The Birdmen

Passable warlike movie with a memorable escape and outstanding acting by well-known TV faces .This is an acceptable film set in Germany 1943 about a daring breakout from inescapable Nazi concentration camp in a high alpine castle ,with all-Television-star-cast and professionally realized . Here troublesome allied Pows are thrown by the Nazis into a stirring and breathtaking breakout . As the only tool they had were their hands , yet they beat the Nazi's escape-proof fortress by building an airplane inside their prison . The film shows how the POWs had to live in Colditz, during World War II . It deals with an American soldier Harry Cook (Doug McClure) is sent to Norway to aid in the defection of a scientist (Rene Auberjonois) working on the atomic bomb for the Germans. Before they can escape Europe, they are captured and sent to a POW prison camp on the German-Swiss border. Cook must find a way to escape with the scientific before the camp commander Schiller (Richard Basehart) and the Gestapo find out the Norwegian's true identity. The continuous escapes have caused the Nazi staff ordered 'putting all the rotten eggs in one basket' as the prisoners are reunited into this special concentration camp . It concerns about the hard preparatives of a diverse group formed by rebel officers and soldiers mounting a dangerous getaway from an impregnable and strongly controlled camp . The most part of the film concerns on the elaborated process of secretly carry out the manufacturing a glider and the last one deals with spectacular breakout . The race is on to complete the glider before the German guards discover the plane, and the Gestapo catch up with Cook and the scientist . The prisoners in Colditz Castle make many attempts to escape captivity from the arrival of the first prisoners until the liberation of the castle by the Americans in 1945 . Set in Colditz , it was a "special" camp, designed by the Nazis to hold high-risk and politically important prisoners . Although the flight of the Colditz glider did not happen as originally planned, two full-sized replicas of the glider were built and flown to discover if the plan would have worked . They used to boast there were only two ways to escape from Hitler's Beckstadt prison... to die...or to sprout wings .

Bland actioner that pretends to be a thrilling movie but spends a lot of time retelling poorly and in middle budget the difficult preparatives until the exciting final escape . This moving story contains thrills, intrigue, tension, excitement galore, entertainment and impressive finale . Suspenseful WWII packs exceptional plethora of prestigious actors incarnating the motley group of POWs , giving good acting and a great support cast , until an intriguing conclusion with lots of excitement at its end . The film was loosely based on a true story. Allied prisoners-of-war held at Colditz Castle constructed a similar glider under the noses of their captors , but did not complete the aircraft until after D-Day . Set almost entirely within a reconstruction of the now-famous castle-fortress prisoner-of-war camp during WWII, there is little in the way of physical action . Instead we're treated to some of the best form of "mind games" and psychological manoeuvring and competition you can hope to see on TV, as the two sides constantly strive to get one over on the other. It dispenses with usual protocol , a good Nazi : Richard Basehart and Nazi bad guys : the Gestapo men . The Allied prisoners are determined not to be beaten mentally by their surroundings and look for every possible means of escape, while the Germans are always on their toes, looking for clues about possible break-outs and ways in which the Allied prisoners are trying to outsmart them . During their captivity a few went insane some died while trying to escape and some made a succesful escape . Doug McClure, the famous ¨Trampas¨ gives a compelling acting as Cook who convinces the other prisoners to build a two person glider that can fly to Switzerland . His contender is the veteran Richard Basehart as the tough but understanding Nazi commandant Schiller . They are well accompanied by a superb ensemble support cast such as : Max Baer Jr. , Chuck Connors , Don Knight , Paul Koslo , Barry Brown , Tom Skerritt , Charles Aidman and Karl Swenson. The motion picture was profesional , though regularly directed by Philip Leacock . He was a good craftsman who made all kinds of geners : Drama , thriller , Film Noir ,comedy , Terror, Wartime , and working as TV as cinema , such as : 3 sovereigns for Sarah , Angel city , The curse of King Tut's tomb , Killer on board , Baffled , Shattered silence , War lover , Let no man write my epitaph , Wild and whooly , Dying room only , The Spanish gardener , Escapade , among others . Rating : passable and aceptable . 5.5/10 .

This one belongs to popular sub-genre about life and escapes from concentration camps , such as : ¨Stalag¨ 17 by Billy Wilder with William Holden , ¨Colditz¨ (original title) 1972 with David MacCallum , Jack Hedley , Robert Wagner , Edward Hardwicke , ¨Victory¨ by John Huston with Sylvester Stallone , Michael Caine , Max Von Sidow , and the best of all them : ¨The great escape¨ (1963) by John Sturges with Steve McQueen , Donald Pleasence , James Coburn , James Garner , James Donald ; followed by an inferior sequel : ¨The great escape : the untold story¨1988 by Jud Taylor and Paul Wendkos with Christopher Reeve , Jud Hirsch , Ian MacShane .

This movie's not bad for a TV movie, but it's interesting to note it's historical basis. Colditz Castle was 'Supermax'; the German repository for Allied 'Escape Experts'. Every prisoner in residence had at least one close-to-successful escape attempt from another facility under his belt.

Colditz had the distinction of being the only German POW camp where the guards outnumbered the prisoners. Even so, successful escapes were made.

The most daring plan involved the building of the glider in this movie.

It was actually built, but never used. They were ready to go a month or two before the end of the war, but all prisoners were ordered through the intelligence network by London to sit tight because the Germans had begun shooting escapees. The Colditz gang decided to follow their orders and save the glider to be used in case the Germans starting murdering prisoners and a quick, sure way was needed to get someone 'over the wire' to alert the oncoming Allied forces.

The camp was liberated without incident and the glider was shown around for a few weeks as a morale booster to repatriates of other camps. It was then boosted back up into the attic, but disappeared over the winter of 1945-46; probably destroyed by Russian officers billetted there and used as firewood against the unusually severe winter.

For more info read P.R. Reid's "ESCAPE FROM COLDITZ".

It has been over 30 years since I've seen the movie "The Birdmen." I only remember bits and pieces---one scene that comes to mind is a song one of the captured POWs sing that really bothered the Germans. Even after all these years, I still remember that melody. I'm hoping to try and find it on VHS or DVD-now that I know what the title is. (Thank you IMDb.com). When it first aired, I remember my brother and I watching it. Since neither of us really cared about history-we only watched it for our own reasons. I was a fan of Chuck Connors and my brother liked Richard Baseheart. And of course; we both knew who Max Baer, Jr was. It would make a welcome addition to anyones video/DVD library.

I saw this movie twice on TV in the 70's when I was only ten years old and it became my favorite movie of all time. It also made me fall in love with Rene Auberjonois. I've been searching for any news on it for THIRTY years. I even wrote to Rene to see if he could give me any info. Now here you are. People just like me who love this movie. I thought I was all alone. I've found you at last. It's been a long time to wait.For 15 years I didn't even have the name of the movie correct which made it very difficult. When people ask me what my favorite movie is and I reply "The Birdmen", they look at me like I've got a banana growing out of my ear. When all alone I've been one of a chosen few. It must be a classic movie to have endured all these years and still have an active fan base.

What a great movie and story. A story based on the Colditz Castle Prisoners of war tale. Believable characters because they are based on real people. This isn't your average escape movie, as it highlights the inventiveness of the human spirit when held captive. This is a prime example of how to tell a story through a movie, No "reimagined" tales, no artsy representations of what happened... just a solid telling of a story that is amazing, and at the same time unbelievable. A good ensemle of actors that play very well as a group of men thrown together in a dire situation, and end up striving toward a common selfless goal. This is a movie that still stands up today, and I only wish there were a remastered copy of this movie out there. Great fodder for a remake...and I mean "REMAKE" not a reimagined story full of unnecessary fluff. I am just not sure that there are actors today who could be put in a film together and not have their egos ruin the production. This is one of those films that you watch familiar stars all "play nice" together, and it made a great movie that I was happy to find on DVD after first seeing it almost 50 years ago as a little kid. I love movies, and I must say that this move is one of my favorites from yesteryear. Beyond this being a great film it is a great story. Ingenuity, planning, and the inventiveness to overcome insurmountable odds and successfully accomplish the impossible is the theme that stands the test of time. This is a story of a time when men were men, and thses men would put others before themselves without hesitation for a cause.