Avalanche Express

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.