Don't you just love the way Burt Lancaster always plays Burt Lancaster, no matter the circumstance, the setting or even the nationality of the character? What would be a detriment to most other actors seems to only strengthen his popularity. Here, in this classic WWII drama, Lancaster is a "FRENCH" engineer
in charge of the railroad traffic in and out of Paris. He is also covertly intent on sabotaging the occupational German army every chance he gets. While those around him, be they French or German, speak with fluid accents, Burt never waivers from his trademark American dialect. The best part is that we, his legions of adoring fans, don't seem to mind one bit. It's not the words that fuel his performance, it's the emotion behind them. In The Train there is no actor less French than Burt Lancaster, and yet I can't imagine anyone better suited for the part.
January 13, 2009
