Review of Von Ryan's Express (1965) by Stuart K — 17 Jan 2012

Directed by Mark Robson, (The Harder They Fall (1956), Valley of the Dolls (1967) and Earthquake (1974), this is an exciting war adventure. A little far fetched maybe, but it's worth watching, and at the time, it helped get 20th Century Fox back on their feet after what happened with Cleopatra (1963).

American pilot Colonel Joseph L. Ryan (Frank Sinatra) is shot down in Fascist Italy, and he's put into a POW camp, ruled with an iron fist by Major Battaglia (Adolfo Celi), as Ryan arrives, he is introduced to British officer Major Eric Fincham (Trevor Howard), but shortly after arriving, the Italian Fascists retreat, and the Nazi's come in, and take the POW's by train to Austria, but Ryan, Fincham and Allied chaplain Captain Costanzo (Edward Mulhare) lead the other prisoners of war who are on the train to take it over and even have Costanzo impersonate German commander Major Von Klemment (Wolfgang Preiss), and they are able to have the train take a new route to neutral Switzerland, where they'll sit out the war, but soon the Nazi's get wind of what's happened and they're in pursuit before long.

It's a very good war film, well shot too, with some good action and effects, and a good score by Jerry Goldsmith, while Sinatra and Howard seem to compete each other in the hamming-it-up stakes, it doesn't spoil this great war adventure.