Set in 1873 aboard a train carrying vital medicine panniers along a long rout across snowy mountains and narrow passes . Then , the people on the train start dying mysteriously , one by one . The obvious suspense deals with a bandit who is detained by a Sheriff : Ben Johnson , as he is a mysterious outlaw : Bronson , as a killer under arrest . The mystery man results to be the main suspect but things go wrong . Then , at the Breakheart Pass -a location in Nevada's Rocky Mountains through which trains must pass- takes place moving and violent happenings . Stirring , exciting and consistently enjoyable Western , being an agreeable combination of mystery movie , Western and whodunnit ; including thrills , violence , shootouts , a lot of killings and inherent dynamism as opposed to weightily set up action pieces . Aficionados of this sort of stories will know that's too easy , but the main problem is that , as soon as someone comes under suspicion , quickly gets bumped off . The action pieces are well paced , and filmmaker keeps the fast-movement tumbling across the screen . It includes spectacular pursuits on the train in which the pursued protagonists cross impressive wood bridges , landscapes , rivers and mountains ; in addition , being set in Nevada ; however , the film was actually shot in Idaho . This is a typical adventure with all the usual failings : minimal characterization , too much script , twists and too little real events . This one arranges to mingle essential ¨Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians¨ with murders on a train ¨a la¨ basic Orient Express¨style¨being set in the old west . Based on a novel by bestselling writer Alistair McLean ; this American film packs habitual combination included on his books , as foolish as well as terrible dialogue , moving action , breathtaking locations and colorful characters . This film is particularly emphasized for some fight images aboard the train between two-fisted guy Charles Bronson and the hunk Archie Moore ; it was performed without stunt doubles. Other films based on his novels are the followings : ¨Force 10 Navarone¨, ¨ Guns of Navarone ¨, ¨ Puppet on chain ¨, ¨ When the eagles dare ¨ , ¨Operation Polar Zebra¨ , ¨Station 3 Ultrasecret¨ and this ¨Breakheart pass¨ , among others . As always , Charles Bronson performs a tough and silent man in lame manner , as he plays an outlaw with a dak secret . This is one of a number of westerns that Bronson made during the mid- to late 1960s and early 1970s . These include westerns made during the seventies such as : Red sun (1971) by Terence Young , Chato (1972) by Michael Winner , From noon till three (1976) by Frank D Gilroy , Nevada Express (1975) by Tom Gries and White Buffalo (1977) by J. Lee Thompson , being most of them produced by Dino De Laurentiis . Bronson is well accompanied by a fine support cast , such as : his wife Jill Ireland, being ne of many films in which Charles Bronson co-starred with his early deceased spouse , Ben Johnson , Charles Durning , Ed Lauter ,Bill McKinney , David Huddleston , Robert Tessier , Roy Jenson , and a previous light heavyweight prizefighter boxing champ turned-actor Archie Moore, among others . Superbly photographed by Lucien Ballard on spectacular snowy outdoors and defiles from Camas Prairie Railroad, Lewiston, Idaho, Kalibab National Forest Arizona (Doubling for Nevada) and Williams, Arizona, USA . This cameraman when he's given the chance is awesome . Special mention for the rousing as well as evocative musical score by maestro Jerry Goldsmith , composed in his peculiar style . Goldsmith charging along to some of the best film soundtracks has ever written . The motion picture was professionally directed by Tom Gries , helped by his experienced second-unit aide Yakima Canutt , though flopped in theatres . Tom was an expert director of Western as this ¨Breakheart pass¨ also titled ¨Nevada Express¨ , ¨100 Rifles¨ , and ¨Will Penny¨ that is the best work ever made ; Gries also directed other successes as ¨Breakout¨, ¨The glass house¨ , ¨Helter Skelter¨ and TV series as ¨QBVII¨ , but he also made some real duds . His later output in other genres was routine.

Breakheart Pass is a wicked tough, badass Charles Bronson action vehicle steeped in the macho charm on the 1970's, and filled with ever changing photography as a train hurtles across the Nevada and Idaho mountains during a snowy winter. Onboard is John Deakins (Bronson), a dangerous outlaw being transported as prisoner to a remote, well guarded fort somewhere deep in the wilderness. Deakins isn't who he seems though, and neither is anyone else onboard for that matter. When a murder occurs, he takes it upon himself to wage a bloody crusade on everyone else in order to find the truth about what's going on, and the truth about their frozen voyage. Bronson is nails tough, doing some deliriously sketchy stunts and engaging in blessedly R rated, pretty intense violence for 70's standards. The cast is stacked, other passengers include Ed Lauren, David Huddleston, Richard Crenna, Charles Durning and Ben Johnson as the ruthless federal marshal in charge of Deakin's transport. A rock solid genre picture, thrilling, decked out in western production design and filled with savage, bullet ridden, bone breaking set pieces.

Let me start by saying that this movie is pretty damn good, and original, westerns are usually your typical tired old formula that you've seen done a billion times.The thing I like about this film is that it was a mystery story, that involves your intellect and it was smart and treats it's audience as smart and not like idiots, also give us something new.Charles Bronson is great in this film as Deacon, also the rest of the cast was very good in this I don't want to say anymore with out ruining it for you but this film was awesome.Overall, a great mystery-western that was original and made completely fresh, which I think was a nice change of pace, hopefully we'll get more original westerns like this.I give it a 7/10. It was nice seeing an original western that wasn't dumb or indifferent. I highly recommend it.

is the best way to describe 1976' "Breakheart Pass" with Charles Bronson. Bronson plays John Deakin, a prisoner on a train carrying medical supplies and soldiers through the Rockies to Fort Humboldt, California. Amongst its passengers are a territory governor (Richard Crenna), his mistress (Jill Ireland), a priest (Bill McKinney), a doctor (David Huddleston) and a U.S. Marshal (Ben Johnson). People start mysteriously dying on the train and they have no recourse but to turn to Deakin for assistance. Robert Tessier plays a heavy at the fort.I don't know why I put off seeing "Breakheart pass" all these years. Maybe it's because I read a lukewarm review in Brian Garfield's excellent guide "Western Films"; or maybe it's because I feared it would be another "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974), one of the dullest movies I've ever seen (you can barely make out a word of Finney's heavily accented dialogue), not to mention the totally absurd murder mystery (as the ending reveals) (still, it's worth catching just for the all-star cast and the lush train sets). Both films are murder mysteries that take place on steam-engine trains back in the day; the difference is that "Breakheart Pass" has a more interesting story and Western action, which is to be expected since it was written by Alistair MacLean.Speaking of action, the energetic climax with everyone chaotically running around – shooting people and exploding things -- is the film's weakest part as it doesn't completely work. Other than that, though, this is a standout Western and a must for all Western fans. Two highlights are the tragic wreck of the railway cars and the thrilling fight on top of the train.The film runs 95 minutes and was shot on or near the Camas Prairie Railroad, Lewiston, Idaho.GRADE: A-