The Password Is Courage
The Password Is Courage
NR | 21 December 1962 (USA)
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Sergeant-Major Charles Coward, a brave British soldier is captured by German forces during World War II. When he's thrown into a prisoner of war camp, he immediately plans his escape. Masquerading as a wounded German soldier, he makes it as far as the medical tent, where the deceived enemy forces award him the Iron Cross. Though he is ultimately discovered, he goes on to courageously pursue his freedom with a whimsical and undying audacity.

Reviews
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable
writers_reign Beginning in the late forties, peaking in the fifties, and still soldiering on in the sixties the POW film was to the British film industry what the Musical was to Hollywood, i.e. the same old actors ringing the changes on service - army, air force - and roles. Very occasionally they came up with a new angle and turned out something really substantial like Basil Dearden's The Captive Heart but for the most part it was Boy's Own Paper revisited and so it is here. The fact that it is based on a true story doesn't make it another Carve Her Name With Pride (another outstanding example of the genre) and the best you can give this is that it passes the time.
dpatricksawyer I thought it was a very entertaining film, as good as the Great Escape. But the facts prove that most of these events did not happen. Mr Coward, IMO, fabricated a lot of it to build his own story and ego. Check it out if you do not believe me. Despite a grandson of his claiming that Coward's story is totally true, the facts do not substantiate this.I would like to believe that Mr Coward was indeed a brave man, but honorable? And just because he acted as a technical adviser on the film proves nothing. Just a man who is repeating his exaggerations to the film's producers. Who is to call him a liar? There is no substantive evidence of what he claims is true. I have researched it throughly.IMO, Coward (what an irony) cobbled together a number of stories of other exploits to form his own little story. And he was not the only one to do such. But how disingenuous, when knowing that there would not be people to collaborate his story.The film was good entertainment though. But fantasy for a large part. There are so many holes in the story that it is a wonder that Alice did not fall through some of those holes.
JohnHowardReid Although this prisoner-of-war picture packs all the familiar ingredients into its plot, somehow it fails to come across even a fraction as effectively as thirty or forty similar movies I could name. Of course, the cast presents a considerable stumbling block. Dirk Bogarde is the only actor who seems to be pulling his weight. Everyone else turns in such lightweight portrayals, you'd think they were vacationing in a holiday camp. Even the Germans are an unconvincing lot. On the plus side, the movie does present some spectacular moments for railroad buffs, and the photography is suitably bleak. All told, I suppose the movie would offer reasonable entertainment for those who haven't seen "The Wooden Horse", "The Colditz Story", "The Great Escape", etc. But for those who are well acquainted with these far more powerful accounts, "Password" is a limp offering indeed.
JOHN-WIGNALL 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
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