The Colditz Story
| The Colditz Story | |
|---|---|
 Cinema release poster | |
| Directed by | Guy Hamilton |
| Produced by | Ivan Foxwell |
| Written by |
Guy Hamilton Ivan Foxwell |
| Based on | The Colditz Story by Pat Reid |
| Starring |
John Mills Eric Portman Christopher Rhodes Ian Carmichael Lionel Jeffries |
| Music by | Francis Chagrin |
| Cinematography | Gordon Dines |
| Edited by | Peter Mayhew |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ₤136,000.[1] |
The Colditz Story is a 1955 prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton.
It is based on the book written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, in Germany during the Second World War and who was the Escape Officer for British POWs within the castle.
Plot
British, French, Dutch and Polish Prisoners of War (POWs) (and some other nationalities), who have made escape attempts but been recaptured, are sent to Oflag IV-C, a supposedly secure castle in Saxony, in the heart of Germany during the Second World War. At first the different nationalities try to initiate their own plans until the senior British officer steps in and suggests co-operation between the different contingents. At first, the coordination fails because one of the prisoners is supplying information to the German guards. After he is discovered, plans remain secret and there follows a number of escapes; some successful, some not.
The prisoners of Colditz are high-spirited and eager to needle the Germans. The escape officer of the British contingent, Patrick Reid (Mills), assists in the escape of other prisoners and finally carries out his own escape. The culmination of his escape, his successful crossing into Switzerland, is not depicted in the film however.
Cast
- John Mills as Pat Reid
- Christopher Rhodes as Mac McGill
- Lionel Jeffries as Harry Tyler
- Bryan Forbes as Jimmy Winslow
- Guido Lorraine as Polish officer
- Anton Diffring as Hauptmann Fischer
- Carl Duering as Hauptmann Wagner
- Richard Wattis as Richard Gordon
- Ian Carmichael as Robin Cartwright
- Eric Portman as Colonel Richmond
- Frederick Valk as Kommandant
- Denis Shaw as Priem
- Theodore Bikel as "Vandy", Machiel van den Heuvel
- Keith Pyott as French colonel
- Eugene Deckers as La Tour
- Anthony Faramus as British officer
- Peter Swanwick as Lutyens
- John Heller as German Guard
- Jean Driant as French Orderly
- Jean Bacon as French Orderly
- Frederick Schiller as German Soldier
- Guy Deghy as German Soldier
- Witold Sikorski as Polish Officer
- Leo Bieber as German Interpreter
- Rudolph Offenbach as Dutch Colonel
- Arthur Butcher as Polish Colonel
- David Yates as Dick
- Douglas Argent as British Officer
- Terence Brook as British Officer
- Frank Coburn as British Officer
- Eric Corrie as British Officer
- John Corrie 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
- Ludwik Lawinski as Franz Josef
- A. Blichewicz as Polish Officer
- B. Dolinski as Polish Officer
Production notes
The revue at the end of the film involves a parody of the song I Belong to Glasgow, and the routine of Flanagan and Allen (including Underneath the Arches).
Reception
The film was the fourth most popular movie at the British box office in 1955.[2] It made a profit of £100,000 for its producer.[3]
A BBC television series, Colditz, also based on Reid's book and crediting this film followed during 1972–74, and starred David McCallum, Robert Wagner, Jack Hedley and Edward Hardwicke.