| Von Ryan's Express | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster byTom Chantrell | |
| Directed by | Mark Robson |
| Screenplay by | Wendell Mayes Joseph Landon |
| Based on | Von Ryan's Express 1964 novel byDavid Westheimer |
| Produced by | Saul David |
| Starring | Frank Sinatra Trevor Howard Raffaella Carrà Brad Dexter Sergio Fantoni John Leyton Edward Mulhare Wolfgang Preiss |
| Cinematography | William H. Daniels |
| Edited by | Dorothy Spencer |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English/Italian |
| Budget | $5.76 million[1] |
| Box office | $17.1 million[2] |
Von Ryan's Express is a 1965World War IIadventure film starringFrank Sinatra,Trevor Howard, andRaffaella Carrà, and directed byMark Robson. Produced inCinemaScope, the film depicts a group ofAllied prisoners of war (POWs) who conduct a daring escape by hijacking the freight train carrying the POWs and fleeing throughGerman-occupied Italy toSwitzerland. Based on the 1964 novel byDavid Westheimer, the film changes several aspects of the novel, most notably the ending, which is considerably more upbeat in the book. Financially, it became one of Sinatra's most successful films.
In 1943 American Colonel Joseph Ryan, aUSAAFP-38 pilot, is shot down over Italy and taken to a POW camp run by theFascist camp commander, Major Basilio Battaglia, and his sympathetic second-in-command, Captain Vittorio Oriani. Most prisoners are from the British 9thFusiliers whose commanding officer recently died after being placed in a "sweat box" as punishment for hitting Battaglia. Ryan assumes command of the camp as the most senior officer much to the dismay of Major Eric Fincham, the most-senior British officer.
Ryan starts to infuriate Fincham. First he declines to support Fincham's escape attempts because Italy is close tosurrender. Second he orders Fincham to distributeRed Cross medical supplies to the seriously ill prisoners after some American prisoners are caught stealing medicine from a secret British hoard. Third he angers Fincham by revealing an escape plan to Battaglia in exchange for better treatment of the prisoners. But when Battaglia refuses to issue new clothing, Ryan orders prisoners to strip and burn their filthy uniforms. Battaglia throws Ryan into the sweat box as punishment.
AfterItaly surrenders, the camp guards flee and Ryan is freed; the British promptly convict Battaglia as awar criminal. Ryan sentences him to the sweat box rather than being executed.
A German fighter plane overflies the camp, forcing Ryan and the POWs to flee into the Italian countryside. Captain Oriani agrees to make contact with Allied forces on their behalf. However, the next morning, the Germans recapture the prisoners and force them into trainboxcars. Fincham assumes Oriani betrayed them until he is found severely beaten onboard. The freed Battaglia comes to gloat at their misfortune. Before leaving, the Germans shoot all the sick prisoners. Fincham blames Ryan for letting Battaglia live, and derogatively calls him "von Ryan". In Rome Major von Klemment, takes command of the prisoner transport.
As the train heads northward through Italy, Ryan pries up the railcar floorboards. That night Ryan, Fincham, and Lt. Orde climb out of their car and free some POWs, who then kill the remaining guards on the train taking their uniforms as a disguise. Ryan and Fincham find von Klemment and his Italian mistress, Gabriella, in the command car.
Lights start to follow the captured train. Von Klemment reveals it is a German troop train on the same schedule. Von Klemment also states he must stop inFlorence to receive new orders. To get through the station, German-speaking British chaplain, Captain Costanzo, bravely impersonates the German commander with Fincham and Ryan dressed as German soldiers. However, the prisoners are nearly recaptured when aGestapo officer boards the train to buy Ryan's American watch. Ryan coolly barters with the German agent before he leaves with the watch.
The orders in Florence show that both trains are headed toInnsbruck, Austria. Using a forged typewritten order, the prisoners switch their train onto a different line atBologna while the troop train continues on toward Innsbruck. Ryan, still dressed as a German soldier, is forced to shoot Von Klemment and Gabriella after they escape from the train. Her death disgusts the Italian civilians who see Ryan as a Nazi.
The German High Command begin inquiries after discovering that the train has been diverted. That night the train and POWs become victims of an Allied bombing raid over Northern Italy. With three dead and some sixty wounded, Oriani and the train's Italian engineer tell Ryan and Fincham that their only option is to reroute the train atMilan toneutral Switzerland. However, the Germans now realise the train has been captured by the POWs soSS troops have set up an ambush ahead. But the prisoners capture a signal box and reroute the train in time.
In theItalian Alps just before the Swiss border, rockets from aGerman aircraft cause boulders to fall onto the track halting the train. Undamaged rails from behind the train have to be used to fix the crushed sections. Meanwhile SS troops in another train eventually catch up. Ryan, Fincham, and some POWs stay behind to hold them off. A vicious battle begins. Eventually the track in front of the prisoner train is repaired and it begins to move. Fincham and the surviving POWs get back onboard but Ryan is killed just as the train steams to the safety of Switzerland.
The novel was published in 1963. The novelist David Westheimer had been aPOW during World War II. He witnessed the bombing ofBolzano in 1943 from a box car.[3] Martin Levin, reviewing the book forThe New York Times, said the novel "has everything for the screen but the camera directions."[4]
The novel was a best seller and 20th Century Fox bought the film rights for a reported $125,000.[5] The studio assigned Saul David to produce andMark Robson to direct. Robson had intended to makeThe Centurians, but this was delayed when his chosen star,Anthony Quinn, was unavailable.[6] Frank Sinatra had read the novel and wanted to buy the film rights himself; when he heard they had been lost to Fox, he offered his services for the lead role.[7]
Von Ryan's Express was a project keenly undertaken by20th Century Fox, which was still financially reeling after the extravagance and critical bashing ofCleopatra. Fox, in a bid to prove that they were still able to make films on an epic scale, shot extensively on location in Europe and built a full-scale prison camp as opposed to shooting on abacklot. It was producerSaul David's first film for Fox. He followed it withOur Man Flint,Fantastic Voyage, andIn Like Flint.
Rumours of apersonality clash between starFrank Sinatra, who was flown by helicopter to the set, and directorMark 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, ending any chance of a sequel. Sinatra also insisted the film be shot inPanavision rather than Fox'sCinemaScope.[8]
The film score was written byJerry Goldsmith.[9]
Von Ryan's Express achievedreality using aircraft, trains, and wheeled vehicles photographed on location along with the occasional model. The aircraft alluded to asMesserschmitts were indeedMesserschmitt Bf 108s. A majority of the film was shot on location aroundNorthern Italy inCortina d'Ampezzo andFirenze Santa Maria Novella railway station inFlorence (in reality isRoma Ostiense railway station[10]). TheFerrovie dello Stato/Italian State Railway closely cooperated on the production, as reflected in the film's closing acknowledgment credit, providing a complete train headed by the specially-bulled upFS Class 735.236. The train which the Nazis commandeer to pursue the escaping POWs is headed by aFranco-Crosti boiler-fitted Class 743.
The railway sequence at the film's conclusion, however, was shot in theCaminito del Rey walkway in the limestone gorge ofEl Chorro and in the adjacent railway bridge, nearMálaga inAndalucía, Spain.[11][12] This switch from filming in Italy was probably done as the bridge looked more suitably attractive for presenting the final set piece than anything that could be found on the Italian rail network. The train featuring in these sequences was laid on by theRENFE/Spanish National Railways and altered to resemble the Italy-based train. Interiors were completed at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles. The POW camp (Campo Concentramento Prigioneri di Guerra 202) was also built in the front lot of the Studios.[13]
Critics likedVon Ryan's Express.Variety noted, "Mark Robson has made realistic use of the actual Italian setting of the David Westheimer novel in garmenting his action in hard-hitting direction and sharply drawn performances."[14] Frank Sinatra's daughterNancy noted in her biography of her father that his performance fuelled speculation of anotherAcademy Award nomination.Time Out London called the film a "ripping adventure" that was "directed with amused panache by Robson, and helped no end by a fine cast...",[15] while theBBC's TV, film and radio listings magazineThe Radio Times described it as "a rattlingly exciting Second World War escape adventure, with a well-cast Frank Sinatra..."[16]
The film grossed $17,111,111[2] ($170,731,666 in 2024 consumer dollars) at the North American box office, equating to $7,700,000 ($76,829,250 in 2024 consumer dollars) taken in box office rentals.Variety rankedVon Ryan's Express as the 10th-highest-grossing film of 1965. Additionally, this was Sinatra's highest-grossing and biggest-earning film of the decade.
According to Fox records, the film needed to earn $12,600,000 in rentals to break even and made over $17,000,000, meaning it made a profit.[17]
The film was nominated for aBest Sound Editing (Walter Rossi) Academy Award in1966,[18] while theMotion Picture Sound Editors also nominated the film for Best Sound Editing in a Feature Film.
BritishChannel 4 rankedVon Ryan's Express number 89 on their list of 100 Greatest War Films, commenting, "A ripping yarn culminating in a wild train dash through [Italy], with director Mark Robson cranking up the tension and releasing it with some excellent action set-pieces."[19] It has a 90% fresh rating onRotten Tomatoes from 20 reviews.