History Film / VonRyansExpress

* BilingualBonus: Played straight. When the Italians or Germans are conversing among themselves, we get subtitles; otherwise, we depend on Captain Oriani's translations. Which are not always... ''exactly'' right. When our heroes are amidst the Germans, there are no subtitles.

* NeverTrustATrailer: All the advertisements played up the whole angle of the prisoners despising Ryan ("Who was the man they hated worse than Hitler?"), but aside from two scenes, it never really plays into the plot, and Ryan gets along with most of them decently enough. Even the conflict between Ryan and Finchum is of the "respectfully disagree" nature.

* NeverTrustATrailer: All the advertisements played up the whole angle of the prisoners despising Ryan ("Who was the man they hated worse than Hitler?"), but aside from two scenes, it never really plays into the plot, and Ryan gets along with most of them decently enough.

* OverrankedSoldier: It is ''highly'' unlikely that "90 Day Wonder" Ryan would be a Colonel. Lieutenant would be a lot more likely. However, this high rank was necessary for the plot to proceed.

[[quoteright:310:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_1011_9.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:310:Run, Von Ryan!]]

''Von Ryan's Express'' is a 1965 UsefulNotes/WorldWarII adventure film based on a novel by David Westheimer, directed by Mark Robson, starring Music/FrankSinatra and Creator/TrevorHoward.

* DirtyBusiness: What war is for people like Fincham. He's able - [[BloodKnight and more than willing]] - to do a lot of the nasty stuff Ryan can't even think of.

* ActorAllusion: John Leyton, who guides Ryan through a series of trap doors and secret passages, also played Willie, one of the tunnel kings in ''Film/TheGreatEscape''.

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_1011_9.JPG]]
[[caption-width-right:300:Run, Von Ryan!]]

Colonel Joseph L. Ryan (Sinatra), an American pilot, is shot down in UsefulNotes/FascistItaly and put in a Fascist prisoner of war camp there, where he becomes the new ranking officer among the Allied prisoners. He's nicknamed "Von Ryan" by the mainly British prisoners for his initial concessions to the jailers, spoiling previous escape preparations in order to improve current conditions for the prisoners.

Despite proving that he's willing to both push their jailers and suffer for his beliefs, the name catches on when Ryan sparing the life of the camp commander in the wake of the Italian surrender leads to the [=POWs=] being recaptured by the Germans, who load the survivors on a train headed for a German camp. In the shadow of the Italian Alps, Ryan and the British [=POWs=] take control of the train; trapped behind enemy lines, their only option is to pretend to still be under German control and avoid suspicion [[RunForTheBorder while heading for neutral Switzerland]]. But it's not long until the Germans are in hot pursuit.

While making the film Sinatra met his future wife Mia Farrow (29 years his junior), who was shooting the TV show ''Literature/PeytonPlace'' on the same lot.

* StukaScream: during the aircraft attack in the mountain pass (by Messerschmitts, not Stuka's).

* WeaponsUnderstudies: the three German planes that attack the Von Ryan Express at the end are Messerschmitts Bf 108, a sport and touring aircraft commonly used in war films of the period as a stand-in for its military cousin, the Messerschmitt ME-109. Their camouflage pattern however is fictional and [[JustPlaneWrong has no resemblance to the one actually used by the Luftwaffe in the European theatre]].

%%* GreatEscape

''Von Ryan's Express'' is a 1965 WorldWarII adventure film based on a novel by David Westheimer, directed by Mark Robson, starring Music/FrankSinatra and Creator/TrevorHoward.

Colonel Joseph L. Ryan (Sinatra), an American pilot, is shot down in UsefulNotes/FascistItaly and put in a Fascist prisoner of war camp there, where he becomes the new ranking officer among the Allied prisoners. He's nicknamed 'Von Ryan' by the mainly British prisoners for his initial concessions to the jailers, spoiling previous escape preparations in order to improve current conditions for the prisoners. Despite proving that he's willing to both push their jailers and suffer for his beliefs, the name catches on when Ryan sparing the life of the camp commander in the wake of the Italian surrender leads to the [=POWs=] being recaptured by the Germans, who load the survivors on a train headed for a German camp. In the shadow of the Italian Alps, Ryan and the British [=POWs=] take control of the train; trapped behind enemy lines, their only option is to pretend to still be under German control and avoid suspicion [[RunForTheBorder while heading for neutral Switzerland]]. But it's not long until the Germans are in hot pursuit.

''Von Ryan's Express'' is a 1965 WorldWarII adventure film based on a novel by David Westheimer, directed by Mark Robson, starring Music/FrankSinatra and Trevor Howard.

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/VONRYANVIDEO1_5196.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:Run, Von Ryan!]]

''Von Ryan's Express'' is a 1965 WorldWarII adventure film starring Music/FrankSinatra and Trevor Howard, based on a novel by David Westheimer.

* WeaponsUnderstudies: the three German planes that attack the Von Ryan Express at the end are Messerschmitts Bf 108, a sport and touring aircraft commonly used in war films of the period as a stand-in for its military cousin, the Messerschmitts ME-109. Their camouflage pattern however is fictional and [[JustPlaneWrong has no resemblance to the one actually used by the Luftwaffe in the European theatre]].

* PlayingAgainstType: This was the first role Sinatra had that didn't ask him to sing.

''Von Ryan's Express'' is a 1965 WorldWarII adventure film starring FrankSinatra and Trevor Howard, based on a novel by David Westheimer.

While making the film Sinatra met his future wife Mia Farrow (29 years his junior), who was shooting the TV show ''PeytonPlace'' on the same lot.

While making the film Sinatra met his future wife Mia Farrow (29 years his junior), who was shooting the TV show ''Payton Place'' on the same lot.

* NeverTrustATrailer: All the advertisements played up the whole angle of the prisoners despising Ryan ("Who was the man they hated worse than Hitler?"), but aside from two scenes, it never really plays into the plot, and Ryan gets along s