Von Ryan's Express
1965
The thrilling VON RYAN'S EXPRESS stars Frank Sinatra as a POW colonel who leads a daring escape from Nazi Germany by taking over a freight train, but he has to win over the British soldiers he finds himself commanding. Excellent performances by the great Trevor Howard and Luther Adler highlight this fast-paced picture directed .. Read more
| Starring | Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Brad Dexter, Sergio Fantoni |
|---|---|
| Director | Mark Robson |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama |
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Von Ryan's Express
The thrilling VON RYAN'S EXPRESS stars Frank Sinatra as a POW colonel who leads a daring escape from Nazi Germany by taking over a freight train, but he has to win over the British soldiers he finds himself commanding. Excellent performances by the great Trevor Howard and Luther Adler highlight this fast-paced picture directed by Mark Robson (PEYTON PLACE, THE HARDER THEY FALL).
| Starring | Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Brad Dexter, Sergio Fantoni, John Leyton, Edward Mulhare, Wolfgang Preiss |
|---|---|
| Director | Mark Robson |
| Studio | 20TH CENTURY FOX HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 52 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish |
| Released | DVD: 06 May 2002 Production year: 1965 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews (3)
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Following on from the box-office success of The Great Escape, this is a rattlingly exciting Second World War escape adventure, with a well-cast Frank Sinatra as Colonel Joseph L Ryan, a tough PoW who seizes a German train delivering Allied prisoners. Sinatra's character is unusually uncompromising, even for him, and the star delivers one of his best performances. Director Mark Robson uses his camera skilfully, and the support cast is exceptionally well chosen: co-star Trevor Howard is always excellent in confrontation roles, and a nod to The Great Escape finds John Leyton (who had a number one hit with Johnny Remember Me in 1961) as a British lieutenant. The eagle-eyed should note Hollywood restaurateur Michael Romanoff as an Italian noble. The film was a major commercial success in its day.
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Exhilarating action thriller with slow spots atoned for by nail-biting finale, though the downbeat curtain mars the general effect.
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Most helpful member's review
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3 out of 5 people found this review helpful
Standard World War II Movie
A typical World War II movie of its era. The kind of one that leaves you wondering if the British played any part at all in winning the war! Despite a mainly British cast it is the American hero who leads this band of escaped POWs through the heartland of Nazi occupied Europe to their freedom. This is done with simplicity itself until the final few miles to Switzerland, which makes for the grand finale of the film.
Predictable fare and the kind of film to watch with Grandpa and Grandma after Sunday lunch.
'Oooh look! its that Frank Sinatra, what a wonderful singer he was!' -
Most recent members' review
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2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Gripped
I thought that when i got this out i would be forwrding through bits that i remembered (as i too like mark from scotland remember watching it with my parents) however i was transfixed.
At the start of the film and throughout most of it everybody hates Frank, only his rank gets him respect, and it is this that he must earn.
There are also lots more darker bits in it than i remember that made me think such as the scene where he stops the generals girl from escaping.
After all this, the final scene / ending is fantastic, look at the faces of the men at the end as they realise what frank's character has done at the end.
the most non hollywood ending and i loved it -
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Von Ryan's Express
The thrilling VON RYAN'S EXPRESS stars Frank Sinatra as a POW colonel who leads a daring escape from Nazi Germany by taking over a freight train, but he has to win over the British soldiers he finds himself commanding. Excellent performances by the great Trevor Howard and Luther Adler highlight ...
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