The Cassandra Crossing

A terrorist carrying a deadly pathogen boards an international express train travelling between Geneva and Stockholm, and by the time the infection is discovered, other passengers have already been exposed. American intelligence, represented by Colonel Stephen Mackenzie, takes control of the situation: the train is sealed, placed under guard, and ordered toward a disused bridge in Poland known as the Cassandra Crossing. Among the roughly one thousand people on board, Dr. Jonathan Chamberlain and his wife Jennifer work to treat the sick and to keep the passengers alive, while Mackenzie pursues his own solution to the crisis. The conflict sets the authorities' plan against the passengers' refusal to accept it.

George P. Cosmatos directed, and he wrote the screenplay with Tom Mankiewicz and Robert Katz; Carlo Ponti produced. The cast is led by Sophia Loren as Jennifer Rispoli Chamberlain, Richard Harris as Dr. Jonathan Chamberlain, Burt Lancaster as Colonel Mackenzie, Martin Sheen, Ava Gardner and O.J. Simpson. Made for about 6 million dollars, it took roughly 15 million worldwide, a solid return for a mid-budget European co-production. It was Cosmatos's first film as director, ahead of the features he made through the 1980s and 1990s. Audience ratings are moderate and closely matched: 6.3 on IMDb from around 11,000 votes and 6.2 on TMDB from about 240, against 5 out of 10 from twelve critics' reviews.