The Train • The Next Reel

The Next Reel Film Podcast · Nov 23, 2023 · 58m

“A painting means as much to you as a string of pearls to an ape.”

In the early 1960s, French author Rose Valland pitched the idea for The Train to producer Jules Bricken. Valland had worked at the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris during World War II, overseeing the Nazi looting of French art treasures. Intrigued by her true story of resisting Nazi art theft, Bricken brought in director Arthur Penn to develop the film. Penn saw it as a vehicle for his friend Burt Lancaster and got him on board to star and co-produce. But creative differences led Penn to depart the project, with action director…