以火车为主要叙事舞台的影片中，约翰．弗兰肯海默导演的这部战争动作片是令人难忘的杰作。故事时代背景是二次世界大战末期，德军眼看大势已去，深黯艺术无价的德国指挥官保罗．斯科菲尔德乃下令将一批法国名画从博物馆搬回德国去。负责驾驶这列火车的司机伯特．兰卡斯特在严密监视下，仍跟法国铁路局人员及地下游击队配合行动，用鱼目混珠及瞒骗等种种方式跟德军斗智，力保国宝不致流出国境之外。全片剧情结构严谨，气氛处理紧凑生动，常有令人捏一把汗的精彩场面出现。两位男主角的表演旗逢敌手，张力十足，也表现了各自的爱国心。As the Allied forces approach Paris in August 1944, German Colonel Von Waldheim is desperate to take all of France's greatest paintings to Germany. He manages to secure a train to transport the valuable art works even as the chaos of retreat descends upon them. The French resistance however wants to stop them from stealing their national treasures but have received orders from London that they are not to be destroyed. The station master, Labiche, is tasked with scheduling the train and making it all happen smoothly but he is also part of a dwindling group of resistance fighters tasked with preventing the theft. He and others stage an elaborate ruse to keep the train from ever leaving French territory.