Von Ryan's Express

Von Ryan's Express

By

  • Genre: War, Action, Adventure, Thriller
  • Release Date: 1965-06-23
  • Runtime: 117 minutes
  • : 7.094
  • Production Company: P-R Productions Picture
  • Production Country: United States of America
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7.094/10
7.094
From 213 Ratings

Description

Von Ryan's Express stars Frank Sinatra as a POW colonel who leads a daring escape from WWII Italy by taking over a freight train, but he has to win over the British soldiers he finds himself commanding.

Trailer

Reviews

  • CinemaSerf

    7
    By CinemaSerf
    "Col. Ryan" (Frank Sinatra) arrives at an Italian POW camp to find it's mainly British occupants at loggerheads with the Commandant "Battaglia" (Adolfo Celi). It seems his brutality led to the death of their former CO and now "Maj. Fincham" (Trevor Howard) is out for blood! "Ryan" is a more calculating man, though, and that initially elicits hostility from the men - hence the "von Ryan", but his patience pays off and soon he is able to lead the whole lot of them on an audacious escape attempt that could see them all make it to safety. With the Nazis and their former persecutor in hot pursuit, they manage to commandeer a train and now they must use their guile and the unique skills of padre "Costanzo" (Edward Mulhare) to blag their way through the heart of the enemy lines en route to Switzerland. Can they make it? It's a bit of a slow burn, but once the story gets up to speed then there's loads of action with Sinatra and Howard working well together to create quite an exciting sense of peril as it builds to quite an exciting conclusion. There's a strong supporting cast including their principal antagonist "Maj. Von Klemment" (Wolfgang Preiss) and Brad Dexter's ingenious "Sgt. Bostick". Jerry Goldsmith helps it along with a solid score and there's quite a bit of dry humour in the script, too. Not one of the most famous of wartime thrillers, but it's not bad at all.

  • Wuchak

    7
    By Wuchak
    **_Escaping the Germans by train in Italy_** A captured American colonel (Frank Sinatra) takes command of the POWs at an Italian camp in 1943. He conflicts with the rigid Brit major (Trevor Howard) as the Allies soon land in Selerno. The opportunity eventually surfaces to take command of a train and possibly escape north. Sergio Fantoni plays an Italian captain who teams up with them. "Von Ryan’s Express" (1965) was based on the book by David Westheimer, who himself was a navigator in a B-24 shot down over Italy at the end of 1942 wherein he ended up a prisoner in Stalag Luft III. While “The Bridge on the River Kwai” concerned a POW camp in Burma and “The Great Escape” concerned one in Poland, the camp here is in Italy. Thankfully, it only concerns the first act and the flick is wisely streamlined compared to those other two movies. Amidst the adventure, there are interesting culture clashes between the Italians and Germans, the Allies and Italians, as well as the Brits and Americans. Sinatra insisted that the script deviate from the novel’s ending and it worked out for a memorable climax. Beautiful Raffaella Carrà is a highlight in her black skirt and white shirt. Unfortunately, the iconic Euro-entertainer devolved into a LIEberal in the following years, supporting Communism and so forth (Get real). But what else is new? It runs 1 hour, 57 minutes, and was majorly shot in northern Italy in Cortina d'Ampezzo and Florence, although the ending was filmed in the limestone gorge of El Chorro and the nearby railway bridge, which is close to Málaga, Spain. Interiors were done at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles with the POW camp built in the front lot. GRADE: B+

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