Von Ryan's Express (1965)

As far as 1960s World War II adventure flicks go, Von Ryan's Express is typical. Frank Sinatra stars as an American pilot who is put into an Italian POW camp with a bunch of British soldiers. The Italians surrender leaving Sinatra and friends to fend for themselves miles from Allied territory. After some mucking about, they hijack a prison train and head for the border. The interesting thing is that Sinatra's character makes big mistakes. He's sometimes too reckless, sometimes too trusting, and the consequences for his actions come back to bite him and his men. None of the characters really developed much beyond that, but the way they surmounted challenges was fun to watch. Like most of the "boys on a mission" films in the 1960s, the film doesn't dwell on the travesties of war but rather focuses more on the action setpieces, stunts, and other obstacles. The film doesn't really dwell on anything at all, actually. It's a briskly paced action movie (for the 1960s) that has great moments of tension and suspense, some good action scenes, and that's about it. Jerry Goldsmith's score is excellent and you can hear early examples of the First Blood soundtrack running throughout. Overall, it's a minor war/adventure effort that's well-paced, well-acted, and worth a watch if you're in the mood.

7/10