VON RYAN'S EXPRESS Movie Review

1965 Mark Robson

The most popular stylistic elements of 1950s and '60s war movies are mixed together in a diverting star vehicle. As light entertainment, particularly for Frank Sinatra fans, it's enjoyable fluff, and that's all it means to be.

Sinatra is Col. Joseph Ryan, whose P-38 is shot down over Italy in August 1943. Messina has just fallen, and American forces are making their way up the boot when Ryan is brought to an Italian prisoner of war camp. Sensing that the end is underway, the Germans are preparing to withdraw, and their local allies are eager to switch sides. (The Italian troops who first find Ryan realize that he's a paisan, hide him from the Nazis, and give him a bottle of wine.) At the camp, he finds that the commandant Battaglia (Adolfo Celi) is a corrupt martinet while Capt. Oriani (Sergio Fantoni) has more sympathy for the men under his protection. Literally, as Col. Ryan is approaching the gates, the prisoners are burying their senior officer, and Maj. Fincham (Trevor Howard) is taking over.

Most of the prisoners are British, professional soldiers of the 9th Fusilliers, whose constant attempts to escape have led to half rations and the withholding of medicine. Compounding the problem, the Brits have been hoarding what medicine they already have to give to escapees. Even though he is one of the few Americans in the camp, Ryan is the senior officer. Before long, Ryan and Oriani find themselves united in moderation against the extremes of Battaglia and Fincham. After fairly logical plot turns, several hundred POWs are loaded into railroad cars heading north for Germany. The officers decide to take the train over and escape in it, and viewers can forget about realism from that moment on.

Director Mark Robson tries to combine the suspense of The Great Escape with the derring-do of The Guns of Navarone, and he's successful enough. The pace is quick, the Italian locations are attractive, and the physical action is neither too graphic nor too coy. In the last act, confrontations with Messerschmitts and a trainload of German troops are well handled. The only element that strikes an obviously wrong note is the appearance of a sexy collaborator (Raffaella Carra) whose tight skirt and blouse belong in a sex farce. Throughout, Howard and Fantoni acquit themselves well against their more famous co-star. By that point in his career, Sinatra was essentially playing himself in dramatic roles, and the film is built around his relaxed presence. This is far from his best work, but for featherweight entertainment, it does all that it needs to do.

Cast: Frank Sinatra (Col. Joseph Ryan), Trevor Howard (Maj. Eric Fincham), Brad Dexter (Sgt. Bostick), Raffaella Carra (Gabriella), Sergio Fantoni (Capt. Oriani), John Leyton (Orde), Vito Scotti (Italian train engineer), Edward Mulhare (Costanzo), Adolfo Celi (Battaglia), James Brolin (Pvt. Ames), James B. Sikking (American soldier), Wolfgang Preiss (Maj. Von Klemment), John van Dreelen (Col. Gortz), Richard Bakalayan (Cpl. Giannini), Michael Goodliffe (Capt. Stein), Michael St. Clair (Sgt. Dunbar), Ivan Triesault (Von Kleist); Written by: Wendell Mayes, Joseph Landon; Cinematography by: William H. Daniels; Music by: Jerry Goldsmith. Producer: Saul David, Mark Robson, 20th Century-Fox. Running Time: 117 minutes. Format: VHS, Beta, LV, Letterbox.