BY DOUG OSWALD
In
the days before cable, video and on-line streaming, classic movie fans had to
work for their movie watching pleasure by hunting through local weekly
schedules based on what local broadcasters chose to schedule. Adventure movies,
comedies, war movies and westerns have always been at the top of my classic
movie viewing list. “The Password is Courage†is one of those movies discovered
years ago that remains a favorite of mine. Maybe because its a sort of big brother
to the Grand Poobah of all prisoner of war movies, “The Great Escape,†which
was released a year later in 1963.
The
movie, based on the true story of Sergeant Major Charlie Coward, is a
remarkable yet easy-going tale. One almost feels as though life was not all
that bad in a German POW camp during WWII. If the movie has a fault, it’s that
it treats the subject a little too cavalier at times. It’s a very minor
objection because the humor is always at the expense of the German captors and everything
else about this movie is pure movie watching joy.
Dirk
Bogarde is perfectly cast as Charlie Coward, a man with an ironic name which
must have played a part in making him anything but a coward. The German
Luftwaffe ran POW camps through most of the war because most allied military
prisoners were aviators and air crew until the Normandy invasion in 1944. The
Germans also commonly segregated their camps by nationality and separated
officers and enlisted men into separate camps. Sergeant Major Charlie Coward
was among the senior enlisted members of one such camp, Stalag VIII-B Lamsdorf,
in what is now part of Poland.
The
movie is based on the popular book of the same name by Ronald Charles Payne and
John William Garrote writing as John Castle. Coward was transferred to
Auschwitz III-Monowitz, a labor camp which was near the infamous Auschwitz II-Birkenau
extermination camp which Coward allegedly infiltrated in a failed attempt to
liberate a Jewish doctor. According to the book, he also aided in the
liberation of hundreds of Jews, but Coward’s involvement in these activities is
debated.
There’s no need to debate the merits of the book which many people find to be an enduring true story, but I do stand by the movie as a terrific adventure story. The real life Charlie Coward served as a technical advisor for the movie which is primarily focused on pranks, bribes, sabotage, escapes and other assorted shenanigans designed to force the Germans into reallocating resources away from fighting the allies. Moving Coward’s story to Auschwitz may have proved to be too downbeat for this movie. Besides, there’s enough to enjoy here even if it only touches on the whole story.
There’s a scene early in the movie where Coward hides in a barn filled with injured German soldiers. After being fed and transferred to a German hospital, he’s accidently awarded the Iron Cross before being discovered. The scene is reminiscent of a similar scene used years later in the Samuel Fuller movie “The Big Red One†where Lee Marvin finds himself transferred to a German hospital.
Fans of this movie and the TV series “Hogan’s Heroes†can not help but see some influence on that series by “Courage,†but that series also borrowed from more serious movies like “Stalag 17†and “The Great Escape†as well as just about every other war movie made in the 50s and 60s.
The movie features some great sequences that certainly must have influenced the production of “The Great Escape.†There are tunneling sequences in “Courage,†including the obligatory cave-in, which are very similar to those in “Escape†such as the scene with the bellows which provide fresh air to the men in the tunnel and the scene showing the dirt being distributed in socks hung inside the prisoner’s pants. There’s also the sequence with Coward poking his head out of the ground from the tunnel and noting that they’re short of the tree line which fans will remember is done by McQueen in “Escape.†Maybe these were common methods used in real life escapes from POW camps or simply an expected part of the genre.
The connection between both films is furthered by featuring a couple of actors who also appear in “The Great Escape.†Nigel Stock plays Cole in “Courage†and Cavendish the Surveyor in “Escape.†George Mikellplays the camp commandant Necke in “Courage†and Lt. Dietrich in “Escape.â€
Unlike “The Great Escape,†“Courage†features a prominent female character, Irena, played by Austrian actress Maria Perschy. Retro movie fans may remember her from the movies “Freud,†“633 Squadron,†“Man’s Favorite Sport,†“Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill,†“The Castle of Fu Manchu†and “Murders in the Rue Morgue.â€
Finally, there’s Dirk Bogarde who is outstanding as Charlie Coward. He plays the snarky sergeant major to perfection moving from prankster at one moment and a stickler for military discipline in the next. Bogarde gives a believable, easy going and memorable performance. The rest of the cast is rounded out by many recognizable British and German character actors.
“The Password is Courage†was directed by Andrew L. Stone who also wrote the screenplay adapted from the book. Stone was a Hollywood contract writer and director for most of his career and made several noir thrillers. He effectively incorporates on-location filming with a noir feel which gives “Courage†a gritty and realistic look. The tension and sense of danger mix well with the humorous parts of the movie and it all works because of the terrific performance by Bogarde.
Originally released by MGM in 1962, the black & white widescreen image has been well preserved and looks terrific. The sound is crisp and the movie clocks in at comfortable 115 minutes. The DVD,s available through the Warner Archive collection, is manufactured on demand and the only extra is the American trailer. The movie is worthy of an upgrade to Blu-ray along with a few more extras like an audio commentary discussing the merits of this outstanding war movie.
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