How a 1965 war film helped save 20th Century Fox from financial ruin
In short: Following the disastrous reception of Cleopatra, 20th Century Fox needed a massive hit. They turned to a gritty World War II novel about Allied prisoners hijacking a train. The resulting film, starring Frank Sinatra, became a box office triumph that proved the studio could still deliver epic, large-scale cinema.
In 1965, 20th Century Fox was reeling from the critical and financial fallout of the extravagant Cleopatra. To restore its reputation, the studio invested heavily in Von Ryan's Express, a production based on David Westheimer's 1964 novel. Unlike typical studio films of the era that relied on backlots, the production shot extensively on location in Italy, even constructing a full-scale prison camp on the studio's front lot to ensure verisimilitude.
The film follows Colonel Joseph Ryan, a USAAF pilot who assumes command of British prisoners in an Italian camp. After Italy surrenders, the prisoners hijack a train to escape toward neutral Switzerland, leading to a high-stakes chase through German-occupied territory. The production utilized authentic aircraft and trains, with the Italian State Railway providing a complete train for the shoot. For the dramatic final sequence, the crew moved to Spain, filming in the limestone gorge of El Chorro to capture a more visually striking bridge than any found in Italy.
Frank Sinatra, who had originally hoped to purchase the film rights himself, insisted on several changes, including a darker ending than the book and the use of Panavision. Despite rumors of friction between Sinatra and director Mark Robson, the film was a major success. It grossed over $17 million at the North American box office, comfortably exceeding the $12.6 million in rentals required for the studio to break even. It was ranked the 10th-highest-grossing film of 1965 and remains Sinatra's most successful film of that decade.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Von Ryan's Express
- Also: Wikidata — Von Ryan's Express · CC0
- Also: Wikidata — Von Ryan's Express · CC0
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