The Last Train from Madrid is a 1937 American war drama film directed by James P. Hogan and starring Dorothy Lamour, Lew Ayres and Gilbert Roland. It is set during the Spanish Civil War. The film was one of the few contemporary Hollywood films made about the war.
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Plot
The plot revolves around the story of seven peoples' lives and love affairs in Madrid during the Spanish Civil War.
The film is set during one day, a train leaving from Madrid to Valencia being bound to leave at midnight, allowing the protagonists, including prisoners who agreed to fight in exchange for their release, to escape the city under intense bombing.
Production
In 1936, it was reported that Paramount had acquired the property as a vehicle for Cary Grant. However, Grant did not sign a new contract and left the studio later that year.
As with Love Under Fire, another film about the Spanish Civil War in production at the time, the filmmakers were careful not to take sides. Paramount executives described it as a "sort of a Grand Hotel theme." The production experienced several issues with the Hays Office because of the political aspects of the subject.
Filming took place in April and May 1937, mainly at Paramount's studios and at the Iverson Ranch, although some secondary location shooting took place in Palencia in Castille. The sets were designed by the art directors Earl Hedrick and Hans Dreier. Additional filming of background scenes took place at Cecil B. DeMille ’Spanish’ bungalow on the Paramount lot; DeMille himself appears in a crowd scene in the film.
Reception
Writing for Night and Day magazine in 1937, Graham Greene offered an unfavorable review, describing The Last Train from Madrid as "probably the worst film of the decade." Greene criticized the film's acting and noted that rather than experiencing the dialogue's intended "emotional and uplifting" message, he found it humorous.
The New York Times suggested that the film should not be seriously regarded: "True, it treats of the Spanish Revolution, but merely as Hollywood has in the past regarded the turmoils of Ruritania and Zenda."