Question 1

Which actor's real-life WWII POW experience informed his role in Von Ryan's Express?

Accepted Answer

Michael Goodliffe, who plays Capt. Stein, was a prisoner of war during WWII, captured at Dunkirk and spending five years in a German POW camp.

Question 2

What personal connection did the author of Von Ryan's Express have to the story's setting?

Accepted Answer

Author David Westheimer was a navigator on a B-24 shot down over Italy in WWII and was a POW in Stalag Luft III, witnessing the bombing of Bolzano from a box car.

Question 3

What happened to Frank Sinatra's leather jacket after Von Ryan's Express?

Accepted Answer

The leather jacket Frank Sinatra wore was later worn by Bob Crane in Hogan's Heroes (1965) and then by Greg Kinnear in Auto Focus (2002).

Question 4

Why was the Italian POW camp for Von Ryan's Express built in California instead of Italy?

Accepted Answer

Studio head Richard D. Zanuck decided to have the Italian POW camp constructed in California, flying the crew back to Hollywood at great expense. It was also used for an episode of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.

Question 5

What 1965 James Bond connection does one of Von Ryan's Express actors have?

Accepted Answer

Adolfo Celi, who plays Major Battaglia, became iconic that same year after playing the one-eyed villain Largo in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965).

Von Ryan's Express

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