Von Ryan's Express is entertainment, not history. Viewers who accept that premise will probably enjoy this action-packed adventure film with a simple theme: escape. The year is 1943. Germans are moving northward in Italy after allies land in the south. When Italian overseers abandon a prison camp, the English and American POWs escape, but are recaptured by Germans and placed on a train bound for a concentration camp. Led by a U.S. pilot, Col. Joseph Ryan, the prisoners overtake the Germans and commandeer the train, pointing it toward Switzerland. Although the characters are little more than cardboard cutouts, the story is riveting and suspenseful. The escaping prisoners disguise themselves, dodge dive-bombing planes, pick off harassers in a tunnel, and coax their dead train to life. The cinematrography is strong and the action bully. Frank Sinatra earns his pay as Col.Ryan -- dubbed "Von Ryan" by his mostly British underlings for his unpopular policies in the prison camp -- and Trevor Howard is superb as cranky British officer Major Eric Fincham. The plot brims with close calls. In one scene, escapees wearing German uniforms must pass through Nazi checkpoints. Because only the POW chaplain (Edward Mulhare) speaks German, the other disguised soldiers can only nod or hem and haw when addressed. In another scene, the escapees must replace damaged railroad tracks while Germans close in. Viewers looking for heavy-duty angst and realism ( la Saving Private Ryan) won't find it here. What they will find is pure escapism ( la The Great Escape). ~ Mike Cummings, All Movie Guide