Von Ryan's Express

Get on board with Frankie Blue Eyes.

Out of 20th Century Fox, Von Ryan's Express is directed by Mark Robson & stars Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard. It's adapted by Wendell Mayes & Joseph Landon from the novel by David Westheimer. William H. Daniels is on photography and Jerry Goldsmith provides the score. Contary to what some sources say, this is not filmed in Panavision, it is filmed in Fox's trusted CinemaScope in De Luxe Color. Unless the opening credits are telling lies that is!

Italy, August 1943. With the Allies poised to strike, the Germans seize control of Italy. So the war Weary Italian nation fought on as a prisoner of the German armies.

Reeling from the critical kicking and gargantuan financial whack of "Cleopatra", 20th Century Fox desperately wanted a hit to put the company back on an even keel. Treating the project with kid gloves, producer Saul David (director Robson co-produces) for his first producing gig for Fox takes one of the biggest names in showbiz and shoots on location in Italy and Spain. The film was a big hit that got a strong critical response and a box office take that made it the 10th highest grossing film of 1965. Of note also is that it turned out to be Sinatra's highest grossing - and biggest earning - film of the 1960s.

With some changes from the novel, notably the ending, Von Ryan's Express isn't setting out to be a deep and meaningful war movie. It wants to entertain, to thrill the audience, to take them out of the stuffy prison camp and onto a fast moving train. And it does this, in spades, pitting our protagonists into a boys own adventure. We accompany Sinatra, Howard and over 500 American and British prisoners-of-war across 1943 Nazi controlled Italy - and hopefully to the safety of Switzerland. Once the film leaves the "Bridge On The River Kwai" like prison camp, where the characters for the story are formed, the film turns into a rip-roaring adventure piece that's flecked with moments of genuine suspense.

Directed with vigour and a sense of fun by Robson, and aided no end by the fine cast, the film is all about being an old fashioned type war movie. It's not bogged down by the need to adhere to history or "the horrors of war" message making, this thrives on just being an action/adventure movie, one that uses real life events as its backdrop. If you like a war movie but want escapism with some beer and snacks, well this is the one for you. There are some strong character moments to keep it emotionally viable too - with the ending particularly memorable, and dare I say it, bold (altered at Sinatra's request apparently). Even the appearance of a female on board our machismo packed train (Raffaella Carrà) serves an important purpose. For where it at first seems out of place, a token offering, it ultimately makes for a critical piece of the film.

Technically the piece scores high too, with effective stunt work, smart action set pieces (the last quarter bridge confrontations are thrillingly executed), sharp detailed colour and ear busting sound work (check out the Messerschmitt attack, wow!). This be an all encompassing piece of entertainment. Easily holding up on revisits over the years, Von Ryan's Express is a safe recommendation to the action/adventure/war film fan. 8/10

"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.

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+