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.
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.