The Colditz Story (1955)

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Not Rated
1h 34min
Drama, History
26 Feb 1955 (Sweden)
Movie

6.9 (3,246)

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Allied prisoners - British, Dutch, French and Polish - pool their resources to plan numerous escapes from the "escape-proof" German P.O.W. camp housed in a Medieval castle known as "Colditz".

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

Stars:

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards.
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Allied prisoners - British, Dutch, French and Polish - pool their resources to plan numerous escapes from the "escape-proof" German P.O.W. camp housed in a Medieval castle known as "Colditz".

Still of Leo Bieber, Arthur Butcher, Ian Carmichael (I), Anton Diffring, Bryan Forbes, Lionel Jeffries, John Mills (I), Rudolph Offenbach, Eric Portman, Keith Pyott, Christopher Rhodes (I), Denis Shaw, Frederick Valk and Richard Wattis in The Colditz Story (1955)

Still of Eric Portman in The Colditz Story (1955)

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138 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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	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
	Rudolph Offenbach	...	Dutch Colonel
	Theodore Bikel	...	Vandy
	Keith Pyott	...	French Colonel
	Eugene Deckers	...	La Tour
	Arthur Butcher	...	Polish Colonel
	David Yates	...	Dick
	Douglas Argent	...	British Officer
	Terence Brook	...	British Officer
	Frank Coburn	...	British Officer
	Eric Corrie	...	British Officer
	John Corrie	...	British Officer
	Anthony Faramus	...	British Officer
	Eric Lander	...	British Officer
	Kenneth Midwood	...	British Officer
	Peter Myers	...	British Officer
	Claude Le Saché	...	French Interpreter (as Claud Le Sache)
	Zygmunt Rewkowski	...	Polish Interpreter
	Carl Duering	...	German Officer
	Ludwik Lawinski	...	Franz Josef
	Peter Swanwick	...	Lutyens (as Peter Swannick)
	John G. Heller	...	German Guard (as John Heller)
	Jean Driant	...	French Orderly
	Jean Bacon	...	French Orderly
	Frederick Schiller	...	German Soldier
	Guy Deghy	...	German Soldier
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Chris Adcock	...	POW (uncredited)
	Paul Beradi	...	Dutch POW (uncredited)
	Eddie Boyce	...	German Guard (uncredited)
	Jim Brady	...	German Guard (uncredited)
	Robin Burns	...	British POW at Concert (uncredited)
	Ted Carroll	...	British POW (uncredited)
	Tony Castleton	...	POW (uncredited)
	Mike Conner	...	POW (uncredited)
	Austin Cooper	...	POW (uncredited)
	George Crawford	...	British POW (uncredited)
	Reggie de Beer	...	German Officer (uncredited)
	Steve Donahue	...	POW (uncredited)
	Roy Everson	...	German Guard (uncredited)
	Victor Harrington	...	British POW (uncredited)
	George Holdcroft	...	POW (uncredited)
	Lindsay Hooper	...	German Guard (uncredited)
	John Howard	...	POW (uncredited)
	Arthur Howell	...	POW (uncredited)
	Gordon Humphries	...	POW (uncredited)
	Barry Johns	...	German Guard (uncredited)
	Cyril Kent	...	Waiter (uncredited)
	Anthony Lang	...	British POW (uncredited)
	Jack Mandeville	...	POW (uncredited)
	Richard Marner	...	Theatre Guard (uncredited)
	Jim Morris	...	German Guard (uncredited)
	Hugh Moxey	...	British POW (uncredited)
	Arthur Mullard	...	POW (uncredited)
	Cecil Paul	...	POW (uncredited)
	David Phethean	...	British POW (uncredited)
	Oscar Quitak	...	POW (uncredited)
	P.R. Reid	...	British POW (uncredited)
	Ernie Rice	...	German Guard (uncredited)
	Jimmy Scott	...	POW (uncredited)
	Jeff Silk	...	POW (uncredited)
	Guy Standeven	...	British POW (uncredited)
	Emile Stemmler	...	POW (uncredited)
	Robert Brooks Turner	...	Woodcutter (uncredited)
	Robert Vossler	...	German Guard (uncredited)
	Joe Wadham	...	POW (uncredited)
	Johnny Wyne	...	POW (uncredited)

Directed by

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Guy Hamilton

Written by

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P.R. Reid	...	(novel)

Guy Hamilton	...	(adaptation) and
Ivan Foxwell	...	(adaptation)

Guy Hamilton	...	(script) and
Ivan Foxwell	...	(script)

William Douglas-Home	...	(dialogue) (as William Douglas Home)

Produced by

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Ivan Foxwell

...

producer

Music by

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Francis Chagrin

Cinematography by

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Gordon Dines

...

director of photography

Editing by

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Peter Mayhew

Editorial Department

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Terry Poulton

...

second assistant editor (uncredited)

Art Direction by

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Alex Vetchinsky

...

(as Vetchinsky)

Makeup Department

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Gordon Bond	...	hairdresser
Eric Carter	...	makeup artist

Production Management

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Thomas Clyde	...	production manager
F. Sherwin Green	...	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Peter Manley	...	first assistant director
John D. Merriman	...	second assistant director (uncredited)
Ted Sturgis	...	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department

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Elven Webb	...	assistant art director
Allan Harris	...	draughtsman (uncredited)
Edward Marshall	...	draughtsman (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Mary Habberfield	...	sound editor
Red Law	...	sound recordist
Terry Poulton	...	sound editor
Bert Ross	...	sound recordist

Visual Effects by

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Bob Cuff	...	matte painter (uncredited)
Wally Veevers	...	special processes (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Harold Haysom	...	camera operator (as Hal Haysom)
Peter Hall	...	focus puller (uncredited)
Ken Ryan	...	still photographer (uncredited)
John Shinerock	...	clapper loader (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Bill Walsh

...

wardrobe

Music Department

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Francis Chagrin	...	conductor
The Goldsbrough Orchestra	...	musicians: orchestra

Script and Continuity Department

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Barbara Cole

...

continuity

Additional Crew

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P.R. Reid	...	technical adviser (as Major P.R. Reid M.B.E. M.C.)
Marguerite Green	...	production secretary (uncredited)

Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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Ivan Foxwell Productions

Distributors

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British Lion Film Corporation (1955) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
Filmimport A/S (1955) (Norway) (theatrical)
Nederland Film (1955) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
Wivefilm (1955) (Sweden) (theatrical)
Distributors Corporation of America (DCA) (1957) (United States) (theatrical)
9Gem (2023) (Australia) (tv)
Anchor Bay Entertainment (2005) (United States) (DVD)
Film Movement (2020) (United States) (Blu-ray)
Netflix (2023) (Non-US) (video) (VOD) (several territories in Europe)
Republic Pictures Home Video (1994) (United States) (VHS)
StudioCanal UK (2005) (United Kingdom) (DVD)
StudioCanal UK (2012) (United Kingdom) (Blu-ray)
Thorn EMI Video Australia (1985) (Australia) (VHS)
Thorn EMI Video (1980) (United States) (VHS)
Universal Pictures Home Video (2003) (Australia) (DVD)
Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2018) (Australia) (Blu-ray)
Viacom (United States) (tv) (syndication)

Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Western Electric (sound recording)

Storyline

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Plot Summary	Colditz castle was used by the Germans to hold the "bad boys", (those who regularly tried to escape from other camps). At all times, the guards outnumbered the prisoners and, because some political prisoners were also held there, they were very strictly monitored. But if you put all those people in one place and they're all trying to escape, well, shit happens. Written by Steve Crook Plot Summary
Plot Keywords	nazi-soldier wehrmacht british-military polish-military polish-officer See All (42) »
Taglines	Excitement ! Suspense ! Action ! See more »
Genres	Drama History War
Parents Guide	Add content advisory for parents »
Certification	Australia:G Australia:PG Finland:K-16 France:Tous publics Iceland:L Italy:T Netherlands:14 (original theatrical rating) Netherlands:9 (Netflix) New Zealand:G Norway:12 Spain:TP Sweden:Btl United Kingdom:U United States:Not Rated

Additional Details

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Also Known As	Les indomptables de Colditz (France) La grande évasion (France) Ceux de Colditz (Belgium, French title) Pháo đài Colditz (Vietnam) Escapando do Inferno (Brazil) See more »
Runtime	94 min
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English German French Polish
Color	Black and White
Aspect Ratio	1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Filming Locations	Colditz Castle, Saxony, Germany See more »

Box Office

Budget

GBP136,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia	Sir John Mills resembled Colditz prisoner Mike Sinclair, alias The Red Fox. Sinclair escaped from Colditz three times. His final attempt ended in tragedy when sentries killed him on September 25, 1944. A portrait of Sinclair, drawn by John Watton, appears in "Men of Colditz" by P.R. Reid. See more »
Goofs	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. See more »
Movie Connections	Featured in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005). See more »
Soundtracks	I Belong to Colditz See more »
Crazy Credits	Opening credits: "Every incident in the film you are about to see is true. With the exception of the author, Major P.R. Reid, M.B.E., M.C., who acted as technical adviser on the film, all names have been changed and certain events have been related out of their historical context. These and only these liberties have been taken with . . . THE COLDITZ STORY" See more »
Quotes	Colonel Richmond: [watching a particularly rough game in the excercise yard] Who was it said our ancestors were apes? See more »

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