The Last Train from Madrid

The 56 year old Cecil B. DeMille appeared as an extra in a crowd scene in this film. There were no big names to draw audiences to this film which means that the quick glimpse of DeMille was the only thing to watch in this film. Apart from that, I thought it was a waste of money.

The film is set during the Spanish Civil War which was being fought at the time and it centres around 3 unrelated groups of people trying to obtain a boarding pass for a train that will leave Madrid that night. It is the last train out of the city to freedom before the track is blown up. Destination Valencia.

Everyone has until 11:00pm to obtain a boarding pass and these passes will be rigorously checked so it is bad news for anyone who is on the run. Every group we follow as at least one character who is wanted in this way.

There is some good acting as well as some tiresome sentimentality - army deserter Robert Cummings (Ramos) and Helen Mack (Lola) get bogged down in trite dialogue with each other although their final journey to the train station has a good moment. Game over for someone. Similarly, army deserter Olympe Bradna (Maria) is too sickeningly sweet in some of her scenes with American journalist Lew Ayres (Bill). Dorothy Lamour plays the love interest for 2 friends - soldier Anthony Quinn (Alvarez) and escaped prisoner Gilbert Roland (de Soto) - but it is rather ludicrous how she is top billed. More could have been made of this love triangle but as things stand Lamour only needed to show up for one scene. She does not merit headlining this film. That privilege should go to Quinn and Roland. Also in the cast is a very effective Lionel Atwill who plays the military Colonel and Karen Morley who plays a wealthy lady and is the most interesting female character.

Quinn, Roland, Atwill and Morley give the film the excitement and are the best of the cast. The film loses interest when these characters are not on screen because we just get lovey-dovey nonsense dialogue outside of the tensions relating to the build-up to the escape from Madrid at the film's climax. Not everyone makes it out.

Seeing this film over 75 years after it came out you had to wonder about how Hollywood treated this film as history. During the time we cannot tell who's occupying Madrid and who's being a traitor to who. That word is flung about in The Last Train To Madrid. But if you know nothing about the Spanish Civil War you would not know it was the Loyalists that occupied Madrid. Loyalists/Republicans held the Spanish capital and two years later the surrender of Madrid signaled the end of the War in a Nationalist triumph. Two years after this film was seen by our movie-going public.

In 1936 the war started as a revolt of the army against the duly elected Republican government. It is discussed by historians to this day as to whether they were justified. But they did it and when Lionel Atwill calls Anthony Quinn a traitor I'm not sure who was betraying what. Part of the plot calls for Quinn to aid his old friend Gilbert Roland who's with the other side escape Madrid. But I can only guest that Atwill is part of the army Nationalist Revolt and Quinn has betrayed it and Roland even more so by being loyal to the Spanish Republic.

The Last Train From Madrid has the city besieged and there will be a last train going out before the tracks are destroyed. Passes will be issued on a limited basis and they become as valued as those famous Letters of Transit in Casablanca. The film is the story of those trying to leave Madrid and how successful they are.

A bit of Grand Hotel, a bit of Shanghai Express is the best way to describe this film. It would rate higher with me if it was more explicit.

Hollywood tiptoed on eggshells when it came to the Spanish Civil War. This film is no exception. The plot is similar in style to MGM's "Grand Hotel" where separate stories are intermingled with the plot. The most interesting part of this film for me was the depiction of a woman's column marching to the front. But then one of the women sounded like she was from the Bronx and we never found out what happened to the column. Some of the acting is over the top like the dialog. But it is always fun to see Anthony Quinn,Lionel Atwill and Gilbert Roland. Bits of newsreel from the bombing of what appears to be Madrid are spliced in between the Hollywood back lot sets.

Why Hollywood placed a story amid the Spanish Civil War is beyond me. They couldn't commit to either side; consequently, we don't know who is on whose side or what the sides are. Pathetic.

The Loyalists occupy Madrid, but you won't get that from the movie. They surrendered Madrid and the Nationalists won. You won't get that either

The Last Train From Madrid concerns the last train leaving the city before the tracks are destroyed. You need a pass in order to board. And people are desperate to get them.

An incredibly young Anthony Quinn plays Alvarez, who helps a friend, de Soto, to escape capture. De Soto is apparently on the opposite side that Alvarez is supposed to be on. Alvarez is then accused of being a traitor by his superior, Col. Vigo (Lionel Atwill).

De Soto runs to the home of his former lover Carmelita (Dorothy Lamour), only to learn that she is otherwise engaged and not leaving Madrid alone. He then has to find another way to escape.

Cummings plays a young soldier, Ramos, who can't bring himself to execute a man; when he is transferred to the front line, he deserts. Lew Ayres plays a newspaperman who gives a female hitchhiker, Maria (Olympe Bradna) a ride - she's also a deserter. De Soto's pass finally comes from a woman (Karen Morley) who pays a high price for getting him one.

Someone compared this to Grand Hotel. In a way, yes, with a war as the background, albeit a confusing one.