(plane overhead)
(speaks German)
- Americano.
- S, americano.
(speaks German)
- (Italian)
- (German)
- (makes plane noise)
- Ah! Pilota!
(explosion)
(German)
(blow raspberries)
(drum roll)
(Italian)
Party, inward... turn!
Party... flag!
For as much as it hath pleased
Almighty God to take unto himself...
...the soul of our dear
brother here departed...
...we therefore commit his
body to the ground.
Uno, due, tre!
(gunshots)
(gunshots)
(# bugler plays "Taps")
Detail, outward... turn!
Detail... quick march!
Major Fincham, will you now
please dismiss your men? Please.
- Where is your commandant?
- As I told you, Major Battaglia is indisposed.
His orders are to disperse
immediately after the funeral.
(blows whistle)
- Major Fincham, please.
- Get that Fascist bastard out here!
Grazie.
- You'd better follow me, please, Colonel.
- Thanks, pal.
What are they celebrating out there?
Signor maggiore.
Ryan, Joseph L.
United States Army Air Corps. 0718359.
Don't you salute senior officers
in your army, Major?
- Are you the official interpreter?
- Yes, sir.
- Then interpret exactly. Clear?
- Yes, sir.
(repeats Ryan's question in Italian)
And add this: No wonder Italy's
losing the war, with officers like him.
Well?
(translates)
(men shouting) Battaglia! Battaglia!
Battaglia! Battaglia!
Battaglia! Battaglia! Battaglia!
Battaglia! Battaglia!
We have today buried
our commanding officer...
...Colonel Brian David Lockart!
The purpose of this parade
is to bear witness to his death...
...and charge the man responsible for it!
Major Battaglia!
The Ninth Fusiliers now formally charge you
with the murder of Colonel Lockart!
Come forward and meet your accusers!
(translates)
S, signor maggiore.
(men shout) Battaglia! Battaglia!
Follow me, please.
(men chant) Battaglia! Battaglia! Battaglia!
(shouts command in Italian)
(men continue chanting)
Major Fincham, unless you dismiss
your men now, it will be out of my hands.
- That swine hasn't the guts.
- You have left him no choice.
(men murmur)
You've shot one of my men!
He's fainted, sir. It's Ransom.
One of those from hospital.
Dismiss.
Parade... dismiss!
Captain Stein! One moment.
This is Colonel Ryan.
He needs your attention too.
- American.
- Army Air Corps.
Begging your pardon, sir.
Are we still beating them in Sicily?
- We took Messina three days ago.
- (men cheer)
- Are you reporting for sick parade, Sergeant?
- No, sir.
I'm still trying to get
what my boys have needed all along.
I'm afraid I still have the same answer
for you: There isn't any.
Easy, fellas. Easy.
Over here, Colonel.
The stool will do.
- Looks like you got a full house.
- And getting fuller, I'm afraid.
- What's the matter with these men?
- Malaria, scurvy.
Made worse by malnutrition.
- I've only alcohol for a disinfectant.
- Go right ahead, Doc.
How come you can't control
the malaria with drugs?
The Eyeties make no mepacrine.
The Eyeties grow food.
Get extra rations for your sick.
And clean up some of this filth.
And perhaps get 'em some clean uniforms.
Our diet and filth are Battaglia's
punishment for escape attempts.
He's taken our soap and razors,
turned off our shower baths...
...issued us with no uniforms or Red Cross
parcels, and kept us on half rations.
But he can't break us,
and he can't stop us trying to escape.
Even with the way
the war is going for us now?
Are you suggesting
we should knuckle under?
If that's what it takes, yes.
Liberation can only be a few weeks away.
Did you hear the colonel's
suggestion, fellas?
What do you think?
Well... meanin' no disrespect to him, sir...
...I'd say the colonel ought to muck off, sir.
- (murmurs of agreement)
I can't expect you to understand this,
but these men belong to the Ninth Fusiliers.
This regiment fought
with Marlborough in 1704...
...with Wellington against Napoleon,
and in the Crimea.
These men are all volunteers, professionals,
and they've come to fight a war.
It may come as news to you, Major,
but that's why we're all here.
Yes, but each in his different way. You
ought to know that. You're a professional.
Negative. I'm what they call at home
a 90-day wonder.
- I'm an airplane driver. My business is flying.
- Ours is soldiering.
OK, clue me. Suppose you do rig an escape.
How many men do you figure to get clear?
- Colonel Ryan, if one gets out, it's a victory.
- Sure it is.
Can somebody show me where I bunk?
- Sergeant Major.
- Sir?
- Escort Colonel Ryan to his quarters.
- Yes, sir.
We dine at six, sir.
- Major.
- This way, Colonel.
Sergeant Bostick, sir. 113th Tank Division.
This is Corporal Giannini, and Private Ames.
The reason we didn't say anything to you
in the sickbay, we wanted to get you alone.
They've all gone to mess.
- Are you cold, son?
- It's that damn malaria.
Don't knock it, Bostick. You ever have it,
Colonel? The fever makes you dream.
And, man, what dreams!
You know what I mean, sir?
- No. What?
- Well, they...
Hey. He's pretty sharp, huh?
You're a welcome sight, sir.
We need an American officer real bad.
- How many of us are there?
- Eight. We've lost two.
And if we don't get some decent grub and
medicine, that's gonna double and triple.
That's tough. From what I've seen,
everybody's in the same boat.
Sure, because the guys running it
are section eight.
Those stir-crazy limey officers
are trying to fight the war from in here.
They got so many tunnels dug,
you could fall into one.
- You expect me to keep them from digging?
- You got the rank for it, sir.
Don't get us wrong, sir. Nobody's here to
defend Battaglia. He's a two-bit Mussolini.
But if they'd let up, he would too.
With Sicily gone, our guys will come through
Italy like shoe polish through a tin horn.
All we gotta do is get healthy,
sit tight and wait.
These people have been here for two years.
I just got here. I need time to check this out.
Not too long. Please, sir.
Three of my boys are just about gone now.
Colonel Ryan, this is Captain Costanzo,
our regimental chaplain.
- Lieutenant Orde.
- Lieutenant.
- Delighted, Colonel Ryan.
- Please sit down. Sorry I kept you waiting.
Colonel Lockart always sat here.
I'll be fine right here. Thank you.
Major, if you don't mind talking about it,
how did your colonel buy it?
He struck Battaglia with his stick.
Do you see that sweatbox there?
Colonel Lockart died in there last night.
Which makes you
the senior officer of this camp.
My regiment will await your orders.
It's still your regiment, Major.
Thank you, sir.
It's made from pumpkins, you know.
Just a little different, don't you think?
We couldn't help noticing
where you sat, Colonel.
It took 200 years to make officers
like those. It took me 90 days.
- They're nuts, sir.
- It's their ball game.
- We're still shut out.
- We did as good with a sergeant.
Now we got us a bird colonel.
A bird colonel outranks a birdbrain. Clear?
- Anything else, Sergeant?
- No, sir.
Bird is right. Chicken.
OK, OK. Now we know we're on our own.
- Do you feel up to a bit of running, sir?
- Running?
Dodging the lights, I mean.
It's pretty important.
- What the hell is this?
- Earth, sir, from the tunnel.
We reckon the barracks ceiling can hold
two tons of it if we spread it around right.
Sorry to ask you to make this trip,
but I thought you ought to be here.
Your countrymen were caught
trying to steal supplies.
- What supplies, Major?
- Escape rations. See for yourself.
These men are thieves.
But since they're Americans,
I wanted your approval to punish them.
- What's your side?
- My boys need things from those parcels, sir.
- Food. And more important, mepacrine.
- That true, Major?
Perfectly. But these men are thieves
and should be punished.
Negative. These men are sick. You've also got
50 men in sickbay with the same disease.
- What the hell are you doing about that?
- War produces casualties, Colonel.
Everyone in camp's been exposed to malaria.
The only way a man has a chance of escape is
for him to have mepacrine to keep him going.
Forget the punishment, Major. Bostick,
get these men outta here. See me later.
- My boys are sick, sir.
- Out.
- Major, move those parcels to the sickbay.
- What did you say?
- That's a direct order.
- Damn your direct order!
I'm the ranking officer here. You'll deliver
those parcels tonight. Is that clear, mister?
You'd better know what you're doing,
unless you want a mutiny on your hands.
Mutiny in the Ninth Fusiliers?
Wellington and Marlborough would
spin in their graves, Major, what?
(counting in Italian)
321 present, 83 in hospital,
404 men present or accounted for.
- You may dismiss.
- If you don't mind, Captain...
...I'm assuming command
as senior officer of the camp.
That is, of course, between you.
I will inform Major Battaglia.
I'd rather do that personally.
Will you take me to him?
Rest the men, Major, but keep them here.
Stand at... ease!
Stand easy.
(# classical music)
- (knocking)
- Avanti!
(announces Colonel Ryan in Italian)
(speaks in Italian)
My major warns you that he has
no patience left with the prisoners.
By taking command, you have become
personally responsible for their actions.
Good.
And tell him that, from now on, things will
be much more different than they've been.
(translates)
(Italian)
You have made a good impression
on the major.
- But he warns you against trying to trick him.
- Never. Of course not.
Ask the major to come with me now. I'll prove
how different things'll be around this camp.
(translates)
(Italian)
(Italian)
(prisoners grumble)
What in heaven's name is he doing?
What does it look like?
Ryan!
Ryan!
Ryan, you can't do this.
You can't do this to anyone.
- I'm glad you could join us, Major.
- If you betray us, you'll pay for it.
You're just in time to watch. Have the men
turn about face so they can watch too. Major?
Sergeant Bostick, rip up that shower floor.
Parade... about... turn!
- (angry shouts)
- All right. Now hear this.
While I'm in command, anyone attempting
to escape will be held for court martial.
- Clear?
- (angry outburst)
Stand steady on parade!
You'll get the Nazi Iron Cross
for this, Von Ryan!
By order of the commandant, the showers
will be turned on at 1200 hours.
Razors will be provided
and delousing powder issued.
Beginning tonight, Red Cross parcels
will be distributed once a week.
- You may dismiss the parade.
- Not so fast, Captain.
What about the clothing in the Red Cross
parcels in that storage house?
- (Italian)
- I advise you to forget this matter.
Sure, because Battaglia's got a black market
going in Red Cross clothes. Right?
You tell this man I trusted him
as a gentleman. I want those clothes.
(speaking Italian)
I'm sorry. The major says
he cannot issue... wine.
Wine? Who the hell said anything
about wine? I'm talking about clothes.
It's for your own good, Colonel.
You let yourself be bought
pretty cheaply, didn't you?
Louse powder and hot water? Hah!
- Orde, dismiss the men.
- I'll tell you when to dismiss, Lieutenant.
Bostick, tear the door off that bathhouse,
and use anything else you might need.
Right, sir.
Major Fincham, you will give
an order for the men to strip.
Strip. Understand? Naked.
Parade... strip.
Now take off all of those rags. All of them!
And, Major, that goes for
the officers as well.
Pass thatjunk from the rear to the front
of the line and throw it in the fire!
(laughter)
(Italian)
Captain Costanzo, I said strip.
Sir, I take being
a member of the cloth literally.
(men laugh)
I bow to your convictions, Captain.
- Here comes II Duce!
- Attention!
(shouting in Italian)
The major feels the fire
should be put out at once.
- Tell him we have no firefighting equipment.
- (translates)
(Italian)
- (whistle)
- (laughter)
(Italian)
- He says you are no gentleman, Colonel.
- Only by an act of Congress.
Now what about the clothing?
(Italian)
(Italian)
The prisoners will be issued clothing,
Colonel Ryan.
But you, sir, I'm afraid, must follow me.
(shouts order in Italian)
Good show, Colonel!
Major Fincham!
You may dismiss when ready.
(faraway voices)
(lock being opened)
(Bostick) We made it, Colonel. Our guys
landed at Salerno. Italy's surrendered.
That's great. Just great.
Yeah. Our guys are ready to shove off, but
these limeys back here are giving us trouble.
Hello, sir. Are you all right?
Could you come right away? There's trouble.
- There are no guards.
- They bolted during the night.
Major Fincham took Battaglia prisoner.
He's court-martialling him.
Let the regimental records show Captain
Stein appearing as defending officer...
...Lieutenant Orde as prosecuting officer.
Major Fincham presiding.
If the court pleases.
- Colonel Ryan, this is no affair of yours.
- I'm still the senior officer in this camp.
We're holding a summary court martial
exactly according to regulations.
What happens when you find him guilty,
according to regulations?
- He will be hanged.
- That'll be murder. He's now a civilian.
No, sir. We're still at war,
and the enemy is still the enemy.
- (man) I say hang him!
- (shouts of agreement)
Major, release this man.
Oriani, get him outta here.
- (uproar)
- The parade will stand at ease!
(pleading in Italian)
- (Battaglia continues pleading)
- (hostile shouting)
The major begs me to say that...
...he never meant you harm.
It was Mussolini and his Fascists
who forced him to be harsh.
Now it's all finished for Italy.
- Let the killing be finished too.
- (murmurs from crowd)
You want your revenge with this?
I wantjustice.
Not only for Colonel Lockart and the other
dead, but for those of us who are still alive.
We're 200 miles behind the lines.
I say not only military justice but military
sense dictates we cannot turn this man loose.
- (men) Aye!
- There's a better way, Major.
- You all wantjustice?
- (men) Yes!
Then do to him what he did to your colonel.
Put him in a sweatbox to rot.
- No!
- (men) Yes!
(cheering)
You fool.
- You soft-headed, sentimental fool.
- That's privilege of rank, Major.
Damn your rank. If letting that scum live
costs the life of one of my men, I promise...
(plane)
Scatter! Hit the deck! Hit the deck!
He pinpointed us. We'd better move quick.
- Brilliant, Colonel. Where?
- We're a day's march from the coast.
- I could contact your navy.
- Move 400 men in daylight? You're mad.
- I'll lead you.
- Why should you?
You think you hate the Germans
more than I do?
- It's worth a chance.
- I don't trust the Eyeties.
But I'm in command here
and I say we move - now.
Halt!
German convoy! Everybody down!
Those ruins could hide a thousand men.
Let them rest there for the night
while I go ahead and contact the ships.
How much farther to the coast?
Five... perhaps six miles.
I should be back well before dawn.
That's as pretty a place for a trap
as I've ever seen.
Good luck, Oriani. We'll be
waiting for you. Now let's go.
(pounding)
(vehicle approaching)
(shouting in German)
(German)
(German)
(pounding)
(pounding continues)
(German)
(German)
(Italian)
Kamerad.
(whistle)
Face it, Yank.
Your little Eyetie chum has deserted us.
We're left in a box.
(sentry) Colonel!
- Something's moving!
- (gunshots)
Out! Out!
- Germans! Scatter!
- (gunshots)
Scatter! Scatter! Come on!
(German)
(shouts orders in German)
(shouts in German)
(shouts in German)
(shouts in German)
OK. Now.
Hold it. Hold it!
Colonel Ryan, Major Fincham, Captain Stein
and Costanzo, Lieutenant Orde - the front car.
I'm a doctor. I stay with the wounded.
They will remain behind so we can care
for them properly. Get aboard, gentlemen.
That little Eyetie bastard Oriani
led us to the railhead and turned us in.
(speaking in Italian)
It was that pig who betrayed us!
I'll kill you!
- (machine-gun fire)
- (men screaming)
They've cared for our wounded properly now.
The poor bastards.
Just cos you let Battaglia live!
You'll get your Iron Cross now, Von Ryan.
(train gets ready to move)
Hey, the roads are full of Germans.
It means we must still be headed north.
You can bet on it, Yank. Von Ryan's got us
all a one-way ticket to the Fatherland.
- (men) Yeah!
- Aw, blow it out your barracks bag, mate.
Listen, I'll take you on any time you like!
(train whistle)
We are coming in to Rome.
(soldier shouts in German)
I am Major von Klement,
now in command of this prison train.
You will be in my charge
until we reach the final destination.
You have now 30 minutes for rest, relief,
and there is food and water for all.
Major von Klement?
Captain Oriani is an Italian officer. He's not
a prisoner of war. He doesn't belong with us.
- I have my orders.
- (soldier shouts in German)
(train whistle)
Heil Hitler.
The guards are on top again.
They're not needed here
as far as we're concerned.
No chance of our tunnelling
through this coop, Von Ryan.
(clanging)
(clanging continues)
Say, Doc, you got a knife
in that manicuring kit of yours?
Are you planning
to snip your way through it?
No.
I'm planning to tunnel my way through it.
Do you mind, Major?
No, no, Colonel, wait. Wait until...
until the wheels hit cross tracks.
It will cover the sound of
the wood breaking.
It's impossible to get out
while we are moving.
- And when we stop, the guards will patrol.
- If it's dark when we stop, I'll risk it.
- What about the rest? If one goes, we all go.
- Do we, now? Mind telling me how?
- We'll have to eliminate the guards.
- Brilliant!
They have machine pistols
and we have bare hands.
If we could take one gun from one guard...
Oriani?
Turn around.
Go on. Just turn around.
Learn that from the cowboy films, did you?
You got a better idea?
It would take you too long
to strangle a man, Colonel Ryan.
The average Nazi would get impatient
while you were doing it.
Orde.
The knots smash his larynx, the knee
breaks his back. He's dead in 15 seconds.
Thug garrotte - India.
All right, then. Now what's your scheme?
(train whistle)
(shouts in Italian)
If you haven't the guts for it, I'll do it.
(train whistle)
(train slows down)
We're stopping again.
Something must have gone wrong.
- Perhaps they've been caught.
- Take it easy, Padre.
(train slows to a halt)
(Italian)
(German)
(German)
- There's a station up ahead.
- Wait.
- Someone might be watching.
- It's a chance we'll take.
The guards are on this side.
Open the door on that side.
- What kind of insanity...
- Knock it off.
- Get the men on the roof right away.
- Right, sir.
If you fail, the Germans
won't have to kill you. I will.
Shut up.
Shh. Shh.
Bostick, you follow me with half the men.
Dunbar, spread out with the rest. Move. Quiet.
(Germans chatting)
(shouting in Italian)
Let's turn 'em loose.
(train whistle)
- Can we get moving?
- The engineer's alive but not the fireman.
- I can stoke the boiler, sir.
- Get Oriani up with the engineer.
- Send the chaplain and the doctor here.
- Yes, sir. Get those bodies in the boxcar!
(Ryan) Get this stiff in the boxcar.
Get those bods in quick!
(train whistle)
Move, you people! Come on, move!
- (whistles)
- (Italian)
Ten more minutes... Of all the luck!
He'll have to stop for water, same as we did.
By the time he gets goin' we'll be miles away.
(Fincham) Damn thing's right behind us.
Can you bring him around? We'll need him.
(gasps)
Come on. Come on!
All the comforts of home.
Please. I am Italian.
I have done nothing. Please.
- What on earth are you doing here, my child?
- Padre, you're priceless.
Don't you think she ought to
get dressed while we discuss it?
He's right. Go on, girl. No
one will hurt you.
Now, about some questions, Major.
- May I rise?
- Of course.
I will answer no questions, Herr Oberst.
Major... All your guards are dead.
We're running this train now.
I want the schedule of when and where we're
gonna get that food you promised us. Clear?
- Florence at 0600 hours.
- And what happens in Florence?
The train will stop in the rail complex
and the prisoners can dismount.
Colonel Ryan! Colonel, look!
Looks like we're headed for Innsbruck.
What do these circles mean, Major?
I am to receive instructions in those cities
from the dispatchers. I, myself. No one else.
Did you receive those instructions
through that radio there?
- No. It is a simple commercial radio.
- All right. Over there.
Lieutenant, if he wiggles,
put a hole in him.
(train whistle)
- They're keeping pace with us.
- A German troop train is on this schedule.
Gentlemen, you have been very daring.
Yet what have you gained?
In Florence, other troops are waiting.
You have been brave.
If you now wish to be sensible, I will see
that you are treated with respect in Florence.
We had a sample of your Nazi respect
when we boarded this train.
- Still, you have no choice.
- And nothing to lose by trying to make one.
(reads in fluent German)
Von Klement's identification papers and
railroad priority, good as far as Florence.
- You do very well with German, Padre.
- I studied in Germany.
I went to Breslau after Oxford.
Would the dispatcher in Florence
recognise the major by sight?
(laughs)
- He'd be an Italian, wouldn't he?
- Of course! Under German supervision.
- And I think you're lying.
- I'd say, with the country in such a flap...
...the chances that the dispatcher
will ask for identification is pretty small.
Will ask whom? I mean,
you just said just now...
- Yes. It'll just have to be the chance we take.
- You are extremely foolish!
- Quite right.
- Oh, no. But I...
But... look at this picture!
I don't look remotely like this chap.
No, no. I won't do it.
I won't do it. Absolutely not.
- Heil Hitler!
- That's better. Now let's see you walk.
- It won't work, you know.
- Yes, it will. Let's see you walk.
Put some style into it. Hand on your hip.
The Boche have style.
Slap your gloves against your leg.
(speaks in German)
(German)
- Heil Hitler!
- Heil Hitler.
Gut. Sehr gut.
I think you had him goin' there, vicar.
You all set?
Yes, sir. I came over the tops of the cars to
check. 14 of our guys are stationed as guards.
The rest of the uniforms were too bloody.
- Did you get rid of the bodies?
- While we were passing over the last bridge.
(train whistle)
(Italian)
(shouts in German)
(train approaching)
(officer shouts in German)
The lieutenant wants our men down
from the top of the train, to be fed first.
If they get down, we're dead.
They can't speak German.
We've had it.
Crikey! Ain't that our vicar?
(officer shouts in German)
(German)
(German)
(German)
(shouts order in German)
Better check our lovebirds.
(glass smashes)
(man speaking in German)
- Heil Hitler.
- Heil Hitler.
(German)
(German)
(German)
Heil Hitler!
Heil Hitler.
(German)
- (Orde) Here they come!
- (Stein) My God, they've done it!
Well done, Padre. You've done it.
My God, you've done it.
Believe it or not, the poor devil's fainted.
They must be moving
a couple of divisions south.
From the map, we'll be away
from the main roads by dark.
The men could be gone in ten minutes.
How do we get ten minutes
with that troop train only five behind us?
- It could turn off at Bologna.
- Or follow us straight to Berlin.
Escaped? We haven't escaped. All we're
doing is this bastard's job for him.
Exactly. And in Verona, which is marked by
an X on the map, I will be properly grateful.
At Verona, both the train crew and
guard detail is scheduled to be changed.
That's if we go to Verona.
Look here.
Suppose, when we get to Bologna, we...
...we could pass it and go
to the left into Milano.
(laughs) And you go, hm?
Perhaps on American railroads, yes?
But this train is under the orders
of the German high command.
Such things are not possible.
To reroute a military train...
...requires a written order signed by
a member of the general staff, Colonel.
Major, yours is not the only army
that works in triplicate forms.
Obergruppenfhrer Wilhelm von Kleist.
- Does that mean general staff?
- It does indeed.
Well, now. We've got a pad full of blank
forms and we've got a typewriter.
- I say! Wizard!
- We can't be any worse off than we are now.
Quite.
Let's say we type an order to Klement here.
Upon arriving in Bologna,
he's told to go to Milan...
...where he is given confidential
instructions from Gruppenfhrer...
- Give me a good Aryan name.
- Um... Ottfried. Johann Heinrich.
Gruppenfhrer Heinrich, who is in charge
of a trainload of sealed boxcars...
...to be delivered to somebody...
big, important.
- Fatso Goering.
- Der dicke Hermann. Brilliant!
- Loot for the Reichsmarschall.
- Major?
It might do. It's got enough nerve -
I'll give you that.
And we have it signed by our good friend
from general staff, Wilhelm von Kleist.
(Costanzo says date in German)
(arguing in Italian)
(speaks Italian)
(heated argument in Italian)
- Amerikanisch, nicht?
- Ja.
(German)
(German)
(German)
Hauptmann Joseph Sonneberg, Herr Major.
Danke sehr.
- Heil Hitler.
- Heil Hitler.
Give this to the engineer.
(Ryan whispers) Gestapo.
- How long is it now?
- Ten minutes, and my pulse is up 12 points.
(knocking)
- How'd it go?
- Piece of cake.
Leave it. Everybody stay low.
Gestapo. Get those blinds up.
Gestapo.
(speaks German)
(German)
(German)
(German)
(German)
Nylon.
(German)
Amerikanische Zigaretten.
Ja.
That chap ought to be
reported to his superiors.
That's the end of ruddy that.
Colonnello.
- We have found it.
- Found what?
We have found a place to leave the train.
An abandoned branch line halfway to Milano.
Come on. Let's have a look.
Looks to be about...
...90 miles.
- We'll get there by 2100 hours.
- Add half an hour, to stop for water.
- That's better still. It'll be good and dark.
- By morning, 90% of your men will be dead.
We don't need him any more. Or her either.
Don't flinch. If you haven't
the stomach for it, it'll be my pleasure.
- I'll decide that.
- Like with Battaglia?
- That was different.
- I intend it to be.
- You'll take your orders, Major!
- I'm afraid not.
- For God's sake! These are people!
- People don't shoot wounded!
But they do commit murder in cold blood?
Are you that far gone?
May I go to my compartment now?
Yes, of course.
You haven't had any food
since we took over the train.
- I'm not hungry.
- Of course you are. Here, take it. Relax.
You cannot hide it. I know you will do
what the British major wants.
You mean to kill you both?
It is the right thing.
In your place, I would do it.
No, you wouldn't. You're not that tough.
- Then what do you want?
- Nothing.
Not to help me?
If I can, yes.
That is what all men say.
How old are you?
The first was the same man
who helped my mother.
I was not yet confirmed then.
Such things do not happen in America?
- Why are you with this German?
- For food, for clothing. To stay alive.
- Is that all?
- There is a war, you know.
Yeah.
How did you say it?
Relax?
You think my legs are too thin?
Why don't you close the door?
I will.
On the way out.
(crowd shouts abuse)
- (soldier) We need water! We're hungry too!
- Knock it off in there!
- If they knew what was going on, they would.
- They'll just have to sweat it out.
(shouts abuse in Italian)
What the hell are we waiting for now?
(gunshots)
Come on!
They're gone. They're not here.
He's dead.
Back! Back! Get up on top!
- We can't leave them behind to talk.
- Cover that side. Work up toward the engine.
- (speaks Italian)
- (pulls whistle)
(screaming)
(engineer pulls whistle)
Get back!
All right. Let's move.
Get this train moving now!
Don't run away!
Get your hands off me
or I'll blow your head off!
(speaks German)
(phone rings)
(German)
(German)
(German)
These tracks have quite a shine
for not having been used.
Something's been running on this spur.
(speaks Italian)
These tracks have been used recently.
But we don't know what's ahead.
It's deserted here. Let's get cracking.
- Last stop, Colonel?
- Last stop, soldier. Everybody out.
All cars unload!
(planes approaching)
- Those are not German planes.
- American?
No. British. Lancaster, I think.
Sorry to turn you out in the middle
of nowhere, but it can't be helped.
Now, head for the mountains or the sea.
We'll form up again and have another crack
at Jerry. Off you go, lads. Good luck.
(bombing)
Everybody back on the train!
Back on the train!
Get back! Get back on the train!
Come on, move! Back! Get in!
Come on, move! Back!
Oriani!
Take this train outta here! Go! Go! Come on!
- Let the coward go!
- (Italian)
(shouts in Italian)
- Stop the train!
- (Oriani repeats order in Italian)
(shouting and screaming)
Bostick! Bostick!
- Injured to the lounge car!
- Tell Oriani to cut the burning cars loose!
- Where's Oriani? We're ready to roll.
- Roll? Roll where?
Three dead, and the rest need better help than
I can give 'em. Maybe it's the end of the line.
Colonnello.
This man thinks he can get us through.
- What are you talking about?
- Switzerland. The whole train. All of us.
- Switzerland?
- You're mad. You're all raving mad.
Here. North of Milano,
where the track forks.
Since the war, all traffic
goes right, into Germany.
But the left fork, the old Maloja Pass
route, goes to Switzerland.
In a matter of hours
we could be over the border and free.
- You know, it's possible.
- Yeah, maybe, but... Milano - that's the key.
- You think we can fool 'em again?
- The engineer says there is a way.
On the outskirts of Milano is a control tower
at the beginning of the traffic complex.
This tower controls the whole Milano area.
If we can capture it and smash the signals,
the main station, here...
...will not know where we are until they
repair it, but by then it will be too late.
We can go through Milano without stopping?
Yes. The engineer says it can be done.
Let's move.
(whistle)
(German)
(German)
(Ryan whistles)
Come on! Come on!
Let's go!
(speaks German)
(speaks Italian)
(speaks Italian)
Soon we cross back into the complex. If the
power is back on, we will show on the board.
By then it will be full speed.
Too late for anyone to stop us.
(officer shouting orders in German)
(German)
(train whistle)
- Can't this damn thing go any faster?
- Not before we reach the top of the pass.
From there it's downgrade
all the way to Switzerland.
Shouldn't we go a bit slower?
If they've blocked the line ahead...
- Keep it wide open. Let's move it.
- (speaks Italian)
Ryan.
- Whether we make it or not...
- We're gonna make it, Major.
What I'm trying to say is
I'm sorry it had to be you with the girl.
(shouting in Italian)
(engineer pulls whistle)
- Hey, mate, look! The Alps!
- We made it!
Now that we're over the hump, sir, Major
Fincham, I figured you'd want your stuff too.
Pepino! Pepino!
(German)
(German)
(German)
Messerschmitt!
He's trying to blow the engine.
Here comes his chum.
There's another one!
(fighter planes approach)
(speaks Italian)
Oriani!
(Fincham) OK, let's go.
- (Ryan) What the hell's he saying?
- (speaks Italian)
That footbridge leads around the mountain!
It's shorter than the tunnel to the other side.
- Fincham, get them moving on the catwalk.
- Follow me! Everybody follow me!
Move it! Move it!
(cheering)
- (Fincham) Come on, lads! Come on!
- Come on! Come on!
All right. Back! Back to the trestle!
Back!
Looks like they're takin' off.
Let's see those glasses.
No wonder they're takin' off. Let's go.
(speaking Italian)
What about the German
troop train back there?
- We have guns. We will stop them.
- Then what?
- He says we can replace the damaged track.
- Replace it with what?
It's simple. Remove track
from behind the train - put it here.
Well, then let's get the troop train!
All those with Schmeissers, follow me!
This one's much too long.
Take that one there. Hurry up.
Clear this off! Clear this off! Hurry!
Pull! Pull!
- (Italian)
- Come on, hurry!
Come on, quick! That'll do it!
Move it!
Come on!
(train approaching)
(shouting in German)
(shouts in German)
It didn't work! Back! Back!
Get back! Back!
(footsteps)
Fire!
(gunfire)
Come on, come on! Get it up!
Come on, hurry!
Let's pull back! Back!
(shouts in German)
(shouts in German)
Watch it! Over here! Stop!
Keep down! Hold your fire!
Fire!
Cease firing! Fall back!
- They'll try to outflank us now, huh?
- If they haven't already.
- Give me those grenades. I'll take some men.
- No. You're needed here.
Bostick, come with me.
Run!
(gunfire)
(gunfire)
Grenade!
(train whistle)
(engineer pulling whistle)
- (gunfire)
- Back!
(gunfire)
There they are!
Come on, Ryan!
Come on, Major! Give me your hand!
Hurry!
Come on! Faster!
(Fincham) I once told you, Ryan,
if only one gets out, it's a victory.