The Cassandra Crossing (1976)

After breaking into a U.S. facility in Geneva, Switzerland along with two compatriots (who are both killed) in an attempt to blow it up, a terrorist (Lou Castel) escapes. But first not without unknowingly being infected with a deadly strain of bacteria which is highly infectious. He stowaways on a train heading for Stockholm while passengers on the train begin to fall ill after being in contact with him (or his germs, he coughs into some rice in the kitchen which is later served to passengers). This late entry in the fading all star disaster movie genre of the 1970s gets a bad rap but as improbable as its plotline is and as weak as the script is, it does its job. While Burt Lancaster as a brusque military intelligence officer and Ingrid Thulin (CRIES AND WHISPERS) as a research scientist hold down the fort at headquarters, Richard Harris and Sophia Loren as a world famous doctor and his novelist ex-wife take over the speeding train to its disastrous fate activities. The cliche ridden dialogue and situations are in place but when you've got Loren, Lancaster, Harris as well as Ava Gardner, Martin Sheen, Alida Valli and even O.J. Simpson running around the screen, there's always something to keep your eyes glued to the screen. Directed by George Pan Cosmatos with a strong Jerry Goldsmith score to keep things percolating. With Lee Strasberg, Lionel Stander, John Phillip Law and Ann Turkel.