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The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

They escape! Well, there wouldn't be a film if they didn't, I suppose. Apparently Colditz, the supposedly inescapable POW camp, suffered about 340 escape attempts, which sounds like something out of Monty Python and probably inspired Michael Palin and Terry Jones' Ripping Yarns episode Escape from Stalag Luft 112b.John Mills plays Major P.R. Reid, who was one of the first POWs to successfully escape, and this film is based on his book that details the numerous attempts to do a runner. The story actually has some tragic moments but is played for humour as much as drama - the "Appell" scene where the Germans routinely offer special privileges to anyone who will work for the Reich economy has a hilarious gag when a French Officer volunteers. I won't spoil it. Actually the French staged the most successful number of escapes, us Brits managing 14.When I was a kid I played Escape From Coldtiz an awful lot - great fun, and I'm getting the republished board game for x-mas this year again! It's nice to be reminded occasionally of the astonishing bravery shown by the POWS in this remarkable story. And yep, it's a British film with Nazis so Anton Diffring is in it! He must have spent half his career in similar roles! Ironically Diffring was an ardent anti Nazi during war, something which took some bravery. Very good film, then. Lips very much stiff-upper!

THE COLDITZ STORY takes artistic license with facts and the sequence of events, as noted in the foreword, but manages to hold interest when it concentrates on the fortunes of its chief escape officer, JOHN MILLS, and his various experiences with the prisoners and their national rivalries with each other.Aside from some stereotyped Nazi humor at the expense of stupid guards and the usual assortment of prisoners, the story maintains humor and suspense in equal measure as the men try to tunnel their way to freedom while under the scrutiny of their German captors. Characters are not deeply explored, but ERIC PORTMAN does a standout job as Colonel Richmond and JOHN MILLS is excellent as the real-life escape prisoner Pat Reid.BRYAN FORBES, IAN CARMICHAEL and LIONEL JEFFRIES are fine in support. Unfortunately, ANTON DIFFRING has little to do as officer Fischer nor does THEODORE BIKEL as one of the POWs.As escape films go, this POW film is taut with suspense toward the last escape try but a bit flabby in the telling for the most part. Other such films have managed to cover the same territory with more excitement and suspense.You might call it a low-key story based on true incidents given a rather routine treatment despite some fine performances.

No reflection on the men involved in these historical incidents but this is a pretty routine story of a jolly group of Polish, British, French, and Dutch prisoners of war assigned to Colditz prison because they've so persistently tried to escape in the past.It belongs to a genre that includes "One Who Got Away" and virtually limitless others, the best known of which is probably "The Great Escape." It has most of the characteristics of the genre. There is the bluff but fundamentally decent German in command. There is the stern, handsome Unteroffizier, Anton Differing, always reliable in his limited range. There is the spy among the prisoners (cf., "Stalag 17"). The scrounging of goods. The fat, bumbling German in charge. The stage play that distracts the cadre. The comic scene in which one tunnel collapses upon another. There's not much blood and no sadism. The characters are stereotypes, but not like those of the early war years.There is no problem with either the direction or the performances. All are up to professional par. It's the script. It's disjointed and vague, as much character-driven as plot-driven. There's a certain carelessness evident in the writing. When the Polish tunnel collapses into the British tunnel, there is no preparation for the scene. Of course the sudden intrusion of the Polish tunneler must come as a surprise in order to have any comic impact, and it does. But why are the British tunneling immediately underneath the Polish tunnel? Why did they choose the route they did? What is the secret under the boards of the stage? We never find out.It's not dull and not uninteresting but it seems to go nowhere. The most engaging scenes are adventitious -- the Guardsmen doing some close order drill, for instance. Not uninteresting but not inventive enough to attract much attention.

Most P.O.W.s had a fairly pragmatic attitude to their fate.They settled down,got on with life as best they could and sat the war out.Opportunities for successful escapes were very limited,punishments harsh,and chances of reaching home via a neutral country extremely slim. With a bit of judicious bribery life could be relatively tolerable and most of the German guards were all for a quiet life. But to some the very idea of imprisonment was an affront.They became obsessed with the idea of escape,making attempt after attempt.Colditz castle was opened up to hold officers from all over occupied Europe and the U.K.with such a history. "The Colditz Story" was adapted from a book by Major Pat Reid ( it says "novel" in the titles)about his time in the camp. He is played by Mr John Mills as a man almost exploding with frustration. He clashes with the Senior British Officer ( a first - class performance by Mr Eric Portman)in a most insubordinate and untypical manner over a planned escape attempt in the key scene of the movie where Mr Mills learns what burdens are borne along with high military rank. Mr Richard Wattis and Mr Ian Carmichael do a splendid turn as "Flanagan and Allen" at the concert party put on to cover the major escape attempt - the chorus warbling "I belong to Colditz" bringing a more modern interpretation to the term Camp Entertainment. Fun is poked at the Brits total inability to speak any other language than their own,the Poles,French and Dutch all being multi - lingual. Some of the behaviour of our chaps is rather public schoolboyish,but these were officers in the 1940s and quite conceivably many of their number had been at Winchester,Salisbury,Charterhouse or Rugby a few short years before and therefore hadn't had the chance to grow up. The scene at the end when Mr Portman quietly calms them down and averts a riot on "appell" is very well done. It was a very popular film in its day when it was still thought that winning the war would be the end of the obscenity of genocide,bullying megalomaniac dictators and death from the sky - and the start of a brand new age of decency,justice, liberty and prosperity for all.The fact that that didn't happen is the worst betrayal of the Allied soldiers who gave their lives.