Avalanche Express is a 1979 adventure thriller film starring Lee Marvin, Robert Shaw, Maximilian Schell and Linda Evans, and produced and directed by Mark Robson.

Marenkov meets the team in Milan at La Scala where a rehearsal of Nabucco is underway.

KGB spy-catcher Nikolai Bunin (Maximilian Schell) leads the Soviet agents who try several ways of stopping Marenkov's defection.

Wargrave detonates the gangway connection between the front and the back of the train, which allows the lead cars to escape to the safety of a tunnel.

"[3] The Evening Telegraph praised it as an "extremely satisfying modern adventure story... told in razor sharp style.

Filming was physically tough, complicated by increased security caused by terrorism in Europe, and Robson's health deteriorated.

He had worked a number of times for Gene Corman, who was preparing another film for Lorimar, The Big Red One.

[2] Hellman later said he worked on the film for a year and estimated he directed around ten percent of the principal photography, plus all the special effects.

Dorothy Spencer, Robson's long time editor, was reportedly replaced by Garth Craven.

[12] Vincent Canby of The New York Times criticized the film's tackiness, suggesting it was copied from The Cassandra Crossing and likening it to the work of exploitation filmmaker Lew Grade, criticising the actors as appearing "at a loss".

"[12] Time Out called it "awful", "formulary" and "hammily acted" but explained its curious editing as resulting from the production problems.

[14] The Radio Times gave it 2/5 stars, noting its disjointed quality but praising the acting and snowy special effects.