- Film Review
- Reviewed By Adrian Turner
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4 out of 5
One of seemingly dozens of PoW dramas made in the early to mid-1950s (The Wooden Horse, Albert RN), this is set in the infamous German fortress of the title. The story about the daring escapes undertaken by Allied prisoners has little time for the psychology of imprisonment (unlike the popular BBC TV series of the 1970s), but the action is still well played - tense at times, music-hall jolly at others. John Mills is perfectly cast as Pat Reid, on whose first-hand account the film is based, and Eric Portman, Ian Carmichael, Lionel Jeffries and Bryan Forbes are the other inmates of heroic hue. Director Guy Hamilton would go on to gain greater acclaim with a different kind of escapism when he directed Goldfinger in 1964.
Plot Summary
Second World War drama starring John Mills and Eric Portman. The heavily guarded Colditz castle in Germany is considered escape-proof by the Nazis. But the Allied prisoners of war, all veterans of other escape attempts, refuse to admit defeat.
Cast and crew
Cast
- Pat Reid
- John Mills
- Colonel Richmond
- Eric Portman
- Mac
- Christopher Rhodes
- Harry
- Lionel Jeffries
- Jimmy
- Bryan Forbes
- Robin
- Ian Carmichael
- Richard
- Richard Wattis
- Dick
- David Yates
- Kommandant
- Frederick Valk
- Priem
- Denis Shaw
- Fischer
- Anton Diffring
- Franz Josef
- Ludwig Lawinski
Crew
- Director
- Guy Hamilton
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