SoTrumpBelieve Must See Movie...

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

clanciai It's seldom you meet with a film so full of natural cheer as this one and under the direst circumstances. It's almost like a yarn of Munchhausen all the way, but this is actually a true story, truer than "The Great Escape" some year later, concentrating on the titbits of the adventures of the constantly escaping prisoner sergeant-major Charles Coward (However did he get his name?) and his exploits and mates during the second world war, four years of imprisonment and finally making it just in time for the end of the war. Dirk Bogarde is perfect for the job, all his mates help in keeping up the show whenever necessary, the keyword is inventiveness which is practiced to extreme levels, and there is even a lovely woman with at least a moment's romance by the way. The Germans are not overly ridiculed, only just enough to keep you happy, they actually do their best to keep up war prison standards, although they can't really see the fun the prisoners are having. After 55 years this film is still as fresh and exhilarating as new as if the war just had finished, and it's ideal entertainment for anyone who needs some cheer-up.

robertguttman All of the characters in that well-known film, "The Great Escape", were commissioned officers. But what about the "other ranks"? How did they fare under German captivity? "The Password is Courage" attempts to shed some light on the lives of the enlisted prisoners-of-war. It follows the experiences of a British Sergeant-Major, bearing the unlikely name of Coward, who proves to be anything but. Played by Dirk Borgarde, Sgt.-Maj. Coward was among the many British troops who couldn't manage to make it out of France after the fall of Dunkirk in 1940. Although taken prisoner, he did not consider himself out of the war and. For the next four years he did everything he could to make keeping him a prisoner as inconvenient as possible for his captors.Some of the film seems far-fetched. However, it was based upon the exploits of a real man. In fact, there seems to be every reason to believe that Charlie Coward's real experiences were, if anything, even more extraordinary than those depicted in the movie. All in all, a top- drawer British "ripping yarn".

davidpjgardner This is truly a classic black and white British film and for those that claim it is just a poor version or copy of The Great Escape.maybe people should consider that the film was made and released a year before the great escape.And is in fact more factual than the more popular Hollywood version.For its age the copy of the film is very good and is still a nice and crisp print that shows some fantastic shots.The cast line up is the standard British stock for this era but you can spot many actors who only played extras or very small roles that went on to be stars of British TV and film.

anthonyrwaldman I First saw this film on its release in 1962. Unfortunalely, I had read John Castle's biography of sargant- major Charles Coward before I saw the film. A large section of the book deals with Coward's attempts to help Jews escape from the Auchwitz death camp. The film dealt with this by having a five minute segment where Henry Piek's drawings of the horrors of Auchwitz are shown with Dirk Bogarde giving a voice over commentary. Well, at least it was a film that mentioned the Hollocaust . A very rear thing in the early 1960's. I saw this film again just recently on television and the Auchwitz segment had been edited out of the film. So, now the film is just another Second World War adventure movie along with an unlikely romantic interest that was not in the biography (Coward was married and very much devoted to his wife). But, there is something about this film that makes it different from other British war time escape films. It is about ordinary soldiers and not officers. These soldiers have been put to work by the Germans and the p.o.w. camps do not have the air of the British public school. These other ranks do not just try to escape but commit dangerous acts of sabotage. Therefore, on the whole this film is still worth seeing. It it was great to see the wonderful Dirk Bogarde playing a cockney character part that he does so well.