Of the movies I have seen him in, I have to say that his turn as Colonel Ryan in "Von Ryan's Express" is probably the best acting I have ever seen from Frank Sinatra. As Ryan, Sinatra plays an American pilot shot down over Italy in 1943 and sent to an Italian POW camp that has mostly British prisoners from a single regiment. Ryan, however, becomes the ranking POW upon his arrival, setting up a conflict between himself and the senior British officer (played by Trevor Howard.) Ryan insists on changes in how things are done. The British don't like it. The tension is palpable and very believable in the circumstances. Upon Italy's surrender after the Allies invade, there's more conflict over what to do with the former Italian commander of the camp (who's now the prisoner of the former prisoners) and disagreement over how to get past the Germans who have begun to occupy Italy.
The escape is an exciting adventure. Captured by the Germans, the Allied prisoners are put on a train to be taken to a new camp in Austria, but en route manage to hijack the train and head for Switzerland, with a German troop train and Messerschmidt fighters in hot pursuit. Eventually, a grudging respect develops between Ryan and the Brits as the movie reaches its climax.
This is really an excellent movie. No doubt that the plot is somewhat unbelievable, but that doesn't take away from the excitement of it all, nor does it take away from the superb performances by Sinatra and Howard. On occasion, the movie even manages to introduce a sense of humour and there are several scenes that do cause at least a smile, if not a chuckle.
The escape is an exciting adventure. Captured by the Germans, the Allied prisoners are put on a train to be taken to a new camp in Austria, but en route manage to hijack the train and head for Switzerland, with a German troop train and Messerschmidt fighters in hot pursuit. Eventually, a grudging respect develops between Ryan and the Brits as the movie reaches its climax.
This is really an excellent movie. No doubt that the plot is somewhat unbelievable, but that doesn't take away from the excitement of it all, nor does it take away from the superb performances by Sinatra and Howard. On occasion, the movie even manages to introduce a sense of humour and there are several scenes that do cause at least a smile, if not a chuckle.