Cast: Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Brad Dexter, Sergio Fantoni, Edward Mulhare, Raffella Carra
Director: Mark Robson
Screenplay: Wendell Mayes and Joseph Landon, based on the novel by David Westheimer
Cinematography: William H. Daniels
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
U.S. Distributor: 20th Century Fox
A curious thing about World War II motion pictures is that many of them are based, with varying degrees of faithfulness, on true stories. Von Ryan's Express makes for a change-of-pace: this movie is entirely fictional, a product of novelist David Westheimer's pen as filtered through the screenplay of Wendell Mayes and Joseph Landon. The implausibility of key scenes should function as a tip-off that this is fiction, but they don't hinder the viewer's ability to appreciate Von Ryan's Express on its own terms: as a period action/adventure film that offers a few unexpected turns and a genuinely exciting climax.
Frank Sinatra had been making films since the mid-1940s, but he became recognized more as an actor than a matinee idol with his work in 1955's The Man with the Golden Arm (widely viewed as his best performance, although he won a Supporting Actor Oscar for 1954's From Here to Eternity). From 1955 until his semi-retirement from acting in 1968, Sinatra moved easily back-and-forth between "serious" acting and appearing in more crowd-pleasing fare. He was a bankable name, and his participation gave Von Ryan's Express the credibility for 20th Century Fox to greenlight the project. Director Mark Robson had a solid resume as a director (including two Oscar nominations, one for 1957's Peyton Place), but he needed a strong name on the marquee, and Sinatra provided that.
Von Ryan's Express, which transpires in wartime Italy, opens as the tide of the war is turning. Italy's Fascist fortress is beginning to crumble. The Allies, led by Patton and Montgomery, are regarded as liberators, not invaders. The more Italy wavers, the more firmly Germany clamps down. After American Air Force Colonel Joseph Ryan (Sinatra) is shot down, he is taken to an Italian-run POW camp that is comprised primarily of British servicemen under the command of the prickly Major Eric Fincham (Trevor Howard). Since Ryan is the ranking officer in the camp, everyone defers to him, although not always willingly. Fincham believes it's every man's duty to try to escape. Ryan, on the other hand, sees escape as unnecessary since the Allies are on their way. He's more concerned with making sure as many people as possible are alive when the liberation occurs, and that means getting proper medical supplies and clean clothes from the Italians.
Ryan and Fincham clash when the former reveals the existence of escape tunnels to the Italian commander. Fincham, seeing Ryan as a collaborator, dubs him "Von Ryan." Soon, however, the two officers are forced to re-evaluate each other. When Italian rule collapses, the Germans take over and herd the prisoners onto trains bound for the north. Those too ill or wounded to make the trip are executed. Neither Ryan nor Fincham likes the turn of events and Ryan comes up with a daring strategy: hijack the train and take it across the Alps and to freedom in Switzerland. The plan requires subterfuge at first (to fool the Germans into thinking that the train is still under their control) and, later, a race to the finish line with aircraft attacking from above and a train packed with German troops coming up from the rear.
Despite the generally serious nature of the subject matter, and the ominous overtones of using a train to carry human cargo across Nazi-occupied territories, Von Ryan's Express finds time for levity. An early scene in the prison camp, in which the prisoners strip off and burn their filthy clothing, could have been excerpted from a comedy. (In fact, aspects of the prison camp segment are reminiscent in tone of Stalag 17.) Likewise, there's humor to be found in Edward Mulhare's impersonation of an SS officer (especially when he collapses in a dead faint after having pulled it off).
Although Von Ryan's Express is not devoid of drama, that's not its forte. This is first and foremost an action film, and it delivers as well as any 1960s film can claim to do in that area. The final 30 minutes, with the train speeding through Northern Italy on its way to the Alps with Germans in pursuit the Luftwaffe making strafing runs, is as nail biting as any locomotive chase movie is likely to get this side of Runaway Train. The lack of cheesy special effects is especially helpful. For the most part, real trains were used on location, limiting model work to scenes in which there was no other choice. The film concludes with a bang, not a whimper - something today's Hollywood might not allow to occur.
Aside from Sinatra, there's really only one "name" actor in the cast, and that's veteran British thespian Trevor Howard. As the combative Major Eric Fincham, Howard provides a perfect foil for Sinatra's Ryan, and their prickly chemistry isn't ruined by a growing friendship. While these two develop mutual respect, they never really like one another. Howard, arguably best known for playing Captain Bligh to Marlon Brando's Fletcher Christian, was offered the role after Peter Finch turned it down, and it proved to be one of the high points of his lengthy career. Also appearing are Sergio Fantoni as the sympathetic Italian Captain Oriani, and Edward Mulhare, who has the unfortunate distinction of being best known as David Hasselhoff's boss in Knight Rider. Raffella Carra, the only female with a speaking part, gets a prominent credit despite having minimal screen time. (Although her seduction scene of Ryan was considered racy in its time, it's tame PG material by today's standards.)
Von Ryan's Express proves that not all World War II movies are serious, political affairs. Here, the Nazis serve a simple purpose: they're the bad guys. (In later years, this role might have been filled by the Soviets.) Because it's set in the 1940s and the production design and direction are above average, the movie stands up well to the passage of time, and Sinatra holds his own as a leading man. Von Ryan's Express is not one of the great WWII films, but it's good enough to warrant a viewing, especially if you're looking for something with an action flavor.
© 2006 James Berardinelli