The Battle of the Rails
1946 film by René Clément
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The Battle of the Rails (French: La Bataille du rail[a]) is a 1946 French docudrama war film co-written directed by René Clément in his feature directorial debut, and narrated by Charles Boyer. It depicts the efforts by railway workers in the French Resistance to sabotage German military transport trains during the Second World War, particularly during the Invasion of Normandy by Allies.[1] Many of the cast were genuine railway workers.[2] While critics have often historically treated it as similar to Italian neorealism, it is closer to the traditional documentaries on which the director had worked.[3]
Colette Audry
| The Battle of the Rails | |
|---|---|
 | |
| French | La Bataille du rail |
| Directed by | René Clément |
| Written by | René Clément Colette Audry |
| Produced by | Pierre Lévy-Corti |
| Narrated by | Charles Boyer |
| Cinematography | Henri Alekan |
| Edited by | Jacques Desagneaux |
| Music by | Yves Baudrier |
Production company | Coopérative Générale du Cinéma Français |
| Distributed by | Union Française de Production Cinématographique |
Release date |
|
Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
The film was shown at the inaugural Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize and Clément won the Best Director Award. The film also won the inaugural Prix Méliès.
Cast
- Charles Boyer as the voice of the narrator
- Jean Clarieux as Lampin
- Jean Daurand as Jean, railway worker
- Howard Vernon as German supervisor
- Lucien Desagneaux as Roussel/"Athos"
- François Joux as François, resistance member
- Pierre Latour as German officer
- Tony Laurent as Tony/"Carmargue"
- Robert Leray as Robert, resistance member
- André Miller as Deutsche Reichsbahn official
- Léon Pauléon as Saint-André stationmaster
- Marcel Barnault as Marcel, resistance member
- Pierre Lozach as Louis, railway worker
- Pierre Mindaist as Pierre, railway worker
- Fernand Rauzena, chief engineer
- Michel Salina as Michel, director
- Frédéric Mariotti as Jules, mechanic
Release
In 1949, the film was distributed in America by Arthur Mayer and Joseph Burstyn.
The film was withdrawn from circulation in French Indochina, when it became known that Viet Minh members were using the film as training material for sabotaging railways.[4]
Home media
The film was released on Blu-Ray in France on June 1, 2010.[5]
Reception
Critical response
Reviewing the film on its 1949 US release, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote "For here, in this ninety-minute picture, is a sizzling dramatic account of realistic action and adventure in the fascinating realm of railway trains—of smuggling, spying, train-wrecking and correlated fighting by the bold Maquis."[6]
André Bazin spoke positively of the film, in contrast to his Cahiers du Cinéma colleagues' more critical read of René Clément. He wrote writing "The morality of art fuses here with the morality of history. The greatness of this film and its spiritual bond with the cause of the Resistance are not unrelated to the purity of intention revealed by its means and its men."[7]
Awards and nominations
| Institution | Year | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | 1946 | Palme d'Or | René Clément | Nominated | [8] |
| Jury Prize | Won | [8] | |||
| Best Director | Won | [8] | |||
| French Syndicate of Cinema Critics | 1947 | Prix Méliès | Won |
See also
Notes
- The film's opening titles read "Bataille du rail", without the definite article.
