A reconstruction of the resistance work, including sabotage of the railway link between the Occupied and the Free Zones by French railmen during World War II. Clement brought the stark realism of his documentary shorts to bear on his first feature, a peaan to the courage of the railway workers, with the men themselves re-enacting their actual exploits. Reference: Bloomsbury Foreign Film Guide. Awards: Cannes Film Festival (1956): Best film, best director.
Credits: Director, Rene Clement ; writers, Rene Clement, Colette Audry ; photography, Henri Alekan ; music, Yves Baudrier.
Cast: Barnault, Clarieux, Daurand, Desagneux.
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
X000180
Languages
English
French
Subject category
Foreign language films
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Black and White
Holdings
16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)