorable — and for all of the historical, political and military inaccuracies already pointed out. In addition, prior to this, I had never seen any World War Two ground troops, Army OR Marine, who wore jump suits, especially jump suits complete with leggings. As for goofs, in the final scene, Jason Connery (with a gunshot wound in his left leg) and Jinny Steffan walk away from the doomed train. However, with each step, he puts his full weight on his left leg and limps on his right as she supposedly holds him up.

Not at all the worst movie of its kind

[owen-163 · 7/10 · 31 July 2008]

While this is nothing extraordinary perhaps, it is a worthwhile piece of cinema for many reasons. The basic plot is sound, there are some fine actors involved, and it relates a sideshow of the war which might have had very far-reaching consequences had things panned out otherwise. I also thought the female lead was excellent, and that surprised me, in a movie of this type. Jason Connery is a believable commando and it would probably surprise some people to learn that just this type of operation was carried out on more than one occasion in the Second World War. Altogether, a good entertainment, with very nice touches from Donald Pleasance and Glenn Ford, and a highly efficient (Nazi) villain to boot.

Latter day Euro war movie, which turned out to be not too bad

[Red-Barracuda · 5/10 · 12 December 2016]

Director Sergio Martino was one of the undisputed kings of the giallo film. In the early 70's he directed five classic examples of this fabulous Italian sub-genre. But, like the vast majority of his peers, he was essentially a director-for-hire and was given work in whatever genre was popular at the time. This meant that he also directed films in diverse genres, ranging from sex comedies to a notorious cannibal movie. By the late 80's the Italian genre film was in serious decline and it was at this point that Martino helmed Casablanca Express, a late entry in the Euro war film sub-genre. Set during World War II in Morocco, its plot centres on a train which secretly takes the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to Casablanca for a war time conference with U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt. The Axis powers get wind of this plan and set about attempting to kidnap Churchill. A British Special Forces agent is sent on a mission to sort this out.

I was pretty sure that the whole idea of Churchill travelling to Casablanca must've been an alternate history conjured up for the purposes of a movie plot-line. But a little bit of research (i.e. Google) informed me that there was indeed such an event! So I have been educated a little by this movie at the very least. Admittedly, the whole story involving the train is a case of serious dramatic license but I see no point in quibbling about that. It is, on the whole, a pretty decent plot for the film to be fair and it gets us from A to B effectively enough. The action side of things is more okay rather than great though. The lead actor is Jason Connery who I knew mostly from the 80's TV series 'Robin of Sherwood', in truth he's not the most charismatic of actors and here is no different. He is, at best, passably convincing as a super soldier. In the background roles there are a trio of respected thespians in Glenn Ford, Donald Pleasence and Jean Sorel; as American, British and French generals, respectively. So, pretty decent acting personnel overall to be fair. On the whole, this turned out to be a better production than I expected. I mean, it is limited but it's not that bad either. The one area where it was genuinely diabolical was its soundtrack which comprised of horribly tinny music which was unfortunately common in some films of this time period and gives the impression of having been produced by a guy with an 80's keyboard with lots of 'special' settings mimicking various instruments. Aside from this though, I would say this is worth checking out if you enjoy World War II films and aren't too picky.

Good adventure & history

[scottagin · 7/10 · 9 April 2005]

Casablanca Express assumes an almost historic docu-drama style from its start ... but picks up a good intellectual interest and suspense which Hitchcock would savor for its subtle 'dry' approach. The plot entails a special American and Allied military intelligence detail escorting PM Winston Churchill to his wartime casablanca Conference with pres. Franklin Roosevelt. Not gimmicky - but highly realistic for its time period-set in French colonial North Africa - then still wavering for & against Vichy France. Good cast with Glenn Ford as an American General in US Army Intelligence; and Donald Pleasance as his British counterpart. Found out from IMDb that the two male actors as the US intelligence agents aboard Churchill's secret train - Jason Connery & Francesco Quinn .. are the sons of film stars Sean Connery & Anthony Quinn. Directed smoothly in a verismo style & produced/released in 1988 .. the film will hold with suspense & entertain the mind as if an historic archive. Its realism exudes the director's style as if performed by non-actors (ie. actual agents & military).

As a viewing note -- the edition I saw was Family Treasury DVD classics -- these are also being discounted inexpensively in units apart from the Family Treasury group buy (perhaps as over-runs) at $1 to $5 for two -- they are not pirated -- worth the higher price & a good deal at the discount.

Winston Churchill must be protected.

[michaelRokeefe · 3/10 · 11 March 2011]

This engaging war drama takes place in 1942 with the conflict between the U.S. and Germany revving up. Two sons of famous fathers, Jason Connery and Francesco Quinn, star as U.S. intelligence discovers that Nazi commandos have plans to kidnap British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as he leaves a meeting in Casablanca. When it is learned that there is a spy tipping off Churchill's movements; protection beefs up and the method of transportation changes. Some suspense and tension along with war violence sustains the 90 minutes running time. There may be questions concerning historic accuracy; but this flick does make good for a lazy weekend afternoon viewing. Sergio Martino directs a cast that also features: Glen Ford, Jinny Steffan, Giovanni Tamberi, Jean Sorel and Donald Pleasence.

Mediocre WW II tale

[Wizard-8 · 24 November 2013]

The idea behind this movie - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill being kidnapped by German forces during World War II - was a promising one, even if it seems derived from the plot of the movie "The Eagle Has Landed". In fact, both movies have the same twist at their conclusions! Anyway, while there was promise with this movie, the production was unfortunately made by Italian filmmakers in the late 1990s, when the Italian B movie industry was on its last legs. Budgets by this time were more limited and it was much harder to stretch a dollar than just a few years earlier. This may explain why much of the movie has a cheap feeling to it. Most of the budget seems to have gone to getting its unusual and once in a lifetime cast. Despite professionals like Ford and Pleasance in the cast, none of the actors seems to be giving its all. That may be because the movie is not directed in a particularly engaging style, frequently coming across as slow and sluggish. While this movie is far from the worst Italian B movie actioners that I've seen - it's neither vigorously inept nor boring - I suspect most viewers will feel disappointed at the end.