VON RYAN'S EXPRESS is another decent Hollywood WW2 adventure. It's not as good or as iconic as WHERE EAGLES DARE but it's still a highly suspenseful thrill-ride of a movie, although a little drawn out in places. I particularly liked the way that the story is quite impossible to predict throughout, with lots of little twists you don't see coming which last right up until the climax.

Frank Sinatra plays the cocky, all-American fighter pilot hero who is sent to a prisoner of war camp in Italy where he butts heads with the grizzled British officer Trevor Howard (on very fine form). I won't spoil the plot, but there are plenty of different situations taking place here, and as the title would suggest a large part of the film is set on board a train. I personally love train films and the train action here doesn't disappointed, loaded with suspense and action as it is.

The supporting cast is a mix of reliable old hands (Adolfo Celi, Michael Goodliffe, Brad Dexter) and fresh-faced newcomers (James Brolin, the delectable Raffaella Carra). The exemplary direction is from the hugely experienced Mark Robson, a man who started out with Boris Karloff spook shows such as ISLE OF THE DEAD and finished with '70s disaster movies like EARTHQUAKE. It's another feather in the cap for a man with an extraordinary career.