The Last Train from Madrid is war drama film from 1937 that is directed by James P. Hogan and starring Dorothy Lamour, Lew Ayres, and Gilbert Roland. The film takes place during the Spanish Civil War.
The story follows several characters from different social classes that are trying to escape the horrors the Spanish Civil War by taking a train away from Madrid where the war is taking place. There are a limited number of permits to take that one train out of the war zone. Within the film there are parts of the film that focus on love, duty, and sacrifice.
One story has a newspaper reporter Bill Dexter (Lew Ayres Donovan’s Brain), reluctantly picking up a hitchhiker, Maria (Olympe Bradna, Souls at Sea) when he tries to escape by himself.
Another part of the films has Captain Ricardo Alvarez (Anthony Quinn, Zorba the Greek, Lawrence of Arabia, Last Train from Gun Hill), who helps his friend, Eduardo de Soto (Gilbert Roland, She Done Him Wrong, Call her Savage, The Sea Hawk), to escape capture. De Soto is apparently on the opposite side that Alvarez is supposed to be on. Of course, Alvarez is then accused of being a traitor by his superior, Col. Vigo (horror legend Lionel Atwill, Doctor X, Son of Frankenstein, The Vampire Bat). Meanwhile De Soto goes to his former sweetheart Carmelita Castillo (screen siren Dorothy Lamour, Road to Bali, Road to Morocco, Creepshow 2) to escape Madrid with her, but she has found another man, leaving De Soto to fend for himself.
Then there is Juan Ramos (Robert Cummings, Saboteur, Diam M for Murder) who plays a man who is afraid to execute anyone. When he is transferred to the front line, he runs away! Karen Morley (The Mask of Fu Manchu, Arsene Lupin) and Helen Mack (Son of Kong, She) are other members of the cast looking to get on the train! The film also has a pair of uncredited appearances by Alan Ladd (The Glass Key) and Charles Middleton (Ming of the Flash Gordon serials).
The Last Train from Madrid arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. Given brand new 2K master, the image does look pleasing to the eye. The video quality looks clean with strong whites, deep blacks, and a balanced grayscale. Characters and scenery look as sharp as ever with the boost in contrast. There are some faint vertical lines and some speckles that show up here and there but overall, this is an impressive image.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 was not that good however, as the dialogue was timid and hard to hear at times without adjusting the volume to higher than my normal levels. Explosions and other background sounds are clear, but the dialogue for some reason had some issues making it tough to listen to without adjusting the volume to a higher frequency. It won’t be a major issue if you make some volume adjustments, basically. No audio issues such as popping, crackling or drop-offs were detected. English subtitles are available.
For this Blu-ray there is an audio commentary by Bryan Reesman, who goes into great details about the film, and happened during the time the film was being made.
The other extra are a handful of Kino Lorber released trailers for The Last Train to Madrid, Road to Singapore, Donovan’s Brain, Thunder By, The Ride Back, and The Accused
The Last Train from Madrid was a decent film that anyone who likes classics should give a spin. For me it was fun seeing some cast members in early roles. The audio and video quality for this release are certainly passable and with a commentary track to boot, I can recommend!
The Last Train from Madrid
Director- James P. Hogan
Cast- Dorothy Lamour, Lew Ayers, Gilbert Roland
Country of Origin- USA
Distributor – Kino Lorber
Number of Discs – 1
Reviewed by – David Steigman
Date –9/25/2022