''The Colditz Story'' is a 1955 British

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

film starring

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

and

Eric Portman Eric Harold Portman (13 July 1901 – 7 December 1969) was an English stage and film actor. He is probably best remembered for his roles in three films for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger during the 1940s. Early life Born in Halifax, ...

and directed by

Guy Hamilton Mervyn Ian Guy Hamilton (16 September 1922 – 20 April 2016) was an English film director. He directed 22 films from the 1950s to the 1980s, including four James Bond films. Early life Hamilton was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, son of ...

. It is based on the 1952 memoir written by

Pat Reid Patrick Robert Reid, (13 November 1910 – 22 May 1990) was a British Army officer and author of history. As a British prisoner of war during the Second World War, he was held captive at Colditz Castle when it was designated Oflag IV-C. Reid wa ...

, a British army officer who was imprisoned in

Oflag IV-C Oflag IV-C, generally known as Colditz Castle, was a prominent German Army prisoner-of-war camp for captured Allied officers during World War II. Located in Colditz, Saxony, the camp operated within the medieval Colditz Castle, which overlooks th ...

Colditz Castle Colditz Castle (or ''Schloss Colditz'' in German) is a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle in the town of Colditz near Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz in the States of Germany, state of Saxony in Germany. The castle is between the towns o ...

, in Germany during the Second World War and who was the Escape Officer for British POWs within the castle.

Plot

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Germans transform

into a high-security prisoner-of-war camp called

. Its purpose is to restrain those Allied prisoners who have attempted to escape from other Oflags. Colditz houses first Polish, then British, Dutch and French prisoners. Among the British are

and Senior British Officer Colonel Richmond. Richmond is warned by the Kommandant that "escaping is ''verboten''" but Richmond has no intention of heeding this advice. All the prisoners are wary of Priem, the chief security officer, who is efficient and tenacious. Reid and other British officers attempt to open a manhole cover one night but a simultaneous French attempt and the ensuing confusion alerts the German guards. Reid and La Tour (a French officer) argue about the lack of co-operation, both blaming the other. Later, a British tunnel is making progress until it meets another being dug by the Dutch officers, and a collapse occurs. Richmond proposes the selection of an escape officer from each nationality to make sure attempts do not interfere with each other. This would be on the understanding that the escape officers cannot themselves take part in an escape. Reid accepts the post for the British contingent. Richmond concocts an escape plan, which hinges on his impersonation of a ''

feldwebel '' '' (Fw or F, ) is a non-commissioned officer (NCO) rank in several countries. The rank originated in Germany, and is also used in Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, and Estonia. The rank has also been used in Russia, Austria-Hungary, occupied Serbia ...

'' nicknamed "

Franz Josef Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death in 1916. In the early part of his reig ...

" for his resemblance to the former Austrian emperor. This seems to be succeeding until, at the key moment, the German guards emerge and arrest all concerned. Harry Tyler, disguised as a German goon, is shot and wounded trying to escape. Richmond, Reid and a dozen others are placed in solitary for a month and the likelihood of an informer is discussed. Soon after being released, Jimmy Winslow is hidden among palliasses being taken out of the castle and is not immediately caught. A Polish officer, whose family have been threatened by the Gestapo, is soon found to be collaborating with the guards. While his own people condemn him to death, the Kommandant - at Richmond's urging - transfers him away. After two weeks on the run, Winslow is recaptured and returned to Colditz. While he is in the solitary compound, he talks to La Tour, who's in for goon bating, during a physical exercise session and watches as La Tour, helped by a compatriot, leaps over the barbed wire fence. Winslow runs into a guard to throw off his aim, and La Tour runs to freedom. Soon afterwards, Richmond expresses annoyance that no British officer has yet made a complete escape. Reid's friend 'Mac' McGill approaches Richmond with a new plan but says he will only disclose it if Richmond will relieve Reid from his escape officer duties so that he and Reid can make the attempt together. Richmond agrees, and McGill convinces Reid that the plan is feasible. McGill argues that previous attempts have failed because the escapees came from the wrong direction. The escapees will be disguised as German officers, but will approach the guards from the direction of the German mess. The attempt will coincide with a revue being staged in the castle theatre, to which all senior German officers will be invited. McGill is very tall and has antagonised the guards many times by reckless behaviour. Richmond realises that he will be too conspicuous and asks him to stand down so that the others selected will have a good chance of making the plan work. McGill accepts Richmond's reasoning but is devastated. Next day, he scales the wire fence surrounding the exercise compound in broad daylight and is shot dead by the guards. Reid, on learning of Richmond's decision, refuses to join the escape attempt but Richmond persuades him to do so, arguing that McGill's life will have been wasted otherwise. The escape goes ahead as planned during the revue. Reid, Winslow, Tyler and Dutchman Lutyens get out of the castle, but Tyler and Lutyens are soon recaptured. Several days later, Richmond receives a postcard with a cryptic message. He announces to the assembled and cheering prisoners that Reid and Winslow have successfully crossed into neutral Switzerland.

Cast

Information sourced to the BFI site.BFI: The Colditz Story (1955)
*

as Colonel Richmond *

Frederick Valk Frederick Valk (10 June 1895 – 23 July 1956) was a German-born stage and screen actor of Czech Jewish descent who fled to the United Kingdom in the late 1930s to escape Nazi persecution, and subsequently became a naturalised British citizen. ...

as Kommandant *

Denis Shaw Douglas "Denis" Findlay Shaw (7 February 1921 – 28 February 1971) was a British character actor who specialized in portraying villains. Biography Shaw was born in Dulwich on 7 February 1921. In the 1950s and 1960s, he was frequently cast ...

as Priem *

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden ...

as Harry Tyler *

Christopher Rhodes Sir Christopher George Rhodes, 3rd Baronet (30 April 1914 – 22 June 1964) was an English film and television actor. He was awarded the French Croix de Guerre for services 1940-41 and the United States Legion of Merit for his World War II ser ...

as Mac McGill *

Richard Wattis Richard Cameron Wattis (25 February 1912 – 1 February 1975) was an English actor, co-starring in many popular British comedies of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Richard Cameron Wattis was born on 25 February 1912 in Wednesbury, Staffords ...

as Richard Gordon *

Ian Carmichael Ian Gillett Carmichael, (18 June 1920 – 5 February 2010) was an English actor who Ian Carmichael on stage, screen and radio, worked prolifically on stage, screen and radio in a career that spanned seventy years. Born in Kingston upon ...

as Robin Cartwright *

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes Order of the British Empire, CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2 ...

as Jimmy Winslow *

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He made his stage debut in '' Tevye the Milkman'' in Mandatory Palestine, where he lived as ...

as "Vandy",

Machiel van den Heuvel Machiel van den Heuvel (7 May 1900, Haarlemmermeer – 29 June 1946, near Bandung) was a Dutch army officer. As a prisoner-of-war in Oflag IV-C at Colditz Castle, Germany, during World War II, he served as Escape Officer for the Dutch POWs, a ...

Eugene Deckers Eugene Francis Deckers (22 October 1917, in Antwerp – 1977, in Paris, France) was a Belgium, Belgian actor. Career After establishing himself on the British stage, Deckers made his first English language film appearance in 1946. Formerly a ...

as La Tour *

Anton Diffring Anton Diffring (born Alfred Pollack; 20 October 1916 – 19 May 1989) was a German actor. He had an extensive film and television career in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1980s, latterly appearing in international films. Primarily a c ...

as Hauptmann Fischer *

Guido Lorraine Guido Lorraine (2 September 1912 – 31 December 2009) was a Polish-born actor, musician and singer, known primarily for his roles in war films. He was also sometimes known by the stage name Guy Borucki. Lorraine appeared in twenty-eight films ...

as Polish officer * Witold Sikorski as Polish Officer * A. Blichewicz as Polish Officer * B. Dolinski as Polish Officer * Leo Bieber as German Interpreter * Rudolph Offenbach as Dutch Colonel *

Keith Pyott Keith Pyott (9 March 1902 – 6 April 1968) was a British actor. He transferred from stage to screen and was a regular face in drama in the early days of television, appearing in '' Educated Evans'', ''The Prisoner'', '' Out of the Unknown'', ' ...

as French colonel * Arthur Butcher as Polish Colonel * David Yates as Dick *

Douglas Argent Douglas George Charles Argent (21 May 1921 – 30 October 2010) was an English television producer and director. Born in Bexleyheath, Kent and raised in Ilford, Essex, Argent's parents ran an ironmongers shop. He served as a navigator du ...

as British Officer * Terence Brook as British Officer * Frank Coburn as British Officer * Eric Corrie as British Officer * John Corrie as British Officer *

Anthony Faramus Anthony Charles Faramus (27 July 1920 – 4 August 1990) was an actor, author and hairdresser. He was born in Saint Peter, Jersey, and died in Surrey. The autobiographical accounts of his survival of Fort de Romainville, Buchenwald and the Mauth ...

as British officer * Eric Lander as British Officer * Kenneth Midwood as British Officer * Peter Myers as British Officer * Claude Le Sache as French Interpreter * Zygmunt Rewkowski as Polish Interpreter *

Carl Duering Gerald Percy Fox (29 May 1923 – 1 September 2018), better known as Carl Duering, was a German-born British actor whose best-known role is as Dr. Brodsky in Stanley Kubrick's ''A Clockwork Orange''. He died in London in September 2018 at the ag ...

as Hauptmann Wagner *

Ludwik Lawiński Ludwik Lawiński (19 June 1887 – 15 September 1971) was a Polish film actor. He appeared in thirteen films between 1927 and 1956. Filmography References External links * 1887 births 1971 deaths Polish male film actors Polish m ...

as Franz Josef *

Peter Swanwick Walter Peter Swanwick (29 September 1922 – 14 November 1968) was a British actor best remembered as the "Supervisor" (sometimes called the Controller) in the 1967 TV series, ''The Prisoner''. Swanwick's film career began with bit parts in fi ...

(credited as "Swannick") as Lutyens * John Heller as German Guard * Jean Driant as French Orderly * Jean Bacon as French Orderly *

Frederick Schiller Frederick Schiller (23 August 1901 – 29 September 1994) was an Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austr ...

as German Soldier *

Guy Deghy Guy Deghy (born Gedeon Aladar Istvan Deghy; 11 October 1912 – 25 February 1992), was a Hungarian-born actor who appeared largely in British films and television. Career He appeared in the 5th episode of the first season of'' The Saint'' dep ...

as German Soldier

Production

The theatre revue towards the end of the film, which the inmates use to mask the escape by Reid and Winslow, begins with a parody of the

Will Fyffe Will Fyffe, CBE (16 February 1885 – 14 December 1947) was a Scottish music hall and performing artist on stage and screen during the 1930s and 1940s. Fyffe made his debut in his father's stock company at age 6. He travelled extensively throug ...

song "

I Belong to Glasgow "I Belong to Glasgow" is a song written and recorded by the music hall entertainer Will Fyffe in 1920. It has been performed by Danny Kaye, Eartha Kitt, Gracie Fields and Kirk Douglas. According to Albert Mackie's ''The Scotch Comedians'' (1973 ...

", rendered "I Belong to Colditz".

and

, playing two Guards officers, perform a

Flanagan and Allen Flanagan and Allen were a British singing and comedy double act most active during the 1930s and 1940s. Its members were Bud Flanagan (1896 – 1968, born Chaim Weintrop) and Chesney Allen (1894–1982). They were first paired in a Florrie Ford ...

routine, based on the song " Underneath the Arches".

Reception

The film was the fourth most popular film at the British box office in 1955. According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' it was a "money maker" at the British box office in 1955. It recouped its cost in Britain alone after five months. However the film performed poorly at the US box office, like most British war movies of this era. A

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

television series, ''

Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig (district), Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C prisoner-of-war camp, POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situa ...

'', was based on Reid's book and broadcast 1972–74. It starred

David McCallum David Keith McCallum (19 September 1933 – 25 September 2023) was a Scottish actor and musician, based in the United States. He gained wide recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series '' The Man fr ...

Robert Wagner Robert John Wagner Jr. (born February 10, 1930) is an American actor. He is known for starring in the television shows ''It Takes a Thief (1968 TV series), It Takes a Thief'' (1968–1970), ''Switch (American TV series), Switch'' (1975–1978), ...

Jack Hedley Jack Snowdon Hawkins (28 October 1929 – 11 December 2021), better known as Jack Hedley, was an English film, voice, radio, stage, character, theatre, screen and television actor best known for his performances on television. His birth name ne ...

and

Edward Hardwicke Edward Cedric Hardwicke (7 August 1932 – 16 May 2011) was an English actor, who had a career on the stage and on-screen. He was best known for playing Captain Pat Grant in ''Colditz'' (1972–73), and Dr. Watson in Granada Television's '' ...

References

External links