Von Ryan's Express

Von Ryan's Express (1965) is a World War II action film you can watch online on iFILM, directed by Mark Robson and starring Frank Sinatra as Colonel Joseph Ryan. Shot down over Italy in 1943, Ryan lands in a POW camp as the highest-ranking officer — and immediately rubs the British prisoners the wrong way by making deals with the guards rather than pushing back.

When Italy's armistice suddenly collapses the camp, Ryan has minutes to turn a fractious group of prisoners into something that moves together. The plan: seize a German freight train and drive it north through the entire length of occupied Italy toward the Swiss border. The Germans catch on fast and put a pursuit train on the parallel track. Every station is a checkpoint. Every stop is a negotiation at gunpoint. Ryan has to improvise the escape almost car by car.

Based on David Westheimer's novel, the film is built around momentum — the kind that makes 117 minutes feel shorter than they are. Sinatra plays Ryan as a man who makes hard calls without flinching and lives with whatever comes next. Stream Von Ryan's Express online on iFILM.