- Film Review
- Reviewed By Tony Sloman
-
3 out of 5
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.
Plot Summary
Second World War drama starring Frank Sinatra and Trevor Howard. Colonel Joseph Ryan of the US Army Air Corps arrives in a PoW camp in central Italy where his casual indifference towards captivity alienates the other prisoners who are eager to escape.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Col Joseph L Ryan
- Frank Sinatra
- Major Eric Fincham
- Trevor Howard
- Private Ames
- James Brolin
- Gabriella
- Raffaela Carra
- Sergeant Bostick
- Brad Dexter
- Captain Oriani
- Sergio Fantoni
- Orde
- John Leyton
- Costanzo
- Edward Mulhare
- Major von Klemment
- Wolfgang Preiss
- Colonel Gortz
- John Van Dreelen
- Battaglia
- Adolfo Celi
Crew
- Director
- Mark Robson
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