Review of Avalanche Express (1979) by Stuart K — 05 Aug 2013

Directed by Mark Robson (Von Ryan's Express (1965) and Valley of the Dolls (1967)), and adapted from the 1976 novel by Raymond Harold Sawkins under the pseudonym of Colin Forbes. This cold war adventure film should have been no trouble to shoot, but Robson and it's star died after filming, but despite this, it proves to be an OK film to watch, even if it is a little dated now.

When Russian General Marenkov (Robert Shaw) decides to defect to the West, he is aided by CIA agent Harry Wargrave (Lee Marvin), who leads a team to get him over the border, and Wargrave decides the only safe way to do this is by train, which is named as "The Avalanche Express", from from Milan, Italy to Rotterdam, Holland.

Wargrave has a plan, he decides to try and lure the Russians into attacking the train, thus rooting out enemy spies and their identities. But, further up the track, Russian spy-catcher Nikolai Bunin (Maximilian Schell) has a secret agenda, and plans to stop the train by causing an avalanche.

Filmed mainly in Ireland, which doubles well as Eastern Europe, it has some good moments, even if has been seen before, and the special effects are quite ropey by today's standards. It's a shame Shaw died when he did, as he did have a lot more to offer as an actor, but not all of this works, but it'll do.