One of a series of films made by the U.S. Army to educate recruits about the Code of Conduct, this film discusses the duty of soldiers to resist the enemy, including when in captivity. Soldiers are instructed to resist by all means available, and make every effort to escape, and especially to not accept any parole or favors from the enemy. The will to resist, the film teaches, is what can keep men who are imprisoned alive. Produced in 1959 during the Cold War, the film seems to show an Eastern European prison camp complete with a Colonel Klink like commandant.
Main titles (:06-:49). U.S. Army soldiers including an African American await an enemy assault in foxholes. They are low on ammunition. A prison camp, G.I.s wait in the food line. Two men stage a fight to divert the enemy’s attention away from an escape — a man escapes under the fence (:50-2:28). Two Americans have escaped. Enemy guards are furious. Interrogators try and figure out if the fight was staged and offer parole and privileges to every witness. G.I.s stay cool under this pressure and don’t say a word. In the prison barracks, a sergeant explains to his men all the reasons not to take parole offers from the enemy (2:29-4:12). A man named Crane is asked to keep away from the prison camp’s fence. Enemy guards patrol. Crane talks to another prisoner about a possible escape but the other guy wants him to not make waves (4:13-5:36). Crane talks to his sergeant about resisting the enemy’s offer to grant him a parole. Now, the liberation of the prison camp is shown, with a Pershing tank pushing through the gates. Americans bust into and liberate a prison camp. The men are happy, shake hands, and walk out. One man however was a snitch, working for the enemy. The Sergeant can’t even look this collaborator in the eye (5:37-7:13). Soldiers walk away. Army painting (7:14-7:31). End credits (7:32-7:38).
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
