Although this prisoner-of-war picture packs all the familiar ingredients into its plot, somehow it fails to come across even a fraction as effectively as thirty or forty similar movies I could name. Of course, the cast presents a considerable stumbling block. Dirk Bogarde is the only actor who seems to be pulling his weight. Everyone else turns in such lightweight portrayals, you'd think they were vacationing in a holiday camp. Even the Germans are an unconvincing lot. On the plus side, the movie does present some spectacular moments for railroad buffs, and the photography is suitably bleak. All told, I suppose the movie would offer reasonable entertainment for those who haven't seen "The Wooden Horse", "The Colditz Story", "The Great Escape", etc. But for those who are well acquainted with these far more powerful accounts, "Password" is a limp offering indeed.
Review of The Password Is Courage
