. Colditz

Colditz.

Colditz, the story of the wartime prisoners at Oflag IV-C was documented by P.R. Reid in his books The Colditz Story and The Latter Days At Colditz, and the former was used as the basis for a 1955 film directed by Guy Hamilton. In the early 1970s the BBC broadcast a series, Colditz, created by Brian Degas and Gerard Glaister, with Reid as technical advisor.

Film:

The Colditz Story (1955) was a dramatic film re-enactment of life in the camp during WWII, based entirely on the books of Pat Reid (Patrick Reid), directed by Guy Hamilton, who would later go on to direct three of the James Bond movies. Although some Fictional content was added to embellish the situations, it was predominantly historically accurate. The film portrays life inside the camp and the escape attempts, starting with two captured British POW's arrival at the castle. It starred John Mills as Pat Reid, Bryan Forbes as Jimmy Winslow, and Ian Carmichael as Robin Cartwright. It was also nominated for a British Academy of Film and television Arts Award in 1956. It has been called an "Outstanding factual World War Two drama about Allied POW's held in Germany's most secure wartime prison."

Television and TV movies:

Escape of the Birdmen (1971) was a television movie loosely based on Pat Reid's book. This movie is of note in that it is the first movie based on Pat Reid's books to reference the Colditz glider.

Colditz (1972-1974) was a dramatic television series aired on BBC1 television. It ran for a total of 28 episodes across two seasons, progressing in time from the opening of the camp until its liberation in 1945. The first three episodes of the series acted as an introduction to the plot of the show and introduced the viewers to the three central characters by following the events that led up to their arrival at the camp. The series was a joint production between the BBC and Universal TV (an American company), but for reasons unknown, it never aired in the United States. Episodes 24 "A Very Important Person" and 25 "Chameleon" did however air in the US as a two hour TV movie entitled Escape From Colditz, in 1974. A review of the film was printed in the newspaper The News of the world, which praised it saying: "It has all the realism, dignity and courage of the men it commemorates." Its more notable actors were Jack Hedley as Lieutenant Colonel John Preston from 1972-74, Edward Hardwicke as Captain Pat Grant from 1972-73, Robert Wagner as Major Phil Carrington from 1972-74, David McCallum as Flight Lieutenant Simon Carter from 1972-74, and Dan O'Herlihy as Lieutenant Colonel Max Dodd in 1974.

Escape from Colditz (2001) is a British television movie.

Colditz (2005) was a mini-series on ITV1, based on Henry Chancellor's book Colditz: The Definitive History, directed by Stuart Orme. This tale is much more fictional than its predecessors, with fictional characters and situations that are merely based on real people and events. It features Jason Priestley (Beverly Hills 90210)