Von Ryan's Express (1965)

"A bird-colonel out-ranks a bird-brain, clear?", 12 June 2006

Von Ryan's Expess is an enjoyable enough WWII escape film, but it's far from perfect. The plot is simple and straightforward – a band of allied POWs, led by Colonel Joseph L. Ryan (Frank Sinatra), take over a German prisoner train and use it to find freedom in Switzerland. While the plot may be far-fetched, it makes for an interesting idea for a movie. The acting is good, but I don't think this is Sinatra's best moment. Regardless of what others have said, I'm of the opinion that almost anyone could have played the part of Colonel Ryan – and probably played it better. The real star to me is Trevor Howard. He steals every scene in which he appears. Locations, sets, and the use of a real train give the film a fairly authentic feel. The scenes filmed in the mountains are particularly impressive.

But, as I stated, Von Ryan's Express is not perfect. Beyond the problems I have with the story's absurdity and Sinatra's acting, the movie runs on far too long. Tighter editing, particularly early on in the film, might have made for a better film. There really isn't much going on before the escape gets underway that couldn't have been edited by about 15 minutes. Also, some of the action sequences are far from realistic. There are too many scenes where the German soldiers fall like dominoes while being completely unable to hit anything with their guns. It just looks silly.

In the end, even with the shortcomings, Von Ryan's Express is an entertaining movie. But it's those shortcomings that keep me from rating it any higher.

6/10