Were the events depicted in The Train, starring Burt Lancaster, true?
QUESTION: Were the events depicted in The Train, starring Burt Lancaster, true?
The Train (1964) was loosely based on the non-fiction book Le Front De L'Art by Rose Valland. Valland was a French art historian and member of the French Resistance.
She worked at the Jeu de Paume Museum in Paris, where she secretly recorded details of the looting of art treasures by the Nazis.
Shortly before the Liberation of Paris on August 25, 1944, Valland learned that General Heinrich Baron von Behr had planned to loot, via train, a massive haul of art containing almost 1,000 paintings, including works by Cezanne, Degas, Gauguin, Modigliani and Picasso.
The plot was foiled using a well-timed railway worker strike, resulting in the priceless works being blocked into a siding before they were rescued by the Free French forces. The film depicts, in spectacular gun-toting style, a fictionalised version of these events.
Justin Wright, Malvern, Worcs.
The Train (1964) was loosely based on the non-fiction book Le Front De L'Art by Rose Valland
QUESTION Did the composer Benjamin Britten suffer from OCD?
Benjamin Britten was a brilliant 20th-century composer, celebrated for his operatic works including Peter Grimes.
Tomorrow's QuestionsQ: What's the oldest recipe for tomato ketchup?
Bernadette Edwards, Swindon, Wilts.
Q: Were any automobiles manufactured in China under the dictatorship of Chairman Mao?
James Dickie, Crawley, West Sussex.
Q: Samuel Johnson once said: 'I should have thought it not possible to find a Monboddo; yet he exists.' What is known of Lord Monboddo?
Samantha Bain, Aldershot, Hants.
AdvertisementBritten was difficult and anxious but he didn't suffer from OCD. This idea stems from one of many anecdotes that surround his life.
One evening while touring with his 1946 opera The Rape Of Lucretia, librettist Ronald Duncan was surprised to find Britten hobbling along the corridor of his Edinburgh hotel. 'What I am trying to do,' he explained, 'is walk down the corridor and back without touching any of the red lines on the carpet.'
When Duncan asked why, Britten replied: 'If I can get up and down the corridor without touching the lines it will mean that I am a composer.'
Becca Williams, Hereford.
QUESTION Have two actors ever had a falling out over who gets top billing in a film?
Further to the earlier answer, a famous battle over top billing took place between Jimmy Durante and Ethel Merman when starring in Cole Porter's 1936 stage musical, Red, Hot And Blue.
The dispute was resolved by having their names arranged in an 'X'. An up-and-coming young actor called Bob Hope appeared below.
J. S. Bowles, Luton, Beds.
Related articles
Prince William is set to be an usher at the Duke of Westminster's 'society wedding of the year'
Prince William is set to be an usher at his friend the Duke of Westminster's wedding but King Charle2024-05-19Zendaya displays her stylish off
Zendaya displayed her stylish off-duty look hours before co-chairing fashion's biggest night - the M2024-05-19Chinese leader Xi Jinping set to meet Serbian officials on the second leg of his Europe tour
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Chinese leader Xi Jinping is set to meet Wednesday with Serbian officials an2024-05-19Former corrections officer sentenced to 4 years for using excessive force
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee Department of Corrections officer has been sentenced to fou2024-05-19Alaves beats Getafe with both in mid
VITORIA-GASTEIZ, Spain (AP) — Alaves beat Getafe 1-0 to leapfrog the visitor and move into 10th plac2024-05-19Italy bars NGO migrant rescue flights from Sicilian airport, says they interfere with coast guard
ROME (AP) — Italy’s aviation authority has barred humanitarian migrant rescue groups from using a Si2024-05-19
atest comment