The Colditz Story (1955)

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

P.R. Reid (novel)
Guy Hamilton (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

26 February 1955 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

Allied prisoners of various nationalities pool their resources to plan numerous escapes from an "escape-proof" German POW camp housed in a Medieval castle.

Plot Keywords:

Commandant | Stage | Barbed Wire | Guard | Sentry

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards.

Cast

John Mills	...	Pat Reid
Christopher Rhodes	...	'Mac' McGill
Lionel Jeffries	...	Harry Tyler
Bryan Forbes	...	Jimmy Winslow
Guido Lorraine	...	Polish officer
Witold Sikorski	...	Polish officer
A. Blichewicz	...	Polish officer
B. Dolinski	...	Polish officer
Anton Diffring	...	Fischer
Richard Wattis	...	Richard Gordon
Ian Carmichael	...	Robin Cartwright
Eric Portman	...	Colonel Richmond
Frederick Valk	...	Kommandant
Leo Bieber	...	German interpreter
Denis Shaw	...	Priem

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:U | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Colditz, Saxony, Germany

Company:

Ivan Foxwell Productions

Trivia:

The song sung by the POWs in the theatrical they stage, "I Belong to Colditz" is a parody of one of Will Fyffe's signature songs, "I Belong to Glasgow."

Goofs:

Anachronisms: According to the calendar on the Kommandant's desk during his interview with Colonel Richmond about moving the Polish prisoner, the date is "Dienstag Oktober 4" (Tuesday October 4). October 4 did not fall on a Tuesday at all during WW2, although it did in 1955, the year of the film's release.

Quotes:

Colonel Richmond: [discussing the death of Mac] We had a talk. I did the talking mostly. I was very unpleasant to him. I told him straight that he was too big. I told him every sentry in the camp was gunning for him - that he hadn't a hope of getting past the guards, and he agreed. I recommended him to think of standing down. There the discussion ended.
Pat Reid: And his life as well!
Colonel Richmond: The fact that he's dead hasn't escaped me, Pat!
Pat Reid: [resentfully] That sentry didn't kill him!
Colonel Richmond: [angrily] Watch your tongue or get out!
Pat Reid: We knew he was too big, but it was his idea. We were prepared to take the risk!
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hitler: The Comedy Years (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

I Belong to Colditz

Enjoyable and good humoured prisoner of war story?

This was bundled with 'Ice Cold in Alex', 'The Dam Busters' and one other British war movie. Of the four, I found this the least satisfying, probably due to the brilliance of the other three. There's a TV mini series on Colditz which is far more enjoyable, probably due to its attention to detail. The movie lacks those details, of course, as it's relatively short. Nevertheless, it's still good but John Mills rather underplays his character, unlike his outstanding performance in, for example, 'Ice Cold in Alex'.

It's all a little unreal, really, considering Colditz was reserved for the most troublesome of allied prisoners. You just won't believe that some of the characters shown created trouble for their captors in this version.

However, as mentioned, it's still good to watch and better than the majority of movies with a similar theme churned out after 1960.