Review: The Cassandra Crossing

Lou Castel is one of several terrorists who bust into the WHO building in Geneva. After a beaker is shattered during all the gunfire, Castel becomes exposed to a deadly virus as he makes his escape. He boards a train headed to Stockholm, putting all of the passengers at risk of exposure. Further complicating matters for the passengers is U.S. Colonel Burt Lancaster, who reveals to WHO doctor Ingrid Thulin, that the U.S. are responsible for the virus due to a top secret and illegal experiment. The people on board the train start getting sick, but Lancaster tries to avoid panic and at the same time keep things hush-hush, whilst Thulin is more concerned for the passengers on board. Chief among those passengers, however, is an experienced neurosurgeon played by an assured Richard Harris who may be the key to everyone’s survival. The title refers to a crossing (or bridge) the train is headed for, a crossing that may not be in good enough condition for the train to safely cross. Not that Lancaster informs the passengers of this, of course. Sophia Loren plays Harris’ ex-wife, a novelist on board the train. Lee Strasberg turns up as an elderly pickpocket and Holocaust survivor, John Philip Law is Lancaster’s aide, O.J. Simpson plays a mysterious priest, Ava Gardner is the wealthy wife of an arms dealer, Martin Sheen is Gardner’s drug-addicted plaything (!), Lionel Stander is the train conductor, and Alida Valli is a granny on board with her granddaughter.

 

Director George P. Cosmatos (“Cobra”, “Tombstone”) and his co-writers Robert Katz (“La Pelle”, “Kamikaze ‘89”) and Tom Mankiewicz (“Diamonds are Forever”, “Live and Let Die”, “Ladyhawke”) have come up with one of the best 70s disaster movies with this 1976 flick about a deadly virus and a train full of passengers. It’s not quite as much fun as “The Poseidon Adventure”, but it’s at least the equal of “The Towering Inferno”. Plot-wise, the film is still rather relevant when you think about it in this rather anxious era of Bird/Swine Flu/Ebola. It can be quite unnerving at times, just how relevant it still is.

 

The characters do tend to conform to stock disaster movie cliché with Lee Strasberg as the eccentric old man, Ava Gardner in for Gloria Swanson in “Airport”, OJ Simpson as…OJ Simpson, playing a priest who may not really be a priest. There’s even a stupid folk/hippie band on board! However, instead of a Chuck Heston or Burt Lancaster, our lead is the rather eccentric Irishman Richard Harris, and Burt Lancaster plays a secondary part instead. None of these count as flaws, though. You accept them as part of the genre, and the premise is a bit more interesting than any of the “Airport” films say, even the best one “Airport 77”. It takes itself a bit more seriously than most of these sorts of films, if not quite as serious-minded as the excellent “Voyage of the Damned”. It also comes to a well-staged, really quite horrifying finale that you won’t easily forget anytime soon.

 

Aside from a horribly wooden Ingrid Thulin, there isn’t a bad performance in the film. The standouts are certainly Richard Harris, Martin Sheen, and Burt Lancaster, though. Harris and Lancaster don’t give career best performances or anything, but their personalities and screen presence enrich the film in ways others simply couldn’t touch. It’s a good, heroic role for Harris to play, and Lancaster’s character is interestingly shaded. He’s not quite a black-hearted villain, though he certainly comes across as cold and harsh. Sheen’s toyboy with a dark secret is a tad goofy at times, and I’d love to ask him one day just what he thought about playing this part opposite Ava Gardner. But he’s damn good fun as a not very likeable young stud, who doesn’t turn into a hero, but becomes a little less selfish under a crisis situation. Lou Castel should’ve played a Bond villain henchman at some point in his career if you ask me. Here as the infected passenger, he gets sick and stays that way until his final moment. It’s not much of a showcase for him really, but he does what he can. Faring far worse is John Phillip Law, who as an attaché stands and talks, and occasionally sits and talks. He even answers the telephone at one point. He’s pretty good at that. As for OJ Simpson (in a role turned down by James Coburn!), either he’s an appalling actor or he’s deliberately going for laughs in his role. He was in “The Naked Gun” films and pretty much acted his way out of a murder conviction (the first time at least), so I’ll go with the latter. Sophia Loren is good company, and although by this point she was starting to lose her youthful good looks (And that’s no insult, it happens to us all!), she looks absolutely stunning in a black lace negligee. DAMN!

 

Although the bulk of the film takes place on a train, the scenery captured by cinematographer Ennio Guarnieri (“La Traviata”, “Hitler: The Last Ten Days”) is actually really lovely. Perhaps best of all is the infectious but oddball, slightly Eurotrash music score by the one and only Jerry Goldsmith (“Planet of the Apes”, “The Omen”, “Star Trek: First Contact”). Probably my favourite film composer, Goldsmith is an asset to any film, and that’s certainly the case here.

 

One of the best and least dated of the 70s disaster films, this one’s not as silly as most, and is both underrated and under seen. And if you’ve ever wanted to hear screen legend Sophia Loren say ‘shit’, here’s your film.

 

Rating: B+