Von Ryan's Express

During his acting career, Frank Sinatra took a lot of hits from people who thought he couldn't act. While his early films are a tad rough, I've always thought this criticism was entirely undeserved. With films like SUDDENLY, MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and this film, he proved pretty conclusively that in addition to singing, he was a heck of an actor. I wonder if some of the criticism of Sinatra was more a criticism of him as a person. Sure, he was in many ways difficult, but say what you want about this--he still could act.

In VON RYAN'S EXPRESS, Frank plays the leader of a huge group of soldiers who escape from an Italian prison camp. The Italian government is in shambles and the soldiers have no desire to press the war, but when an entire camp of Allied soldiers bolts, the Germans come in force to stop them and save face.

This is a big scope picture--with exciting prison camp scenes, chases, railroad scenes, etc. While not the best prison film I have seen, it's among the best and apart from a small handful of films (such as THE DIRTY DOZEN and THE GUNS OF NAVARONE), it's one of the best of the genre made in the 1960s. Give it a look--you won't be disappointed.

Maybe not the best war movie ever made but an excellent one, thanks to Frank Sinatra's performance as well as character, who steals the show. It is typical of the sixties, tense, with a terrific suspense and action pace. You are never bored in this movie, a drama, war thriller taking place aboard a train. Mark Robson will make more or less the same topic a decade later with the same atmosphere: AVALANCHE EXPRESS, during which he will die, before the end of the shooting. But I prefer VON RYAN'S EXPRESS, no problem, the other one was a spy thriller. But none of those Robson's features will surpass John Frankenheimer's THE TRAIN, the best of the best ever about trains during the war.

This is a very logical and well-considered storyline developed from David Westheimer's WWWII thriller by Wendell Mayes and Joseph Landon The escape that ends this film, a trainborne flight across Italian lines toward Switzerland provides a vivid action climax when the train is attacked; it is a bit implausible only because of the length of time the train has to go on unstopped. The film begins its exciting adventure narrative with the arrival of "Von Ryan", then Ryan, among a group of busy British and American sorts trying to escape from a stalag run by a sadistic commandant. They are being punished, but will not give up their attempts. As the now-ranking senior officer, Ryan orders them to stop escaping, then betrays their tunnels to the enemy in return for decent conditions. He is betrayed; then he issues an order that causes him to be put into solitary. he gets respect from this; but he is now "Von Ryan" for the remainder of the film. the war ends; the prisoners revolt successfully and capture the Commandant. Then they have to move overland to escape, and"Von Ryan's" sparing of some prisoners costs lives. But it his great idea once they are captured and put aboard a train to be taken to imprisonment in Germany is to steal the train and head for safety elsewhere. They succeed; against all odds, even though he must kill an Italian officer's loyal betrayer, a beautiful woman; and by ruse, attack, feint, false messages and speed, they do what is necessary. Then as they head for Switzerland, the German planes attack. And at the last, Ryan runs after the train, the last of all--and becomes a legend the hard way. Music by Jerry Goldsmith, makeup by Ben Nye, cinematography by William H. Daniels , art direction by Hilyard B. Brown and John Martin Smith all under the direction of producer-director Mark Robson add up to a recipe for a first-rate color adventure film. As Ryan, Frank Sinatra is not entirely miscast and tries very hard, sensibly underplaying his role, matched every step of the way by Trevor Howard who mostly reacts and gives speeches about the way things ought to be done, very effectively. Edward Mulhare comes off Academy Award level in the film, and others such as John van Dreelin, Sergio Fantoni, Adolfo Celi as the Commandant, and Vito Scotti do well. Raffalla Carra is the girl Ryan must kill, Wolfgang Preiss, Brad Dexter, John Leyton and Richard Bakalyan are soldiers on one side or another. There are many exciting scenes provided, none moreso than Mulhare's impersonation of a German officer; the death of the girl, the final attacks on the train, several of the scenes set in the Stalag and the train's progress which is counterpoised many times to German language scenes of what their pursuers are doing; dialogue scenes lead here to action, action to reassessments, to challenges and to consequences. This is sometimes a slick film, but never a boring one, I suggest. Its characters are not developed as they would have been in a dramatic film; this is an adventure-level film with dramatic elements. And it is a good and occasionally thrilling ride, with the curious sense about it of a dream and a symbol both. Its theme is the courage to dare; and in the enigmatic Ryan, it finds an appropriate hero, a bit tarnished about the edges as a soldier but a first-rate result-getter nevertheless.

"Von Ryan's Express" is overall a satisfying WW II actioner. The movie is long but never boring, there's some excitement and suspense, and some action.

The only problems I found with the movie is that the above is at the expense of characters - not enough time is given to these characters, so we don't have as much of a personal stake - so whether the characters live or die doesn't matter as much as it could have. Also, some of the special effects, even for 1965, are somewhat embarrassing.

It's still a good movie, and it's worth watching - it's just not the classic it could have been.

Von Ryan's Express (1965) : Brief Review -

A thrilling POW escape adventure on the running track. I have been through almost hundreds of POW escape flicks, but this one will have its own space and magic for running on the track. First, we are in a prisoner camp, and then we move on to tracks against the Nazis. John Frankenheimer made "The Train" (1964), a thrilling and classic train adventure set in World War II, and gave me the most memorable film of my life that runs on the tracks. Now you ask me, What's after that? Von Ryan's Express would be my answer for now. "If only one gets out, it's a victory," but Ryan believes in taking everyone out. Well, he does it. But who is that one who doesn't get out? That's where this film touches your heart. No matter how adventurous and action-filled this film is, by the end you realise that it's a patriotic film at heart. The last frame and this quote will remain with you. It's a two-hour film, but it never feels boring. At one moment, I thought this film was made a little late. It would have been more effective in the 1940s-the decade it is set in. But then I realised that these filmmaking techniques like colour and cinemascope looked better in the 1960s only. The film is about a pilot who is taken to a POW camp, and then he takes charge as a senior officer. It felt a little weird to see such funny scenes in POW camp in the first half hour. Ryan and other prisoners are freed once Italy surrenders, and there begins their escape journey. From the Italian countryside to getting captured again and then again planning to escape on the train, Ryan and his team take you on a thrilling ride. Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard are the best performers here. The entire cast is brilliant, actually. Drama, thrill, adventure, action, and patriotism-Mark Robson packs every brick in the right place to build a solid wall. Easily my favourite Sinatra movie from the 60s after The Manchurian Candidate.

RATING - 7/10*

By - #samthebestest.