About
Colditz is a British television series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974. The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle when designated Oflag IV-C during World War II, and their many attempts to escape captivity, as well as the relationships formed between the various nationalities and their German captors.
Cast
David McCallum
as Flt. Lt. Simon Carter
Bernard Hepton
as Kommandant
Christopher Neame
as Lt. Dick Player
Edward Hardwicke
as Capt. Pat Grant
Peter Penry-Jones
as P.O. Peter Muir
Jack Hedley
as Lt. Col. John Preston
Episodes
Season 1
The Undefeated
The opening episode takes place in June 1940. Captain Pat Grant (Edward Hardwicke) is captured and taken to a camp where he immediately starts organizing escape activity. After an unsuccessful escape he is sent to Colditz.
Missing, Presumed Dead
Action takes place in May 1940. After having a disagreement with his new wife, Flight Lieutenant Simon Carter (David McCallum) sets off for a night mission over Germany but he is forced to bail out of his crashing aircraft. On the ground, he befriends a young priest but the Gestapo arrests them both. Carter escapes first from the Gestapo and then from the prisoner of war camp he is assigned to – from there he is despatched to Colditz.
Name, Rank and Number
The bruised and unconscious body of submariner Lieutenant Dick Player is washed up on a beach somewhere in France. He is wearing plain clothes and speaks fluent German, which makes his captors believe he may be a spy. He escapes from the hospital where he is taken to recover but is recaptured and interviewed by the Gestapo. Player had once lived in Germany as the son of a diplomat and manages to get to speak to a childhood friend – now an important government official who offers Dick a chance to work with a plot to overthrow Hitler, but at a price.
Welcome to Colditz
Colditz gets a new senior British officer, Colonel Preston (Jack Hedley). (The previous senior British officer, Major Donaldson is referred to in this episode but never seen). On his arrival he witnesses a futile escape attempt by Flight Lieutenant Carter and when the Kommandant meets him, he believes Preston is a man of honour who he can deal with. The colonel's new orders that seem to be appeasing the Germans cause conflict and dissension in the ranks, but there is method in the colonel's madness, which could come unstuck when a Polish officer decides to escape.
Maximum Security
The arrival of a new security officer – Haupman Ullman, leads to a tightening up of security. However the British contingent manages to eavesdrop on a meeting that will decide the strategic use of Colditz and they are surprised at what they learn. Meanwhile, the disillusioned German second in command (Michael Gough) is giving cause for concern with his behaviour, and when the Gestapo arrive, they spring a surprise on the Kommandant and his new security chief.
The Spirit of Freedom
Flight Lieutenant Carrington (Robert Wagner) joins the British contingent in Colditz and he is viewed with resentment, especially by Simon Carter (David McCallum) and after they have a scuffle that ends up with the American in solitary, Carrington announces that he wishes to write a book that examines the war from the German point of view. The Gestapo come to interview Carrington and grant permission, but do they trust Carrington – and does he trust them?
Lord, Didn't It Rain
When a lorry drives into the Castle courtyard, Captain Grant seizes the opportunity to put a blitz escape operation into action.
The Traitor
German guards are foiling too many escape attempts which leads Colonel Preston to believe that there is an informer working within the imprisoned population, so an inquiry is started to identify the suspect, but this sets off a chain of events which reveal the darker side of life in Colditz.
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