Tom Gries is not a well known director and, judging from this effort, deservedly so. With a very limited actor, Charles Bronson, as the lead, the film begins with much too modern credits for its time, its soundtrack is equally anachonistic, and by and large all performers look uneasy.Screenplay does not help. Bronson begins by playing an alleged convict who is tied to a corner but, before you know it, he is going up and down the train conducting an in depth investigation without anyone apparently wising up to it, apart from a cook with whom he trades punches atop the train.Crenna is predictably the smooth villain, Edward Albert not so predictably the good soldier, and Jill Ireland is as beautiful as she is exceedingly limited as an actress, and the rest of the cast takes turns coming on and disappearing.I could not wait for the end of this totally forgettable flick.

95 minutes of action packed excitement. A train traveling through the Pacific northwest heading to a diphtheria ridden military outpost is full of characters who are never what they first appear to be. Wanted man Charles Bronson is being escorted by ornery lawman Ben Johnson. Governor Richard Crenna is bringing gal-pal Jill Ireland to see her father and soldier Ed Lauter is suspicious of everyone. None of these people turn out to be what you think they are and that's the fun of this tightly wound Alistair MacLean thriller. Bronson, steely eyed and ever intense turns out to the hero while most of the remaining cast turn out to be ruthless criminals. Directed by the ever efficient Tom Gries and featuring an appropriately rousing Jerry Goldsmith score. The supporting cast also includes Charles Durning, Archie Moore and David Huddleston.

Classic old Charles Bronson Western. Considering its age, it's got decent acting, decent plot, and decent film work. Nothing spectacular, nothing great, but, and there's that word again, decent entertainment. I grew up on this stuff, so there's the added nostalgia factor at work for me; however, my conscience is completely clear recommending this movie if you're looking for a solid, basically conventional, older Western. For me, there's the added bonus that they couldn't rely on computer-generated special effects way back then and actually had to build and wreck stuff outside of the matrix. Mockingly, I feel the need to suggest that they must have gone through gallons and gallons of ketchup simulating blood while filming this movie, or, possibly, people actually used to bleed ketchup and somehow it just escapes my memory (there must be a vampire joke in there somewhere about humans and condiments). So, summarizing, while it's a bit of a throw-away movie, it's done well enough that you're unlikely to feel like you've lost a portion of your life to it. Maybe that's a backhanded compliment, but, from bitter and unfortunate experience, it's still a worthwhile compliment.

American film 'Breakheart Pass' is a highly entertaining western film about the death defying adventures of some passengers on a moving train. It has been directed by Tom Gries who is best remembered by fans of westerns for one of his successful films "100 Rifles". The development of action superstar Charles Bronson as an actor is evident in his role as an intelligent man with a hidden agenda and a secret identity who uses all his cleverness to outsmart his enemies who are determined to get their demands met at all costs. For this role Charles Bronson had to either remain quiet to a large extent or speak whenever it was necessary. His intelligence gets revealed in his talks which is not at all appreciated by his opponents. The action elements are equally divided in "Breakheart Pass" as apart from vile acts of violence on a moving train, there are challenging fight sequences outside the train too which reveal the devilish treachery of some of the train's passengers. There are numerous elements of mystery too in this film which has been adapted for screen by bestselling novelist Alistair Maclean. 'Breakhart Pass' also starred actress Jill Ireland who played the role of the sole woman passenger on the ill fated train. Apart from magnificent actions scenes, Breakheart Pass features excellent views of rocky mountains.