The Password Is Courage (1962)

First of all this film is based on Charlie Cowards Biography so a lot of it is quite correct,but like all films artistic licence has crept in for the sake of continuity,all in all the film is entertaining,now lets look at when it was made.The Early 60s, when a lot of memories from World War 2 were still fresh in peoples minds so a lot what was in Charlie Cowards book would have had the red pencil put through it as unsuitable.Lastly not only was Charlie Coward a Technical Adviser on this film he also appeared in it as an ordinary British Soldier in the scene where they are having a party after he is released from solitary confinementJohn Wignall

'The Password is Courage', a story of prisoners of war based on the biography of a certain Seargant Coward, is a strange film. On one hand, the low production values give it the feel of a wartime propaganda romp (even though it was in fact made in 1962); on the other hand, Dirk Bogardde's cheeky chappy persona and some comical portraits of the Germans seem rather to predict the coming of "'Allo 'Allo". In spite of the generally amateurish feel, the key scenes still convey some tension; but most later movies on this subject possess more bite and cynicism about the nature of humans under duress on both sides of the wire.

I've just finished watching this film for the first time in many years and found it disappointing. The only thing that kept me viewing is the fact that my father was incarcerated in Stalag 8b (the setting for the majority of the film). Although this film is historically correct for the most part the detail is very inaccurate, the acting almost amateur and the depiction of conditions makes the Stalag look like a holiday camp, which it certainly was not.As with the previous comment I can only assume that this is an attempt to make light of a situation that meant many years of hardship and misery for many brave men. Unless you have a personal interest in the film subject I wouldn't bother watching.

The Password is Courage was made for International Refugee Year in 1959 and I seem to remember that was why Dirk Bogarde did the film. At the time I was living in East Anglia (as I do now) and reports of the filming were shown on the local news. There was also an interview with Charlie Coward, who was then a bookmaker.I think that a lot of the shaky locations were due to the limited budget, but I thoroughly enjoyed the film at the time. I also saw it at Liverpool University in the 60's, where it was put in its historical context and it stood up well.Lose the reasons for making it and the truth behind it and I suspect it could become a very poor film.