Von Ryan's Express is a 1965 World War II adventure film starring Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, and Raffaella Carrà, and directed by Mark Robson.

Ryan insists that the camp commander, Major Basilio Battaglia, salute him as a superior officer, which the sympathetic second-in-command, Captain Vittorio Oriani, translates.

A German fighter plane overflies the camp, forcing Ryan and the men to flee into the Italian countryside with Oriani's help.

They free a covered goods wagon of POWs, who help them kill the remaining guards whose uniforms they then don as a disguise.

A German-speaking British chaplain, Captain Costanzo, impersonates the German commander to ensure their passage through the next station in Florence.

That night the train stops at what is thought to be a clearing and the men get off to head for safety; aircraft, which Ryan identifies as Lancaster bombers, appear overhead and begin bombing the area.

Several cars catch fire, and the train must stop to aid the wounded and release burning goods wagons.

Waffen-SS troops, led by Colonel Gortz, have discovered the earlier ruse and await the train, but are slowed when Oriani and the men disable a signal box at Milan, knocking out the track diagrams inside the control center.

As the Alps appear, the prisoner train is attacked by German aircraft, rocket fire collapsing boulders onto a section of track.

[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 by 20th Century Fox, which was still financially reeling after the extravagance and critical bashing of Cleopatra.

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 a backlot.

Rumours of a personality clash between star Frank Sinatra, who was flown by helicopter to the set, and director Mark Robson were not enough to cause problems as the film was shot with relatively little trouble.

[9] Von Ryan's Express achieved reality using aircraft, trains, and wheeled vehicles photographed on location along with the occasional model.

[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.

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 daughter Nancy noted in her biography of her father that his performance fuelled speculation of another Academy Award nomination.

British Channel 4 ranked Von 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.