This film is a biography about Sergeant Major Charles Coward (played by Dirk Bogarde), a most unusual prisoner of war during WWII. I say most unusual because he was constantly escaping or causing mayhem. But be forewarned...the film is not exactly his wartime experiences. Instead of showing the full range of his life, it tends to pick out events that were humorous and make the film like a less funny and more intelligent version of "Hogan's Heroes". The darker aspects of his life, such as his exposure and work with the Jews at Auschwitz were omitted from the picture in order to present the German soldiers as buffoons narrative...a very incomplete picture to say the least. There is no evidence of the SS, massacres or death camps in this film.
Now this is NOT to say it's a bad film. Supposedly the events portrayed, with a few exceptions, did occur and Coward's life was amazing and made for an interesting film. Well worth seeing...but it could have been better.
Now this is NOT to say it's a bad film. Supposedly the events portrayed, with a few exceptions, did occur and Coward's life was amazing and made for an interesting film. Well worth seeing...but it could have been better.