THE PASSWORD IS COURAGE **

Extremely enjoyable POW yarn based on the real-life exploits of one, Charley Coward, (Dirk Bogarde), who made it his mission as a prisoner during the Second World War to make life hell for the Germans before finally escaping. Andrew L Stone wrote and directed the picture in an unusually jocular fashion and a host of British character actors make for a rumbustious bunch or prisoners as well as the odd German, including the always reliable Reginald Beckwith as a very camp commandant. It's no great shakes as a movie but it's certainly entertaining with Stone throwing a lot of broad comedy into the mix without sacrificing any of the basic excitement.