| The Password Is Courage | |
|---|---|
Cinema poster |
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| Directed by | Andrew L. Stone |
| Produced by | Andrew L. Stone |
| Written by | Andrew L. Stone |
| Starring | Dirk Bogarde Maria Perschy Alfred Lynch |
| Cinematography | Davis Boulton |
| Editing by | Noreen Ackland |
| Studio | Andrew L. Stone Productions, MGM |
| Distributed by | MGM |
| Release date(s) | 21 December 1962 (US release) |
| Running time | 116 min |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English, German |
The Password Is Courage is a 1962 World War II film, directed, produced and written by Andrew L. Stone, and starring Dirk Bogarde. The film is a lighthearted take on the true story of Sergeant-Major Charles Coward, and the screenplay is based on the biography of Coward written by John Castle.
Contents |
Charles Coward (Dirk Bogarde) is a senior British NCO incarcerated in the POW camp Stalag VIII-B. He encourages his fellow inmates to escape, and tries to humiliate the German guards at every opportunity.
He first attempts to escape by masquerading as a wounded German soldier. He is taken to hospital, where his identity is revealed, but not before being awarded the Iron Cross as he lies in his hospital bed. He then digs a tunnel, and, using a map he has obtained from the Polish resistance, escapes with fellow prisoner Bill Pope (Alfred Lynch). They are captured.
After the failure of the tunnel, they then attempt to escape by using a fire engine. Their plan works - German soldiers get off the road to allow the fire engine to pass through - and they drive the vehicle to freedom.
Although the film claims to be "based on a true story", it doesn't say how close (or distant) it is to that true story. The final escape in the film is obviously based on the "Great Escape" although Coward wasn't involved in that, he wasn't even in the same camp. People that served with him[1] have claimed that a lot of the stories in his book actually happened to other people and it seems that the film has diverted from the truth even more by borrowing events that happened to other people.