The Colditz Story (1955)

That was an excellent one.

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

"The Colditz Story" is a good enough film on its own merits. John Mills does his usual as the determined and resourceful British army officer and the rest of the cast do their bit as well. Look out for familiar faces like Bryan Forbes, Ian Carmichael, Lionel Jefferies and Anton Diffring amongst others. It might have been a better idea if I had seen this film before the classic BBC TV series from the 1970s as the latter is a more detailed and thorough examination and depiction of life at the notorious prison camp. With a running time of just over an hour and a half, I felt this movie was slightly rushed in terms of plot development. Two hours at least would have been preferable. There is quite a tense and not to mention grim atmosphere as some of the P.O.Ws plan numerous escapes and with little success. This doesn't alter or dent the tenacity of the main characters as the viewer is always rooting for them to be successful. I expected the Nazis in "The Colditz Story" to be more ruthless and sadistic toward their prisoners but this isn't quite the case. The direction and dialogue are pretty good on the whole. I was rather disappointed that it wasn't revealed how the two allies managed to make good their escape as it would have always seed to the story. However, the reaction by the other prisoners and how the Nazis have been made to look a bit foolish following the successful escape, makes for priceless viewing! A solid film.

THE COLDITZ STORY was an important film for me to watch because I had no real idea what Colditz was before watching, and yet the subject matter remains popular in the movies, on TV, and even in board games. It turns out that Colditz was a German castle utilised during WW2 to act as a prisoner of war camp for high-ranking British, French, and Dutch prisoners.This is a stark black and white POW film with much to recommend, although at the same time it's not the best of the genre. That's because THE COLDITZ STORY simply doesn't elicit as much tension as the truly great films of the genre, and even a lower budgeted and simpler story like ALBERT, R.N. did better. That's because THE COLDITZ STORY explores many different escape attempts from the castle rather than building up to a single big one, so it feels a bit episodic by comparison.The film looks good and benefits from brisk direction and the like. The cast is exemplary, although the characters are less sympathetic than they ought to be; put this down to the script. John Mills and Lionel Jeffries are a good double act and Eric Portman adds sensitivity and dignified gravitas to his part of the old-timer. Others like Bryan Forbes, Richard Wattis, and Anton Diffring play more clichéd parts but are still fun to watch, bringing to life characters who would otherwise be dullish with other actors in the roles.

I don't think The Colditz Story is the best of the PoW films, but it is still a very well done film all the same. I don't think the film is flawless, I think it could have been longer to give more depth to the characters(though there is evidence of that) and the film could have focused a bit more on the psychology of imprisonment like the TV series did.Any faults aside, what I did love about The Colditz Story was the action. The Colditz Story has a carefully-constructed story about the daring escapes of the prisoners, and the action that forms this story is very well played, with a perfect balance of being tense in some scenes and music-hall jolly in others. The dialogue is thoughtful and quite literate, while Guy Hamilton who went on to greater projects since(primarily Goldfinger, my personal favourite of the Bond films) does a solid job directing.The Colditz Story is beautifully shot and has the suitably foreboding German prison of the title to add to any authenticity, and there is a stirring and evocative music score too and the pacing ensures that there is very rare a dull moment. The acting is very strong, John Mills is perfectly cast, and Eric Portman also gives a performance worth of note. Ian Carmichael, Bryan Forbes and Lionel Jeffries successfully portray their heroic prison inmate characters too.All in all, a very well-done film that despite any small imperfections deserves to be better known. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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.