User Reviews

Upon watching Avalanche Express, Robert Shaw's final film I was rather disappointed. Shaw, one of my favourite actors, lines are dubbed and this detracts from the viewing pleasure. This is not only because the voice sounds nothing like Robert Shaw, but because the dubbing has been done so poorly.

When I read a previous review which stated that it was not worth watching, I tend to agree. The film is suppose to be an action adventure but is nothing of the sort. To start off with, it is a very long time before we actually get to any exciting parts, the most memorable being the train escape during the avalanche. The special effects are also worth a mention. The avalanche doesn't look hokey, I was actually more impressed than I thought I would have been. The main problem with the film is its slow pacing. I found myself drifting off to sleep several times during its screening. Any film that does that to you really tells you something, doesn't it!

I think had both the star Robert Shaw and director Mark Robson not died during the production, it would have been something special. It had the potential, but sadly it is not an excellent film. I only recommend purchasing this film if you are a fan of Robert Shaw (Even though his lines are dubbed, its nice to see him in any film) or if you can purchase it for less than $5.00 - $10.00 US (I purchased it on DVD, which was a surprise as I have only ever seen it for sale on VHS).

Final rating: 5/10 - I don't think it deserves to be called a bomb, but it certainly isn't a masterpiece. If your looking for an excellent action/adventure film, check out Black Sunday starring this films star, Robert Shaw. I regard it as an underrated classic.

A film more famous for its behind-the-scenes double-jinx (the deaths, within months of each other, of both director Robson – who may have become involved to begin with in view of his work on the spy romp THE PRIZE {1963} and another train movie i.e. VON RYAN'S EXPRESS {1965} – and co-star Robert Shaw: in fact, it was completed by Monte Hellman, while much of Shaw's dialogue had to be re-dubbed due to his being in poor health throughout!) than its actual theme or quality. That said, it is unworthy of Leonard Maltin's BOMB rating, especially when considering that, apart from the talents already mentioned, we also got scriptwriter Abraham Polonsky and, making up the rest of the main cast, Lee Marvin, Maximilian Scell, Horst Buchholz, Claudio Cassinelli and David Hess (the appearance of the last two, who mostly dabbled in exploitation fare in Europe, was quite a surprise)!

It is a typically glum Cold War thriller (unfortunately, the joy seems to have been taken out of the espionage subgenre, Hitchcock imitations – like the afore-mentioned Robson effort – and the James Bond extravaganzas notwithstanding!) with whose plot, involving Shaw's harassed defecting Russian protagonist, the formerly black-listed Polonsky – which had prevented him from working for 20 years! – must have felt a particular kinship (not that his script, adapted from the Colin Forbes novel, is particularly dense). Even more ironic is the fact that Shaw's character's wife is said to have committed suicide (which the actor's real-life spouse, actress Mary Ure, had actually done in 1975!) and, when queried why the Kremlin has not yet announced the KGB official's betrayal, he says they are probably waiting to proclaim his death (which Shaw may well have foreseen as being just around the corner for himself!).

For no very good reason, the visibly-ravaged Marvin is made to rekindle his affair with much-younger agent Linda Evans but, predictably, their relationship runs far from smoothly – especially when he fakes his own death (again, this twist has no direct bearing on the plot!) and Shaw 'flees' from her custody when the titular vehicle is attacked by a terrorist group (yet another irrelevant, if undeniably topical, plot point). The avalanche, too, is just one of several incidents to be incorporated into the narrative – such as having Schell as Shaw's ruthless former colleague don a disguise in order to board the train himself (recalling his previous turn as a Nazi in THE ODESSA FILE {1974}, he is the only one here to be seen having fun with the vaguely preposterous proceedings!).

Incidentally, I watched this on late-night Italian TV despite being available in English elsewhere since the latter is an edited version (shorn of 10 from its already slim 85-minute duration)! In the end, while essentially uninspired, the film is well worth-watching for its mix of forceful personalities, numerous action scenes and, well, the curiosity value that naturally arises out of its singular making.

This movie is fairly entertaining. It has good action scenes, especially the avalanche (although it looks phony by today's standards). Lee Marvin gives conviction to his role of a Colonel in trying to get a Soviet defector safely to the United States and trying to stop a Soviet biological war plot. Linda Evans is always beautiful and seems credible in her role. Maximilian Schell is very good as the villainous Russian agent determined to stop him. Unfortunately, Robert Shaw is miscast as the Soviet general trying to defect. This was Shaw's last film and he was obviously badly dubbed by another actor because he was so ill his voice was so weak. His performance is understandably hurt by these two problems. Also: can you really take a movie seriously that has Joe Namath (yes that Joe Namath) as a spy. This is a mixed bag that gets a 5/10

With a cast as talented and diverse as the one assembled for this espionage-cum-disaster caper, the expectations are great. The execution is sadly lacking. Robson's last film concerns a Russian military defector (Shaw), aided by CIA agents (Marvin, Evans & Connors principally), pursued by a Russian patriot (Schell) determined to capture or kill his quarry. Amid all the frantic chases, double-crosses and narrative cul-de-sacs, an avalanche threatens to derail a train carrying the defector and his minders. Cobbled patchwork of a feature film, with erratic editing and a plot so riddled with contrivances, that you're confounded by the fuss. Why it wasn't made more simply is obvious - the storyline is so aimless and superficial, there's just not enough material to sustain a feature length movie.

Disappointingly pedestrian performances from Shaw, Marvin, Evans and Connors lend very little to the quality of the picture, while Schell at least applies some effort in his stereotypical Cold-War silhouette. He also has the best of the uninspired dialogue. Former NFL star Joe Namath isn't bad as one of the good guys, and Kristina Nel (where's Marthe Keller?) makes a reasonable terrorist. With names like Horst Buchholz, Claudio Cassinelli and Vladek Sheybul in bit parts, the opportunities for success were endless. Sadly, none of it comes to fruition.

If you were expecting some improvement from the foreshadowed avalanche, you'll be disappointed to learn that it's anticipation is more exciting than the execution. Although there's a few decent action sequences and colourful location work, mostly the film is just talky and pointless. Notwithstanding the well documented challenges encountered making this film (i.e. the death of both director Robson and star Shaw), it's difficult to imagine how much better this film could've been had they both lived to see completion. Maybe better they didn't, although it's a great shame that this underachievement is their collective swansong.

I am a big Robert Shaw fan. I was very sad when I heard that he died at a very young age of 52. So when I learned that he made two films before he died, I looked foward to seeing them, so I could spend some more time with that great acting talent. The first "Force 10 From Navarone" was a fun adventure film with Shaw still at the top of his game the second was "Avalanche Express"

It came out some 14 months after he died, and I went quickley to my local movie theater to see it. Imagine my disapointment when I first heard him speak and realised that majestic voice was dubbed. It hurt alot that I would not hear that wonderful voice for the next 88 minutes. The voice didn't sound anything remotely like him.

As for the film itself, what can I say about a film where Joe Namath givves the best acting performance. As the other review says, if you love watching bad movies this is the film for you. The biggest laugh is at the end where the Robert Shaw character is singing a sad Russian song (Another sadness as I wouldn't hear Shaw's own wondeful singing voice_ and then the film cuts to an exterior shot of the airplane and while the "Shaw" voice is still sing he is joined by the croaking silver tomes of Lee Marvin. Who could ever forget his rendition of "Wandering Star"in "Paint Your Wagon". What was to be a pogniant moment was turned in to a laughfest instead. I left the theater wishing I followed the ushers advice as saw Meteor instead.

The ONLY reason "Avalanche Express" will ever be mentioned again is that actor Robert Shaw died while the film was in production. Sadly even his voice is heard only briefly in two scenes. The rest of his lines had to be dubbed.

It is one of those goofy espionage thrillers with a large cast of mostly has beens that were popular in the 70's. Where else can you see a movie with Joe Namath, Linda Evans, AND Lee Marvin? Yes, bad movie lovers, this is the film for you.

For fans of Shaw , probably any other film he made is better then this one. Pay tribute to this fine actor by watching "The Sting," "The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3," "Jaws," or "Black Sunday." Let this drivel disappear into oblivion as it was meant to.

You would think a film with this cast, a promising plot and lots of action could be anything but one big yawn yet 'Avalanche Express' achieves it.

The death of director Mark Robson during production is often cited as a prime reason why this film misfired but - while obviously a tragic and difficult event for the film to deal with - Robson had directed several clunky & heavy-handed films in the previous decade and his best work was well behind him.

There's not much positive that can be said for the film, suffice to say that technically its use of real locations helps it a bit and the avalanche sequence is reasonably well done.

But apart from that the most notable feat of 'Avalanche Express' is that it somehow connives a dreary performance of the usually always compelling Lee Marvin.

During the making of Avalanche Express, Robert Shaw died and I'm sure the producers must have been in a quandary. They decided to salvage as much footage as they could with longshots and rears. Shaw's voice was weak so whole scenes were dubbed.

The result was an 85 minute action adventure story with a lot of holes in the story about a Russian general, Shaw, defecting to the west. Lee Marvin, Linda Evans, Michael Connors and would you believe Joe Namath are the CIA agents bringing him out and for some reason decide train travel is best. This is an obvious homage to Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, but I'm sure Hitchcock would not have been flattered with the comparison had the master of suspense saw this film before he died.

The rest of the players try their best and Maximilian Schell as the KGB guy assigned to kill Shaw before he makes it out of Europe is quite good. As an actor however Joe Namath is a great quarterback, in his few scenes he's painful to watch dealing with the dialog, limited though it was in his case.

I do feel sorry for Robert Shaw because of the many fine performances he did give us on the big and small screen. My first memory of him was in a short lived British syndicated television series The Buccaneers and that had far more going for it than Avalanche Express.

Had Shaw lived and the movie going public got to see what would have been the story they wanted to bring us, would we have liked it? Hard to speculate, but I'd stay clear of this unless you want to see a nice big avalanche nearly engulf a train with nearly all the cast on it.

Much better than all the so called "James Bond" movies with Daniel Craig. Lee Marvin is superb, lovely Linda Evans beautiful as ever, plenty of real action and not data-animated rubbish like the latest Bond-movies. This is a must for all lovers of cold war thrillers where Russians was the bad guys. Sadly Robert Shaw´s last movie but he did a great job. Also a nice movie for rail fans.

Avalanche Express is a product of a cold war era, lively based on Colin Forbes novel, about a defector Gen. Marenkov (Robert Shaw) who are the most powerful Soviet General on URSS until now, the CIA wants got information of Marenkov concerning the Russian project of biological devices on western Europe, thru the spies on both sides this info was leaked in KGB and the project's direction as well, the CIA's assignment is bring Marenkov safely to America, the whole operation will be in charge of CIA's veteran Wargrave (Lee Marvin) through a many trains connections since Zurich until Holland seashore, then thru US's airplane toward somewhere in America.

Sadly during the shooting Robert Shaw already ill gonna die early, putting the producers in dire straits, henceforth all Shaw scenes was shot behind using a stunt or long shots as well in order to conceal the character, aside that the screenplay is too complex, somehow puzzling too much the audience, further the massive use of miniatures on train sequence and avalanche neither whereof easily perceived by a blind eye spoils deeply the odd offering, worst during the chase there so many contrived sequences, the robust and stelar casting relief slight the mess, having Maximillian Schell, Linda Evans, Claudio Cassinelli, Horst Buchholtz and the everlasting branded German evil character Gunter Meismer gave a trueness of the cold war strain between two opposites agencies.

Actually the picture wasn't so bad as mostly of the reviewers want imply, there are enough fine pieces that hold us at chair indeed, I'd realized that has a certain grudging concerning the picture on lowest rating gave by them, the last watching on Youtube I'd found a restored print, thus the question needs an answer, who would restore something really bad anyway?

Thanks for reading

Resume:

First watch: 1984 / How many: 5 / Source: TV-DVD-Youtube / Rating: 7.5.

A would-be epic Cold War actioner, AVALANCHE EXPRESS is one of those all-star-cast '70s disaster-style movies. This one's adapted from a Colin Forbes novel, featuring Robert Shaw (who died during production) as a defecting Russian agent who must flee on a train across Europe while being pursued by his murderous countrymen. Luckily, he has tough guy Lee Marvin on hand to protect him.

The film's directed by Mark Robson (who also died during production), who once upon a time made some chilly Boris Karloff flicks like BEDLAM and ISLE OF THE DEAD. Sadly, it's a bit of an inglorious exit for both star and director, as this is a strictly ordinary movie that feels strained throughout. The narrative veers between muddled and boring, which is never a good sign.

The calibre of the writing just isn't up to much, and while the various action bits are okay, they aren't anywhere near of a quality to make this a decent production. Instead we get a cast going through autopilot for the most part; Marvin is hardly stretched and Shaw is too ill to do much. Maximilian Schell is totally non-threatening as the villain (and what's up with that ridiculous disguise?), and the less said about Linda Evans's wooden turn the better. The most fun comes from seeing cult actors like David Hess and Claudio Cassinelli in minor parts.

This regular action tale contains thrills , intrigue , tension , excitement galore , entertainment and loads of falling snow . Suspenseful spy movie packs exceptional plethora of prestigious actors incarnating the motley group of spies for this All-Star Adventure and sadly ending picture for both , actor Robert Shaw who was very ill during filming and filmmaker Mark Robson . This his last movie was a jinx , appropriately titled ¨Avalancha express¨. Soviet KGB General Marenkov (Robert Shaw who died during its production) defects to the Americans and together with his CIA handler Harry Wargrave (Lee Marvin , he is mentioned in the novel the movie is based on) they plan an operation meant to reveal the Russians are attempting to develop biological weapons and several KGB agents in Europe . During the trail they must survive a lot of dangers : spy-catchers , terrorist attacks , crossfire , double-crosses and avalanches . All planned by a Russian top agent named Col. Nikolai Bunin (Maximilian Schell) . As the route of the train journey on the "Atlantic Express" , was from Milan, Italy to Rotterdam, Holland.

This exciting film contains noisy action , thrills , shootouts and results to be mediocre . And a great cast though wasted formed by the Hollywood Wax Museum . Besides , a large support cast such as Maximilian Schell , Joe Namath , Horst Buchholz , Mike Connors , Claudio Cassinelli , David Hess , Sky du Mont , Dan Van Husen and Günter Meisner . The picture has elements of ¨disaster genre¨ as when a train is threatened by lots and lots of falling snow . Passable acting by trio protagonist : Lee Marvin , Robert Shaw and Linda Evans . Robert Shaw is acceptable as KGB head who tries to defect , Shaw passed away during filmmaking , in fact most of his dialog had to be dubbed by a mimic . Colorful cinematography in Panavision by Jack Cardiff , though uncredited . Thrilling as well as atmospheric musical score by Allyn Ferguson .

Lavishly produced by Guthrie and Robson with a reported budget of $12 million , it was the most expensive film project shooting in Europe . The motion picture was middlingly directed by Mark Robson , though the film's closing credit tells the following : "The producers wish to express their appreciation to Monte Hellman and Gene Corman for their post production services¨ . In the early 40s Mark Robson was much involved with the low-budget terror unit in charge of producer Val Lewton , for whom made ¨Seventh victim¨, ¨The ghost ship¨, and ¨Island of the dead¨. In the late 1940s Robson joined Stanley Kramer's independent company and directed his biggest commercial hit to date with ¨The champion¨. Years later Robson made another good film about corruption in boxing world titled ¨The harder they fall¨ with Humphrey Bogart. In the late 1960s, his work did decline . And of course , ¨Von Ryan Express¨ was one of his best films ; this one is certainly one of the best movies ever made about the WWII escapes . And this ¨Avalanche Express¨ turned out to be an unfortunate film in which Robson and his main star , Robert Shaw, died suddenly from heart attacks . As Monte Hellman finished the direction and Gene Corman -brother of Roger Corman- completed Robson's duties as producer . In spite of a top-notch cast , spectacular images , tense images and noisy action , all of them don't make this one a good effort of its kind . This is an ordinary spy movie , being a little boring and embarrassing . Rating : 5 .

Where do you start? With Robert Shaw's dubbed voice? The clear as day models used instead of real trains? Joe Namath acting as 'Leroy' as if he's important to the film? or the plot? This film is atrocious in so many ways - maybe it's because the film was cursed? Robson and Shaw both died during the making of this film.

Watch the opening credits - and see a MODEL train, fake snow, models of mountains - oh, it's so bad it makes Ed Wood's films look good! Lee Marvin looks confused, Linda Evans acts like she's passing gas most of the time, and Joe Namath - well, he acts like Joe Namath, not the 'Leroy' he should be playing.

The film's plot just plods along and is inane and boring. The strange 'plot twists' aren't that - they are just ho-hum clichés of espionage thrillers.

What a film, a bad film, a piece of garbage. Why doesn't Warner Bros break out a widescreen 2 disc special edition of this turkey? just to make a profit? I'm sure some Linda Evans fans would buy it.

And oh yeah, the guy who played Reinhardt in 'The Black Hole' is in this as well.

From the hilariously overdubbed Russian dialogue (in the very first scene to boot; what a great way to start your movie!) to the badly miscast actors (Maximilian Schell as a top Russian official???) and from the unexciting action scenes (full of inept bad guys who can't shoot straight) to the trite "May-December" romance between Lee Marvin and Linda Evans, "Avalanche Express" demonstrates how easy it is to screw everything up in this genre. In its defense, it's not as awful as, say, "The Kremlin Letter"; there is also some good on-location shooting in Europe. Despite the title, the "avalanche" part of the movie doesn't take up more than five minutes. (*)

With understanding of the circumstances of the production . I understood what they were trying to do . It seems unfinished and some editing choices had to be made. But i found the patch job to be entertaining enough. It's hard to judge Robert Shaw's performance because it was dubbed . The supporting roles were good enough and Lee Marvin was great as usual. This film isn't as bad as some says it is. You can tell there were a lot cut out of the finished film . A restored version (if it exist) would be good to see. I like cold war thrillers , it's not the best by any means , but it's entertaining enough.

Awful attempt at blending a political thriller with disaster movie shenanigans, Avalanche Express is also a sad end to the careers of Robert Shaw (Jaws/The Sting) and Mark Robson (The Seventh Victim/Bedlam). Both of whom died during the production.

Plot essentially sees Shaw's Soviet official, Marenkov, defecting to the west whilst aiming to kill off his homeland's biological weapons programme in the process. Basically putting himself up as bait to flesh out the baddies, Marenkov is being protected by Lee Marvin's CIA agent Harry Wargrave and his pals. Cue a train snaking through the snowy mountains as they all try to evade an avalanche and some shifty types attempting to spoil the mission.

There's a whole bunch of talking and a whole bunch of actors drifting in and out of the film without making a mark. The action, what little there is, is slip-shod and the dubbing of Shaw only brings more sadness to what is quite simply a sad movie! Jack Cardiff's photography is crisp and deserves a better film, and even though the model work on show is a bit hit and miss, it does have a quaintness that steers you away from the turgid screenplay. But all told it's a boring mess of a movie and really only one for Marvin and Shaw fans to tick off of their lists. 3.5/10

This movie hit the screens on October 19 1979 starring Lee Marvin as Col Harry Wargrave, Robert Shaw as General Marenkov and Linda Evans as Elsa Lang. Senior Russian official General Malenkov wants to defect to the Western part of Russia. So the CIA sends one of there top agents, Harry Wargrave to make sure that the General gets to where he wants to go. Malenkov reveals to the CIA that the Russian underground is trying to develop biological weapons and no one is suppose to know about this. Therefore, with Malenkov knowing all this information the CIA decides it would be better for Malenkov to go by train instead of by air across Europe. However, the CIA is after more information then the General can give them so they put the General a train call the Avalanche Express in order to draw the Russian Secret Agents out in order to fine the leader of the group. During the train ride across Europe the CIA has to deal with terrorist attacks and an *********. This movie was as bad as bad can get. I bought this movie because of Linda Evans and I was so disappointed. The only comment I have is don't waste your money on this film because it just wasn't worth it. I give this movie just 1 weasel star and it doesn't even deserve the 1 star.

I wanted to see "Avalanche Express' when I was a kid. I was fifteen years old when it came out and it was definitely the kind of movie that I enjoyed watching. For whatever reason I never had a chance to see it until last night. It's not a good movie. "Avalanche Express" is one of those expensive movies that looks cheap on screen. I don't mind the avalanche looking fake but the train is obviously a toy. Also, the script is very weak with with one ridiculous scene after another. The cast is good but, for the most part, their performances are not. "Avalanche Express" is a bad movie that doesn't even work as camp.

Soviet General Marenkov (Robert Shaw) is trying to defect. CIA agent Harry Wargrave (Lee Marvin) leads a group to facilitate it while he's traveling on a train known as the Avalanche Express. Nikolai Bunin (Maximilian Schell) is a Soviet agent determined to stop it.

The team includes Linda Evans and Joe Namath. I can't say if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I can say that Namath is no great actor. The plot is a muddle. Without the synopsis, I would be lost. This is general confused filmmaking. It needs some better exposition. It needs clarity. I don't know who's shooting who half the time and then somebody sets off an avalanche for a crazy scheme. It is good for a fun B-movie work with miniatures. This should not be that bad. It's more that it's made that way. It's derivative and I blame most of it on the filmmakers.

After going to wiki, it mentions that both the director and Robert Shaw died during production. That probably explains everything.

This film takes place during the cold war with an extremely high-ranking Soviet officer by the name of "General Marenkov" (Robert Shaw) secretly expressing his desire to defect. Naturally, being quite receptive to this idea the Americans send in one of their top agents named "Harry Wargrave" (Lee Marvin) to expedite it. However, there is another military officer by the name of "Colonel Nikolai Bunin" (Maximilian Schell) who specializes in germ warfare and he has a plan which could wreak havoc on Europe so a plan is concocted to use General Marenkov as bait to flush out Colonel Bunin's agents stationed in Western Europe to prevent him from enacting his deadly scheme. The problem is that Colonel Bunin has a lot of agents and he can strike at almost any time of his choosing. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a rather odd movie which lacked the depth and realism required for a film of this sort. Likewise, I didn't care for the acting of Robert Shaw and it was only after watching the movie that I discovered that not only was he was exceedingly ill during this time but that most of his lines had to be dubbed during production as well. In any case, while I don't consider this to be a bad spy-thriller necessarily, the faults just mentioned were too obvious to be ignored and for that reason I have rated this movie accordingly. Slightly below average.