sol1218 ***SPOILERS*** Fictional war movie about a real event in how British Prime Minister Winston Churchill,John Even, got to meet US President Frankie "D" Roosevelt at Casablanca to talk over strategy in how to defeat the Nazis in WWII. It seems that there wasn't any secure transportation for Churchill to get to Casablanca so the allies, British US & Free French, had to devise a secret plan to sneak him into the city and keep the Nazis from kidnapping or killing him. It's US Major General Williams played by a bored and wishing he were somewhere else Glenn Ford who's job it is to get Churchill safe and sound to Casablanca and has his two top men British commando Alan Cooper, Jason Connery, and US Secret Service or OSS Agent Captain Franchetti, Francesco Quinn, recruited to get the job done.In a game of cat and mouse Gen.Williams has it known through the allied grapevine that Churchill is being flown to Casablanca to fool the Nazis headed by North African intelligence chef Col. Otto Von Tiblis, Manfred Lehman. It's Tiblis' job to capture Churchill dead or alive, alive preferable, and use him to embarrass the British by forcing Churchill, by him being drugged juiced with booze or at gunpoint, to tell the British people via Radio Berlin to give up the fight against the Germans. It's both Cooper and Franchetti's job to make sure that doesn't happen! Better then you would expect action scenes with a squad of German elite paratrooper capturing the train that Churchll in on with Cooper Franchetti as well as pretty British secret agent Lorna Fisher, Jinny Steffan, doing their best to fight them off. The German paratroopers who are known for refraining in doing the horrible things that their fellow Nazi SS storm troops did in WWII are about the most criminal bunch of Nazis ever seen in a WWII film. That includes even those those made by Hollywood and the British during WWII where in a life and death struggle with Nazi Germany it was open season to show the Germans in the worst light possible. We have these kill crazy German paratroopers gunning down civilians Catholic priests and even young children with total impunity for no reason at all! That made it impossible to have the usual good German who hates Hitler and the Nazis but loves his Fatherland, that was very popular in post-WWII movies, among them.****SPOILERS**** After all the killing and shooting is over were all in for a big surprise in what's behind all this secrecy in getting Churchill by train to Casablanca. And it's not in just his meeting with Roosevelt in discussing strategy to defeat the Nazis and win WWII. Which when you hear what's really behind it makes all the killing and carnage in the film a total moot point! But it still makes for a good & exciting action war movie!

wes-connors UK Prime Minister "Winston Churchill is traveling across Africa during the second World War. Nazi terrorists sabotage the train and take Churchill hostage. Counter-espionage agents Jason Connery (son of Sean Connery) and Francesco Quinn (son of Anthony Quinn) attempt to save him, and perhaps prevent the collapse of the allied war effort," according to the DVD sleeve description, "'Casablanca Express' is a taunt thriller with explosive action sequences." Interesting to see the sons of two very accomplished actors in such an unimpressive movie. The younger Connery and the younger Quinn are, arguably, more handsome in appearance, but less attractive on screen. At least in this movie; "Casablanca Express" is only one film, and not a very good one. It really seems to be set in the 1980s, poorly pretending to be World War II of the 1940s. Allied actors Glenn Ford, Donald Pleasence, and Jean Sorel amount to naught.**** Casablanca Express (12/22/89) Sergio Martino ~ Jason Connery, Francesco Quinn, Jinny Steffan, Glenn Ford

bkoganbing Other than the fact that Casablanca Express is actually filmed in Morocco and in Casablanca itself, there isn't all that much to recommend it to viewers. I'd stick with the Warner Brothers Casablanca made quite well on their back lot.This film involves an attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill while on the way to Casablanca for that conference with FDR. It's a combination of The Lady Vanishes and any of the Indiana Jones films in that last half. Our Nazi friends hear that Churchill is traveling by train to Casablanca and set up a paratrooper raid. No doubt they got the idea from the folks who planned that raid that freed Mussolini after the Fascist government in Italy was overthrown. Possibly Churchill was riding the Marrakesh Express.Leading the effort to save Winston Churchill are the sons of a pair of movie legends, Jason Connery and Francesco Quinn. Also helping our intrepid heroes out is Jinny Stefan who wields one mean machine gun against the paratroopers.Standing around and looking like they were waiting for the checks to clear the bank are Glenn Ford and Donald Pleasance playing an American and British officer in charge of Churchill's safety.Well, we all know Churchill made it to Casablanca intact. But why isn't this in the history books? Well if you're curious you'll see the film.There's not much other reason for doing so.

owen-163 While this is nothing extraordinary perhaps, it is a worthwhile piece of cinema for many reasons. The basic plot is sound, there are some fine actors involved, and it relates a sideshow of the war which might have had very far-reaching consequences had things panned out otherwise. I also thought the female lead was excellent, and that surprised me, in a movie of this type. Jason Connery is a believable commando and it would probably surprise some people to learn that just this type of operation was carried out on more than one occasion in the Second World War. Altogether, a good entertainment, with very nice touches from Donald Pleasance and Glenn Ford, and a highly efficient (Nazi) villain to boot.