The Password is Courage – 1962 | 116 mins | War | B&W

Plot Synopsis

The Password is Courage is a factually based account of the wartime exploits of Sgt Major Charles Coward, this films light-hearted narrative might have benefited from a more dramatic retelling of his fascinating story. Dirk Bogarde is somewhat miscast as the war hero Coward, a cocky British officer locked up in the notorious German PoW camp Stalag 8B. Coward spends most of his time encouraging his fellow inmates to escape, whilst also humiliating his German guards when the opportunity arises. His first effort involves lying with wounded German soldiers as he’s being marched to the POW camp, he’s taken to hospital, but his true identity is revealed. He also digs a tunnel and manages to get maps with the aid of the Polish Resistance, he escapes with Pope (Alfred Lynch), but both men are recaptured. After that failure, the two men hatch an audacious plan to escape using a fire engine, and drive it to freedom.