Micah Lloyd
Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.
TurboarrowIII
I thought this film was great escapist fun.It may not be very believable but it is full of action and suspense.Sinatra is great as Ryan. After being shot down he ends up in an Italian POW camp. He isn't too impressed with Trevor Howard and his men and thinks they should sit out what is left of the war rather than try to escape. He has only just arrived at the camp so doesn't fully appreciate how bad things are especially as the commandant of the camp played by Adolfo Celi is "a two bit Mussolini" according to Brad Dexter's character.When Italy surrenders the prisoners attempt to get back to Allied lines. However, they end up getting captured by the Germans and are put on a train. Incredibly they manage to take over the train and hatch a plan to reach Switzerland after several attempts to abandon the train are thwarted. I really like the bit where the padre played by Edward Mulhare impersonates a Nazi officer and manages to get them through checks twice.The ending is great too as the train is attacked by German fighters and then troops on a chasing train. They manage to replace damaged track and carry on to Switzerland. The twist at the end is when Ryan is killed.Overall a fast paced and action packed film.
gavin6942
An American POW (Frank Sinatra) leads a group of mainly British prisoners to escape from the Germans in WWII.Rumors of a personality clash between star Frank Sinatra, who was flown by helicopter to the set, and director Mark Robson were not enough to cause problems as the film was shot with relatively little trouble. However, Sinatra did insist that the ending of the film be altered. Sinatra also insisted the film be shot in Panavision rather than Fox's CinemaScope.It's interesting to imagine a time where Frank Sinatra demanded enough respect on a movie set that he could boss the director around, be able to pick the camera used, and even get the script re-written. Gee, Frank, why not just be a producer if you want so much authority?
tompbusiness
I always wondered why the prisoners just didn't get out and run through the train tunnel. At one point, they were trying to take a foot bridge around the mountain with Switzerland being on the other side of the mountain. If they had just run through the tunnel they would have been very well protected from the planes and the Germans on the troop train never would have caught them on time. It didn't make sense to me that the option they chose was to repair the track and drive the whole train through. One could argue it was because they had wounded to carry but that would have also applied to taking the footbridge around the mountain.
ma-cortes
Awesome warlike movie with memorable images and outstanding acting by well-known faces . This is a splendid film about a daring breakout from an Italian concentration camp with all star cast and magnificently realized by Mark Robson . The opening prologue states: "Italy , August 1943. With the Allies poised to strike, the Germans seized control of Italy. So the war-weary Italian nation fought on, a prisoner of the German armies¨ . There appears Ryan, an American POW Colonel (Frank Sinatra , his leather jacket was later worn by Bob Crane in Hogan's Heroes and was later worn by Greg Kinnear in Auto Focus) and a British military (Trevor Howard who was second choice for Major Fincham after Peter Finch turned it down and Jack Hawkins was possible for this part) is the officer in charge until Ryan takes over the escape plan . Ryan leads his fellow prisoners as foreign soldiers (James Brolin , John Leyton , Edward Mulhare) as Italian local military (Sergio Fantoni , Adolfo Celi and Vito Scotti as Train Engineer) on a perilous getaway from the Germans (led by Wolfgang Preiss as Major Von Klemment) in Italy . Having seemingly made errors of judgement, Ryan has to get the support of the mainly British soldiers he is commanding . As they aboard a German train to neutral Switzerland .This great action tale contains thrills, intrigue, tension, excitement galore, entertainment and lots of fun . Suspenseful WWII epic packs exceptional plethora of prestigious actors incarnating the motley group of POWs , giving good acting and support , as a sensational Frank Sinatra whose character , Colonel Ryan, remains today as attractive iconography ; Edward Mulhare as an army priest posing as a Nazi officer , Brad Dexter as roguish Sgt. Bostick ,Sergio Fantoni as Capt. Oriani , a very young Raffaela Carra and Michael Goodliffe, who was an actual Prisoner of War during WWII , being captured at Dunkirk and spent the next five years in a German POW camp . Excellent production design and art direction with evocative scenarios by Walter Scott . Rousing and lively soundtrack , nowadays a classic score, by Jerry Goldsmith . Colorful cinematography by William H Daniels , Greta Garbo's usual cameraman .The motion picture lavishly produced by Saul David was well realized by Mark Robson. In the early 40s Robson was much involved with the low-budget terror unit in charge of producer Val Lewton , for whom made ¨Seventh victim¨, ¨The ghost ship¨, and ¨Island of the dead¨. In the late 1940s Robson joined Stanley Kramer's independent company and directed his biggest commercial hit to date with ¨The champion¨. Years later Robson made another good film about corruption in boxing world titled ¨The harder they fall¨ with Humphrey Bogart. In the late 1960s, his work did decline . His last movie was a jinx one titled ¨Avalancha express¨. Robson and his main star, Robert Shaw, died suddenly from heart attacks. And of course , ¨Von Ryan Express¨ was one of his best films . A top-notch cast , spectacular images , tense images and noisy action help make this one a superior effort of its kind . Well worth seeing , this is the ordinary War movie that Hollywood does so well . This one is certainly one of the best movies ever made about the WWII escapes . Rating : 7 . Two thumbs up , essential and indispensable watching for WWII lovers , a real must see.
