Avalanche Express

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

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.

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.

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.

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.