18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Middling World War II Action-Adventure, December 17, 2001
By no means is "Casablanca Express" a great movie, but it is passable entertainment if you're not too discriminating and can accept some lapses in logic. Jason (son of Sean) Connery and Francesco (son of Anthony) Quinn are assigned to protect Winston Churchill who's travelling through North Africa on the Casablanca Express during World War II. The Germans are tipped off about Churchill's presence on the train and soon paratroopers capture the train and Churchill. It's up to Connery and Quinn (and the comely female agent Lorna) to rescue Mr. Churchill. Glenn Ford and Donald Pleasence have extended cameos as members of the Allied military brass in this European production. "Casablanca Express" makes a nice companion film to the superior "The Eagle Has Landed," wherein a team of German commandos attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Churchill on English soil.
The DVD, from Front Row, is another one of their budget releases, so don't expect too much. There are chapter breaks and biographies/filmographies for Connery and Pleasence, though the filmography for Pleasence, a prolific film actor, is missing many of his films. The film is presented full screen and the transfer, while not great, is acceptable for a budget release. The bottom line on "Casablanca Express" is that it's a fair time passer if you're not too demanding.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Well, I almost got through the whole thing, August 3, 2005
This movie is a very good example of something that should have been allowed to rot in the can! I'm a fan of classic movies being transferred to DVD, if for no other reason to preserve them. But this was a waste of money when it was made, and it's a waste of money on DVD. Extremely poor story line, extremely poor acting, production quality on the film is so bad that you will wonder if there is a hidden fan on right next to your head.
I'm embarrassed to say that I couldn't think of anything good to say about this production.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good action film, July 10, 2005
This review is from: Casablanca Express (DVD)
The premise is that Winston Churchill is traveling through North Africa on his way to Casablanca and he will be the target of a Nazi kidnap or murder attempt. It is up to our hero Cooper, his trusty assistant Franchetti, and his girlfriend and co-agent Lora, to foil the Nazis and deliver Churchill safely.
One of the villains of the piece is the French traitor who proudly defends his treason by stating that Vichy France is part of the Nazi empire. Then of course there are some Nazi villains to fight.
The film was intelligently and interestingly done. It even gets just a little bit controversial, when Churchill explains to the American general that while it is true that he had advance knowledge of the Pearl Harbor attack, he was not to blame for the massacre at Pearl Harbor because he had informed President Roosevelt about it in advance (and Roosevelt supposedly didn't find it credible, though that excuse for FDR is itself incredible). The general answers that he would prefer not to believe that Roosevelt knew about it in advance.
With Glenn Ford in the cast, along with the sons of Anthony Quinn and Sean Connery, you would expect a professionally done film, and you get one.
The female lead is very good. She uses her sex appeal to help the cause, and after being rescued from a German soldier's embrace (on the floor) she placidly tells her boyfriend Cooper that if he had rescued her a little later she would be starting a family.
This wasn't meant to be the finest film of all time. It was meant to be an interesting action flick, and it achieved that goal.
My only complaint is that the characters were too handsome. Such is Hollywood. I really don't think that heroes have to look like Brad Pitt or Jason Connery. Why can't we have an ugly hero now and then, or for that matter, just a regular guy and not a Playgirl pinup.
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