Original subtitles

(SINISTER MUSIC PLAYING)

(BIRDS CHIRPING)

(SOLDIERS CHATTERING)

(INAUDIBLE)

(DOGS BARKING)

(BARKING CONTINUES)

(PANTING)

(MOTORBIKE RETREATING)

(GRUNTING)

(GROANS)

(WHISTLE BLOWING)

(DOGS BARKING)

(MOTORBIKES APPROACHING)

You have given us a great deal of trouble,

Flight Lieutenant Carrington.

You will be taken back to Gestapo Headquarters in Berlin,

where your interrogation will be continued.

(EXCLAIMS)

(VEHICLE APPROACHING)

Oberleutnant Lehr ask you to wait, sir. He is on his way.

Thank you.

(FOOTSTEPS RETREATING)

MUIR: Hey, the new SBO's arrived.

What is it?

Another brown job, only this one's all spit and Brasso.

(LAUGHING) You'll need your sunglasses on.

-Good God! -(MUIR LAUGHING)

Looks as though they picked him up in Whitehall.

Let's try it.

(ENGINE STARTING)

(HORN BLARING)

-All right, keep your hair on. -(HONKING CONTINUES)

Keep your hair on!

Road hog.

(BRAKES SCREECH)

-Oberleutnant Lehr. -Good morning.

The Kommandant hopes to be able to see you shortly.

Shall I go to my quarters first?

No, he won't be long. Is this your batman?

Corporal Baker.

Show Corporal Baker to the Colonel's quarters.

(SOLDIER YELLING IN GERMAN)

Really, Fliegerleutnant Carter? That was a waste of time.

Welcome to Colditz. Shall we go?

-Hey, what's the matter? -Another shambles.

(SIGHING)

-Well, Erich. -Father.

(CLICKING TONGUE) Have you said goodbye to your mother?

Yes, she's given me enough food to last the week.

Well, she worries about you. She can't help it.

I'll be back home again on leave before she knows it.

Yes, I know, I know, but you will write to her, won't you?

-Yes, of course. -When you can.

Just to let her know you're all right, huh?

Sit down, sit down.

I've told her there is nothing to worry about.

I mean, my friends in France are having a marvellous time.

And I'm very lucky to get an operational posting so soon,

especially on junkers 88s.

You know, that's the finest plane in the world.

Yes. Still I expect you'll have more training to do, huh?

With any luck, I shall go straight on to operations.

Well, that's splendid. Splendid. Something easy at first, huh?

Patrols over the North Sea, until you get more experience?

(LAUGHING) I was talking to a friend the other day.

He says everything's been easy

ever since we switched to the night bombing of London.

There are no night fighters, you see, and the anti-aircraft guns

are so inaccurate we just have to laugh at them.

Well, that's excellent, of course.

I must go now, Father.

Look after yourself.

I'll send you some French brandy and some perfume for Mother.

Yes, yes, she'll like that.

-Goodbye, Father. -Goodbye, Erich.

Good luck.

LEHR: You were sent here to Colditz to ensure you do not escape again.

And you will not escape again.

The sooner you grasp that, the better for you.

Have you anything to say?

Thirty days solitary confinement.

Thirty?

The Kommandant has laid down that in future,

that will be the minimum punishment for any attempts to escape from here.

(SNAPS FINGERS)

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

-(KNOCKING ON DOOR) -Come.

Lieutenant Colonel Preston, sir.

Please, uh, sit down, Colonel.

Thank you.

I apologise for keeping you waiting so long, Colonel,

but one of your officers attempted to escape.

Yes, I was there. I saw it.

-A very ill-advised attempt, I thought. -So did I.

-Indeed. -Stupid and pointless.

We agree then. We agree.

All right, all right.

(DOOR LOCK CLANGING)

(SIGHING)

KOMMANDANT: I gather that at your last camp,

you did not always agree with your authorities.

Not always, no.

I see you fought in the Great War.

-Yes. -Myself also.

On the Somme. Were you there?

Yes.

I still find it hard to believe that men could go through such slaughter.

So many young men.

At least this time, no one has suffered such terrible losses, huh?

They may do so before the end.

I hope you're wrong, Colonel.

Still, we are out of it. You and I.

Are you looking at my wall map?

This is my way of keeping in touch with things.

-Is it up-to-date? -Oh, yes.

Amended daily to, uh, mmm... Embrace the current military situation.

Nothing on land, of course. It's the Luftwaffe now.

-The main target appears to be London. -Yes.

There have been many other heavy attacks, of course,

against, uh, Coventry and Southampton and so on,

but the main effort is directed against London.

London has now been attacked for many consecutive nights.

Where is your family, Colonel?

My children are evacuated.

Good, good. And your wife also?

My wife, I think, is still in London. I had one letter some time ago.

She was driving an ambulance then.

Hmm.

Churchill should have made peace when he had the chance.

(SIGHING)

Did you know your, uh, um,

predecessor, Major Donaldson, is a former senior British officer?

No.

It is the duty of every officer to attempt to escape, of course.

That is agreed.

Yes.

But, when the situation is hopeless, when escape is impossible,

surely, then, an officer is relieved of that duty.

Major Donaldson did not take that view.

He actively encouraged any attempt at escape, I'm afraid.

Every officer is entitled to his own opinion.

May I ask for yours, Colonel?

When escape is impossible, I disapprove of futile attempts.

(CLICKING TONGUE) I should have asked you before,

uh, do you like a cigarette?

Thank you, no. I've taken up enough of your time, already.

Oh, no, no, no, please.

The one thing we all have here, is plenty of time.

Oh, relax, Corporal, we don't go over that sort of thing here.

-We're looking for the Colonel. -He's still with the Kommandant, sir.

Well, how long does it take to say hello and goodbye?

I'm sure I couldn't say, sir.

Well, tell Colonel Preston

that we're looking forward to meeting him, will you?

BAKER: Yes, sir.

You'll find that you have some, uh, um, hot heads here, Colonel.

Young men who think they should fight the war single handed.

But there is no war to be fought in Colditz.

As one professional soldier to another, you might agree with me, huh?

I am not a professional.

I assume, uh, your rank.

-Territorial army. -Ah, yes.

You're, uh, um,

reserve army. Right.

I myself, of course, had a spell in civilian life

under the Weimar Republic.

In a special camp like this,

there are bound to be many restrictions placed upon the prisoners.

-Inevitably. -Are all those restrictions inevitable?

Are you seeking special privileges for the British officers?

I'm asking a question.

Strict measures are tedious for everyone, not least my staff.

Any relaxation would require your personal cooperation

and the weight of your authority over your own men.

You may take it that I shall accept responsibility

for any order that I may give.

It would be convenient for security

if we could segregate the nationalities,

the Poles from the British, except in the courtyard, of course.

And why haven't you enforced that before?

Uh, the Poles have been here a long time,

and what is more, they all appear to be expert locksmiths, Colonel.

They can open a door with a piece of wire that I cannot open with a key.

And Major Donaldson encouraged a policy of what he called International Liaison.

When was this camp last visited by the protecting power?

Unfortunately, the Swiss authority has not yet visited this camp.

When was the last issue of Red Cross parcels?

As yet, there has been no issue at all.

There are administrative difficulties.

I am in command of Colditz

but I cannot always do what I would wish to do, you understand?

I can make no promises.

You seem to expect promises from me.

Your request for parcels is a fair one.

Before Christmas?

In the meantime, I have your word as a Senior British Officer,

to co-operate with me in the matter of segregation?

You have.

-(DOOR OPENING) -Oh, hello, sir. I'm Captain Grant.

-Pat Grant. -Hello, Grant.

-Who's the officer of the day? -GRANT: Sir.

The officer of the day?

(MEN CHUCKLING)

(CHUCKLING STOPS)

Where do you post Daily Routine Orders?

(MUTTERING) Good God.

Well, don't have those either, sir.

Gentlemen, I will be obliged in future,

if you would take it in turns to be officer of the day.

DRO's may not come out daily in fact,

but I think they will help communication.

-Yes, sir. -Yes.

And now I would like to meet everyone if you please.

-(PANTING) -(DOOR OPENING)

The wine's cold.

And I asked for grouse, not pheasant.

You don't happen to have a pencil, do you?

Pencil, uh, pencil. Schreiben!

-Now, this is Captain Downing, sir. -Downing.

-Lieutenant Player, RN. -Yeah.

How do you do, sir?

Flight Officer Muir.

-Hello, Muir. -Hello, sir.

And this is Lieutenant Griffiths.

-Griffiths. -Sir.

-Lieutenant McCloud. -Sir.

McCloud.

Oh, and this is Flight Lieutenant Carter's bunk.

Oh, yes, I'll see him tomorrow.

Oh, you can't, sir. Not when he's in solitary.

Well, no one can. It's, uh, against regulations.

I see.

(WATER RUNNING)

-Well, gentlemen... -Where did they pop you in the bag, sir?

Near Dunkirk.

I was on my way to a conference,

no one knew how far forward the Germans had got,

I drove slap into a squadron of jerry tanks.

(SCOFFS) Perhaps you would have been better off

if you'd stayed with your unit, sir.

-Possibly, yes. -MUIR: And how far did you get, sir?

-What do you mean? -When you escaped.

At my last camp, I was a special advisor to Colonel Dawson, the SBO.

I made no escape attempts.

Well, I... I wonder why they sent you here then, sir?

I don't know. Those officers who aren't regulars,

what were their occupations in peace time?

Oh, we've got all sorts, sir.

I was a civil engineer, uh, John was a printer.

We've got two bankers, accountant, lawyer.

Let me have a list of everyone's profession and if they were regulars,

their speciality.

Very well, sir. Is there any particular reason?

I thought we might start some classes,

hope to pass the time more constructively.

Classes, sir?

Yes, uh, Downing.

There's a great deal that we can learn from each other.

But I thought this was a special camp for confirmed escapers, sir.

Who have failed to escape, since you are all here.

Good night, gentlemen.

(MEN CHATTERING)

(SCOFFS) Definitely a chairborne warrior...

-Bah! He's not even a regular. -Nor are lots of us.

-How do you know, anyway? -Oh, come on!

I can spot a jumped up terrier a mile off.

He put on his accent with his uniform for a start.

He couldn't command a country club.

Well, thanks.

Hey, thanks very much.

You asked for a brief interview, Colonel?

To request permission to visit Flight Lieutenant Carter.

Well, that's impossible. Carter is in solitary confinement.

I claim the support of the Geneva Convention.

Upon arrival, the Senior Officer is entitled to interview all the officers

under his command, to satisfy himself about their welfare.

Surely that cannot be taken to mean men under punishment.

There is no reference to punishment whatsoever in this context.

I am therefore entitled to interview Flight Lieutenant Carter.

Very well, Colonel. Your request is granted.

Thank you.

(DOOR OPENING)

(DOOR CLOSING)

(DOOR LOCK CLANGING)

Good morning. My name is Preston.

Flight Lieutenant Carter, sir.

Yes, I know who you are. Uh, carry on, won't you?

Is everything all right?

Thirty days is a long time, sir.

Yes, it is, I'm afraid.

How did you get in here, sir?

I thought I wasn't supposed to see anyone.

I claimed the support of the Geneva Convention.

Oh. I don't know anything about that, I'm afraid.

No. Not many people know it off by heart.

-Any more? -No, sir.

-Look something up for me, would you? -Sir.

The provision regarding the rights of a newly appointed Senior Officer.

-Newly appointed... -Not now.

In your own time, there's no hurry.

He couldn't wait to suck up to jerry, could he?

Perhaps he's got it in for the Poles.

A nice quiet life and no trouble, that's what he wants.

He must have some good reason.

He hasn't got the guts to stand up to jerry, that's his good reason.

-Why did you try to escape? -Why, sir?

Just to cause the Germans a bit of trouble, was that it?

To get back home.

-You're married, I believe. -just about.

Two months. But I was on ops most of the time.

-What's her name? -Kathy.

-Had you known her long? -Not really.

She was my girl, and then we got married.

Yes, I know. It's not easy.

-What's she like? -She plays the violin.

(CHUCKLES)

It's funny how someone's face lives with you.

Is she pretty?

She's got nice hair, brown eyes, and a funny way of smiling.

So you wanted to get back to your wife, did you?

Yes, sir.

Now, wouldn't that also mean going back on operations?

I suppose so.

You know, I think this war is going to last a long time.

As an operational pilot, your chances of survival will be very slim indeed.

What's the alternative?

Do nothing and sit it out here and not see her again for years?

No, no. I couldn't face that.

-You're not supposed to be here, Willy. -Why not?

-Orders. -(SCOFFS) The Germans?

British orders.

It's the new SBO. A dirty trick if you ask me.

Also very awkward.

But perhaps not.

When you got into that truck, what were your plans?

To get away.

-Do you speak German? -No.

-You have some German money? -(LAUGHS) No.

-Civilian clothes hidden away anywhere? -No.

Identification papers, maps, a route, anything at all?

If I'd got out, sir, I'd have had a chance.

Deep in Germany, wearing RAF uniform,

you didn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.

I'd do the same again, anytime.

How much nearer to your wife do you think

another 30 days solitary confinement is going to get you?

You've probably been married a long time, sir.

It's different for you.

You know the period between the wars

was a difficult time for a great many of us.

I was one of those who even tried a chicken farm.

Then there was the depression.

After that things did get a little better,

I went into the motorcar industry,

but because of those ups and downs I married rather late.

I was 40 when I met my wife, Caroline.

We have two children now. We've been married seven years.

It doesn't seem a very long time to me.

(KNOCKING)

That feeling you say you have,

you know that doesn't change with the passing of a few years.

Well, at least you've had years, sir, not weeks.

Yes.

But stupid escape attempts only keep the Germans alert and on their mettle,

which is bad for all the other prisoners.

Another time think about that, will you, Carter?

(DOOR OPENING)

Oh, hello, Grant.

Hello, sir. Could I have a word with you?

Oh, yes, of course.

All right, leave that now, Baker, will you please?

Yes, sir.

-Now, sit down, won't you? -Well, perhaps I'd better not, sir.

Well?

This order enforcing the segregation of the British and the Poles...

Yes?

And it reverses the policy of the previous SBO, sir.

I'm aware of that.

Look, sir, I don't want to seem impertinent...

I hope not.

Major Donaldson was very well liked. He always told us what the score was.

The score now is in accordance with DRO's.

Now, what I'm trying to say, sir, is...

(SIGHS)

Well, we may seem a bit bolshie but this isn't like a fighting unit.

After all we've got nothing to do all day,

except talk, think about escaping.

(LAUGHS) We're all slightly mad, I suppose,

or we wouldn't be here in the first place.

But if you could talk to everybody, tell them how you see the situation.

-That all? -That's all, sir.

Very well. I'll talk to everybody tomorrow morning after Appell.

Right, sir.

Gotcha!

PRESTON: Captain Grant has indicated

that you might like to know some of my thinking about Colditz.

First of all,

I have seen, like most of you, too many men killed.

But at least they were killed in action.

Now, the Germans here are entitled to shoot at escaping prisoners,

and they will.

I don't want to see any men killed in useless escape attempts.

Look, sir what's that got to do with the Poles?

This is a very special camp.

Security is much stricter here than elsewhere,

conditions much tougher.

The Germans are constantly on the watch.

You've all caused them a great deal of trouble in the past,

so they're going to bear down very hard to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Now what I want to do is to lower the temperature,

get some of the restrictions lifted,

give ourselves a breathing space so we can work out some sort of

strategy, a plan that we can cope with this place.

-I'll buy that, sir. -(MEN MUMBLING)

Now, the Poles are a damn good lot.

ALL: Hear, hear.

So why sell them short?

I gave away little of practical advantage to either side,

in exchange for a possible benefit

which depends upon the good offices of the Kommandant.

Since when did we start holding hands with the Germans, sir?

You just pray to God that we remain

under the control of the Wehrmacht, Muir.

The SS would dearly like to get their hands on us.

They think that they can solve the problem of escapers in one.

-And they probably could. -I'm sorry, sir.

But that all sounds like a barrelful of excuses for doing nothing to me.

Well, some of us think there's still a war on.

And we're not afraid to go on fighting.

Want you think, Downing, is your own affair.

I have given an order, and I expect it to be obeyed.

You were mistaken about Geneva Convention.

There is no such provision as the one you quoted.

I did not actually quote it. I claimed its support.

I could regard this as deliberate deception and take the matter seriously.

I'm no longer sure I can rely on your word, Colonel.

I gave my order on the understanding that I could rely upon yours.

You will kindly extend to me the same courtesy.

Very well, Colonel, you may go.

I see he's finished fawning on the jerries.

You're wrong, sir. Excuse me for saying so, sir, but you are.

That's all right, Corporal, we know you're bound to stick up for him.

Sir, I've seen him in action.

You see, sir, he always said that jerry would try and break through with tanks,

and we had to find some way of knowing what was happening or there'd be panic.

So he used motorcyclists, sir.

DOWNING: Hmm?

He formed a long Range Reconnaissance and Penetration Group, sir.

Sixty of us armed with light machine guns.

We could move faster than jerry, you see, sir.

And we ambushed a column of infantry lorries,

destroyed all the lorries, and made jerry turn tail and run, sir.

Yes, good try, Corporal, but that's typical.

Play tip-and-run instead of going for them bald-headed.

And then he finds a convenient conference he can slope off to.

I don't like all of this. You'd think he was infectious.

(DOOR OPENING)

(WATER RUNNING)

-(WHISPERS) Wotcher. -(WHISPERS) Hello.

(GRUNTING)

How long do you think?

At this rate, nearly a month before it is big enough.

With any luck, you'll be home by Christmas?

Yes.

My home was in Warsaw.

Was?

DOWNING: I don't believe it.

Red Cross parcels.

Red Cross parcels.

(LAUGHING)

Hey, Red Cross parcels!

-(ALL EXCLAIMING IN EXCITEMENT) -Hey, Red Cross parcels!

Red Cross parcels!

About time too.

You will be glad to know the reason for the delay.

The first consignment of Red Cross parcels has arrived.

They say that the Fuhrer himself has authorised this

as a gesture of Christmas goodwill.

I'll bet my Aunt Fanny told you that.

No. No, it was the lorry driver, who heard it in Leipzig.

-Meatloaf, butter. -Condensed milk, tea! Real tea!

Chocolate!

-Anyone know what powdered egg is? -I know what corned beef is.

I used to give my bit of skirt chocolate.

Give it away, mind you. I must have been out of my mind.

Who the devil gave authority for those parcels to be issued?

-The Germans, sir. -Did they? Who's the officer of the day?

-I am, sir. -I want the entire consignment collected

taken to my quarters, until I decide the rate of issue.

Yes, sir.

PRESTON: And that includes every piece of string and every scrap of cardboard.

Yes, sir.

There's one parcel for each of us, sir.

And what do you intend to do? Eat all yours now?

You, Downing, will take an inventory of the entire contents.

You will then discuss with me which parcels are issued

and which are kept back for emergencies.

-All of it, sir? -Yes, all of it.

It may be months before we receive any more parcels.

So until then we conserve our resources.

Come on. We're behaving like a bunch of idiots.

Sorry.

Count them again.

Yes?

One Polish officer missing, sir.

Any sign of an escape trail?

A rope made from strips of torn up sheet, hanging from a window.

-But I don't think it was used. -Why not?

The rope's too short. Underneath, the ground is muddy.

If he had dropped from the rope there would be impressions in the mud.

So he's lying low somewhere in Colditz.

In my opinion, yes, sir.

Very well. Search the Polish quarters and the adjoining areas.

-Including the British quarters? -No, that's not necessary.

Colonel Preston wouldn't allow him to be concealed there.

-I hear one of the Poles got away. -Mmm. Apparently.

Though jerry's searching the castle for some reason.

What's all this about the Poles not being allowed near our quarters?

It happened when you were in solitary.

SBO's orders.

You know, he tore me off a strip for trying to escape.

I suppose he wants a nice, quiet war.

(GATE OPENING)

He looks in a bad way.

If he's been in the hands of the Gestapo, I'm not surprised.

(KNOCKING ON DOOR)

Come in.

My apologies for disturbing you, Colonel.

You have heard that one of the Polish officers is missing?

-Yes. -We think he is still here in Colditz.

-In hiding somewhere. Or being hidden. -Yes.

However, a thorough search of the entire castle has revealed nothing.

The entire castle, that is with the exception of the British quarters.

I gave my order, and made it clear that it was to be obeyed.

I must ask you to understand my difficulty.

Difficulty?

My security officer now wishes to search the British quarters.

If I were to refuse it would place me in an impossible situation

in relation to higher authority.

I did not give my word to higher authority. I gave it to you.

I must make it understood that any search of the British quarters

for a Polish Officer will be a direct breach of good faith.

I respect everything you say, Colonel, but I have no choice.

Now, you and I know that it is a mere formality, nothing more. Mmm?

But, with regret,

I must ask you to assemble all your officers in their quarters at once.

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

OFFICER: Herr Leutnant! Herr Leutnant!

(LEHR SPEAKING GERMAN)

(OFFICER SPEAKING GERMAN)

LEHR: Gut.

Colonel Preston, if you please.

LEHR: You can come out now.

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

From your Red Cross parcels, I think, Colonel.

I shall inform the Kommandant of this, Colonel,

He will no doubt wish to speak to you about it.

Which one of you disobeyed my orders?

Gentlemen, you are officers who hold the King's Commission,

not a bunch of schoolboys, I will ask the question once again.

Which one of you disobeyed my order?

-You? -Yes, sir.

-Why? -It seemed like a good opportunity, sir.

PRESTON: Explain yourself.

I didn't think they'd look for him here, sir.

Go on.

He was going to hole up till the hue and cry died down,

then he was going to take my place when we went to the exercise park

and go to ground in the air raid shelter there and then try and...

-With whom did you discuss this plan? -No one, sir.

Just a bright idea that the pair of you cooked up, is that it?

-Yes, sir. But it could have worked... -Could it?

So far, I have witnessed two escape attempts from this camp,

neither of which stood the remotest possible chance of success.

Now, gentlemen, just get it through your heads that you are not escapers.

You are failed escapers.

And you will go on failing

as long as you behave like boy scouts at a summer camp.

We are deep in Germany, 400 miles from the Swiss border.

Now, to have any chance of success,

an escape attempt must be discussed and approved,

knowledge pooled and help given.

How far do you think you are going to get

without civilian clothes, identification paper,

money, maps, a route, a cover story.

Now, all these things need careful planning and good discipline.

We needed time, gentlemen.

We needed the Germans off our backs, lulled into a false sense of security.

Now, we had some prospect of gaining that time, but now we won't get it

because you had a bright idea.

Because you thought you saw a good opportunity.

Because at your age you think you know it all.

You and a number of others amongst you.

(SPEAKING GERMAN)

A direct breach of good faith I believe you said, Colonel Preston.

Am I to assume I can no longer take the word of the Senior British Officer?

I am entitled to an explanation, Colonel.

I have none to offer.

You agreed to cooperate with my policy of segregation,

if, in return, I would obtain your Red Cross parcels.

I went through considerable trouble to get that consignment.

It was not easy, but I felt I was dealing with an honourable man.

So, having got your parcels, you at once break your word.

Is this your conception of honour in the British Army?

-Sir. -The Kommandant is addressing me, Muir.

-Yes, sir, but I... -Be quiet, man!

May I ask if one of your officers disobeyed your orders, Colonel?

Internal discipline among the British officers is my concern.

That, of course, would put a completely different

complexion on the matter.

The officer concerned will be punished,

but there would be no need to withdraw any privileges.

There is only one officer responsible and that is myself.

I respect what you say, Kommandant, but I accept full responsibility.

Very well, Colonel. It will be 1 4 days' solitary confinement.

Also there will be five Appells a day

at two hourly intervals for the next seven days.

If there is any breach of the rules during that time,

this will be extended to another seven days and so on.

You have no right to issue a general punishment for a specific offence.

If you choose to make up your own rules, Colonel,

I must make up mine also.

Perhaps it will teach your officers to obey orders.

(PRESTON SIGHS)

Well, gentlemen, I'm sorry, it appears you're going to be spending

the next week more or less permanently on parade.

No, jerry'll get just as fed up with it as we shall, sir.

Yes, possibly.

As regards the Polish officers,

we revert to the former policy of liaison.

But gentlemen, I will be obliged in future

if my orders are carried out to the letter.

Thank you, Baker.