Colditz (1972–1974): Season 2, Episode 9 - Senior American Officer - full transcript

Hey! Hey, tell Phipps he's got company.

One of them looks old enough
to be a ruddy general.

Except American generals somehow
never quite look like generals.

American?
- I reckon.

Yeah, three of them.

Oh! well, I'll be damned.

Hey, get this.

As you well know, this camp
is under the control of the Wehrmacht.

In signing this order,
I wish to make it quite clear

that they are no longer under Gestapo
or SS jurisdiction.

Friends of yours?



Never seen them in my life before.

Damn cheeky I call that, then.

We don't whistle at strange generals
in our army.

Not even if they're in the ATS.

There's a lieutenant-colonel
and a major with a beard.

The third's a captain,
and they're all non-combat.

How do you mean, non-combat?

Well, they're not infantry,
they sure aren't Air Force,

they're not even from the Signal Corps.

So?

Well, so how come they end up
in a German camp?

Point taken.

Gentlemen, for a few days,
you will remain in cells

reserved for prisoners
in solitary confinement.



It will give you time to rest, reflect

and I hope recover
from your recent experiences,

whatever may have been their cause.

Solitary?

Yeah, they've been worked over
pretty well, too.

Poor sods.
- Poor sods, as you said.

Hang on!
- What?

I'll be damned if he's not
laughing and shaking hands.

What?
- Who's laughing?

Ulmann!

He... He's patting him on the back,

patting one of the Americans
on the back.

Maybe he's his long lost cousin
or something.

Oh, yeah, sure.

He damn well waited
until he was out of sight first,

at least until he thought he was.

And the next moment,
they were shaking hands?

Well, if I was you, Jim, I should
take a good look at those chaps

when they get out of solitary.

That'll take me all of 10 seconds.

The Reich Security Service attaches the
highest importance to this, Herr Major,

and will be grateful to you.

I shall do what I can,
but using my own methods.

You don't approve of
our methods, Herr Major?

As a matter of practicality, they have,
in this case, proved a failure.

What methods you use is, of course,
your own responsibility,

but for any success at all, Herr Major,

the Reich Security Service
will be extremely grateful,

at the highest level.
Of that I can assure you.

Hei{ Hitler.
- Hei{ Hitler.

Where have they been hiding you,
Mr Carrington?

They must have all this time
been keeping you

as a special secret prize
for themselves.

If they've done you any harm,
please accept my deepest apologies.

Here you are, gentlemen,
enjoy a good night's rest.

Anyway, it'll be nice for you,
having familiar voices around again.

Yeah, you bet. Wonder if
any of them comes from Philadelphia?

Yeah, it's a funny thing, though,

the way they didn't react
when I whistled at them.

Well, why should they?

Well, because there isn't a man
in the United States Army

doesn't know that tune.

♪ You're in the army now

♪ You're not behind the plough

♪ You son of a bitch
You'll never get rich

♪ You're in the army now ♪

Yes, but on the other hand, you know,
if I was a lieutenant-colonel, say,

arriving here for the first time
and feeling rather rough,

and some silly young shaver
leaned out of a window

and started whistling
We're the Bays of the Old Brigade,

I don't think I'd exactly leap
six foot in the air, you know.

Okay.

I guess you'd have to be a GI to know
what I'm talking about.

Well, you'll have to be our expert,
then, won't you?

How do you mean?

Well, we always have to be a bit careful
when chaps come in for the first time,

well, just for a few days, you know,

unless, of course, we know them.
Which in a funny way, we usually do.

How come you usually know them?

You've got over two million men
under arms, haven't you?

All the same, you do know them
as a rule, somehow.

We did have a couple of chaps, though,

one a Pole, the other
some poor, wretched Englishman.

I felt sorry for him.

Working for Jerry.
We soon spotted him, though.

It's kind of a responsibility.

We haven't told them yet that Carrington
is one of the three Americans.

When he escaped from here,

we spread it about
that he never got out of Germany,

to discourage escape attempts,
of course.

Well, in a sense, he didn't get away.

Say nothing about Carrington
for a day or two.

Oh, and Ulmann,
any information you can pick up

on these Americans,
let me have it at once.

Is there some mystery about them?

Yes. And the SD wants it cleared.

That American, um... Ah, Phipps.

He saw them arrive.

And I have the impression
that he might know them.

Try and find out, if you can.

Of course, there is always rivalry
between the Americans and the English.

It's a little like Austria and Prussia
in the old days.

Pride, jealousy.

We might be able to use it.

We don't want friction in the camp.

On the contrary,
we want things to run smoothly.

To a point.

Depends on the objective.

Brunz.

Brunz, still on KP, huh?

Herr Carrington!

Well, the food's better, I'll say that.

Well, thank you, Herr Carrington.

And if I may say so,
welcome back to Colditz.

Herr Carrington, please.

That's very nice of you, Brunz.
You got any matches?

Ja.

Why not?

We are all human beings.

We are Germans and you are Americans.
That's the only difference.

Mr Carter still here?
- Ja.

Mr Brent?
- Ja.

Downing?

Ja, all are here, and all are fine.

And Colonel Preston?
- Yes, he's here.

Say hello to them for me, will you?
- Yes, of course.

I can't wait for you to meet those men,
and Colonel Preston, the SBO.

Thanks. SBO?

Senior British Officer.
He's one hell of a man.

Yeah, the food's better.

But it's still the same old Colditz.

That, uh, guard just now,
I hope there's more like him.

He's okay.

Well, like he said,
they're Germans, we're Americans.

Hmm.

That's how we'd like it,
but that isn't how we've got it.

We're prisoners and they're jailers.
And no normal person likes to be either.

So we pretend a little.

So, what's wrong with pretending?
At least we've got coffee.

You know, I never had real coffee
in solitary before.

There'll be a reason for it.

You know, I never had company
in solitary before.

So we're in solitary, but we're not.

Major, when does real life begin?

When somebody gets shot, I guess.

Well, at least you're not
the only American

in Colditz now, Herr Lieutenant.

Guard.

Hey, have you spoken to them?

Not personally, no,
but some of the other staff, yes.

Where are they from?
Do you happen to know?

I mean, what states are they from?

Are there any from Pennsylvania,
for example?

Of that I have absolutely no idea.

But I could find out.

Try and do that for me, will you?

Oh, by the way,
what outfits are they from?

Outfits? You mean, which regiment?

No, not regiment, exactly, no.
I mean, what branch of the service?

I saw them arrive, but I couldn't see
what insignia they were wearing.

Or perhaps you guys took off
their insignia for souvenirs.

You know what I mean?

In our army, we wear, like, insignia,

to show what branch
of the service we're from.

Oh, yeah, in ours, too. Red for
artillery, yellow for cavalry, and so?

Right, right, right.
So, if it's not a military secret,

ask one of your buddies to find out
what branch of the service they're from.

'Cause, um, I'm interested.

Well, we all are.

Okay?

Okay.

And the way he asked these questions,

did it sound like casual interest
or more like suspicion?

I would say it was suspicion.

And on such a small point, too.
Insignia.

Yes. Yes, it's true.

Americans are very conscious of birth,
of origin.

Perhaps it is because
they are not quite sure

what being an American
is supposed to mean.

In Württemberg, you can tell
a Saxon at a glance.

Exactly. But not them.
The blood is too mixed.

So the American Phipps is asking
the same questions that we are.

He said, "We are all interested."

Good.

Perhaps we can help him
to find the answers.

Thank you, Winter.
- Herr Major.

Hauptmann Ulmann, please.

Ulmann? Private Brunz.

Brunz, the one who is always
talking to the prisoners.

I want him transferred immediately.

Yes. Tell him he is leaving Colditz,

and that he is going to
the Brandenburg Division at Potsdam.

Yes.

And tell him...
Tell him also that, uh...

that it is no secret,
that he should be proud of it.

And tell him that his brother
has been transferred there already.

Oh, you think it might sound ridiculous?

Well, actually, it has already happened.

Yes. The Brandenburg have been
doing some very odd things lately.

Oh, Ulmann, a question.

The local newspaper
that we allow the prisoners, it is...

It is the Dresdener Volksblatt?

Thank you, Ulmann. That is all.
Yes, thank you.

I want you to get me the editor
of the Dresdener Volksblatt please.

Tim! George!
- Yes?

Guess what?
- What?

Phil's back.

Phil Carrington?
- Yeah.

He's in solitary.

He's one of the three
we saw coming in yesterday.

Good God!
- Who's Phil Carrington?

Oh, you must have heard us
talk about him.

He's American, joined up with the RAF
and escaped from here years ago,

long before you lot
even came into the war.

You know, if he managed
to get back to England,

there's a chance he might have
got in touch with our families.

Oh, come off it, Simon.
Surely they'd have written to us.

Oh, yeah, that's true.

Anyway, that scotches the rumour
that he never got away.

Does it?
- What on earth do you mean?

Oh, come off it.

Good evening, gentlemen.

Is it true Lieutenant Carrington's back?

Well, we were keeping that
as a little surprise for you,

but yes, he's back.

Not as a lieutenant.
As a major, an American major.

What's happening to those men?
Are they being roughed up in there?

I give you my word of honour that
they are being extremely well treated.

Do you happen to know if Phil Carrington
got back to England?

Yes.
- So he did escape?

He did get away from Germany.
- Of course he did.

You said at one time that he didn't,

and that that postcard was a fake.

Nonsense, gentlemen, he got clear away.

Otherwise, why would he be back
in Colditz as an American major?

It stands to reason, gentlemen.

Excuse me, please, sir, Captain Downing.

Hello, Brunz.

Tomorrow I am being transferred,

so I'm going to ask if I may say
a special goodbye to you, okay?

To me?

For me, you are always
the number one officer here.

Oh, really.

You are in the British Guards.

My father, in the first war,
was sergeant-major

in the Erster Fuss-Garde regiment,
the foot guards.

You're, uh, going to another camp?

On the contrary, I'm being transferred
to the Brandenburg Division at Potsdam.

I say, that's pretty crack stuff.

God knows why they send me.

I hope it doesn't reflect
on the general state of the Wehrmacht.

But that's a specialist division,
isn't it?

For training purposes.
My older brother is also now there.

Older brother?

He was in the Army Postal Service.
He has bad hearing.

Well, our father, if he could see us,
would be proud.

From a slaughterhouse in Chicago
to the Brandenburg Division at Potsdam.

Life changes.
- Brunz!

Brunz!
- Herr Felds.

Stop talking to the prisoners.
You are on duty.

Jawohl, Herr Felds.

What was he gassing on about?

As far as I can tell,
the German army must be

scraping the bottom
of the barrel these days.

That poor old slogger Brunz,
he's being transferred

to the Brandenburg Division,
if you believe it.

That's one of the crack units
of the German army.

Wish we could smuggle that little titbit
back to London.

I know a couple of lucky little
sucking pigs at the war Office

who'd go and open
a damn good bottle of claret

at the Carlton on the strength of that.

Except...
- Except what?

Except I don't really believe it.

He wouldn't make it up.

No, he wouldn't make it up,
but I still don't believe it.

The harder I tried to convince them that
Carrington had escaped from Germany,

the less they believed me.

Well, it's all very subtle.

I can only say that I hope
that it works.

It may not work, sir,
but at least it is worth a try.

The energy will come from the British,
their pride, their suspicion.

And if the Americans let
just one name slip,

it will all have been worth it.

And with luck, the Americans will have
to tell their British allies

all of the story
in order to convince them.

And that is precisely what the
Reich Security Service wishes to hear.

I would not know about the requirements
of the Reich Security Service.

That is an SS organisation.

I am not privy to its secrets
as perhaps you are, Major.

What is at stake, sir, is no less
than the entire relationship

between the Third Reich
and one of its most important allies.

It seems these allies
have been conducting

secret peace talks with the Americans.

The Reich Security Service wishes
to know the terms

and the names of those involved,
the top names.

As the Herr Major says,
it'll cost nothing to try

beyond a few tricks.

Meanwhile, until the Americans
come out of solitary confinement,

they are being treated very well.

The better they are treated, the more
suspicious will the British become.

Very well, Major.

I have a surprise for you.

A gift. American newspapers.

Where did you get those?

Well, the Reich Security Service
obtains them in Lisbon.

St Louis Post-Dispatch.

Unfortunately, most of them are
three to four months old,

but some of them are quite recent.

I had ordered these especially for you
from Berlin.

Why this burst of generosity, Major?

It seems to me that
perhaps you Americans,

even more than we Europeans,
suffer from a sense of,

uh, homesickness,

from a stronger sense of
family deprivation, if you will.

I thought the sight of
these familiar newspapers

might help to cheer you up a little.

And in return?

I was hoping that you might see things
in better perspective,

realise that it could do me...
Do you no harm

to tell me a little more about
the organisation which sent you here.

We've already told your Gestapo
colleagues all we're going to tell.

I think we proved that,
even to their satisfaction.

And certainly to mine, Major.

However, what harm can it do to you,
or to your country,

to admit that it was
the Office of Strategic Services

which sent you here, on the mission
that finds you here in Colditz?

Where would it get you
if it had been the OSS?

That is for us to decide, Colonel.

If you will forgive me saying so,

it is you who are our prisoners,
not we yours.

Not yet.

In your view, Herr Major,
in the Gestapo's view, anyway,

the American OSS is
a political espionage unit.

One of your colleagues, a type
who sports a death's head on his cap,

well, he spent a couple of hours last
week pounding that into my left jaw.

Having made his point,
he went on to say

that soldiers engaged
in political espionage

forfeit their rights
under the Geneva Convention

and end up being shot.

But you're prisoners of
the Wehrmacht, Major.

On that you have my word
as a German officer.

As a German officer?

Yes, as a German officer.

Hey, uh... Hey, fellas, take a look.

Uh, Dick Tracy's got a new character
here, called The Brain. Look at him.

Must have been a member of the SS.

Lieutenant Phipps?
- Yes?

You know, my feelings
were hurt yesterday

when you suggested that
your three fellow countrymen

might be getting a bad time from us.

I accepted your word on that.
- Thank you.

But to put your mind completely at rest,

please come with me
to the cells where they are.

Feel free to see for yourself.

I would. Why not? Say hello to Phil
for me while you're there.

There will be absolutely
no verbal communication.

You may see.
You may, if you choose, listen,

but they're in solitary confinement.

And if you try to communicate,
you'll find yourself in there with them.

Okay. Let's go.

You, too, Captain Brent, if you wish,
on the same conditions.

All right, yeah.

Fair enough.

Sorry, Max, you're not doing so hot.
All right, let's try another one.

How many runs did the Reds score
against the Braves

in the second series of 1943?

Four.
- Wrong.

Six.
- Right.

No, they wouldn't let us talk to them.

Ulmann was there
and he was watching us like a hawk.

Yeah, but Phil seemed in good shape?
- Fine.

Bloody well ought to be.
God! Meat! Rabbit!

Shut up!

They seemed to be holding
a seminar in there.

Kind of question-and-answer class
using old American newspapers.

Old American newspapers?

Well, where the devil
would they get those from?

There's only one place
they can get them from.

Berlin.

I don't know,
there's something funny going on.

Talking of American newspapers,
I was looking at an ad,

funny enough, in the Volksblatt

"How well do you know America?

"If you have lived there,
are over 18 and under 60,

"contact 746531 Potsdam."

Here, let me see that.

Here now, wait a minute.
Let's see what we've got here.

I mean, they've got good food,
American newspapers,

and you said yourself when they arrived

there was something odd
about their uniform.

And now, when they're all supposed
to be in solitary, they're not.

They're together, holding some sort of
question-and-answer class.

Almost as if they were mugging up
for some exam

or something.
- Exactly.

Well, there's no point in speculating.

Phil will be out in a couple of days.
He'll be back with us.

It'll be all cleared up. Here you are.
You're over 18.

Yes, they'll all three be with us,
living among us.

That's it. The Brandenburg Division.
- The what?

Well, I'd got hold of the wrong end
of the stick the other day,

but it's perfectly obvious now.

When you read out that advertisement,
"Potsdam", it's as clear as daylight.

You remember that guard, Brunz,
the one who's been transferred?

Yes.

You know, the one who's always going on
about this happy days back in Chicago?

Oh, yeah?

Well, he told me
that he couldn't understand

why he was being transferred
to the Brandenburg Division at Potsdam.

It's the crack training division
for the whole of the German army.

And his brother,
who's 48, with bad hearing,

has already been transferred there
from the Army Postal Service.

And he used to live in Chicago as well.

Now, if you put those two together,
add a few hundred more...

In other words,
this so-called Brandenburg Division

may be collecting together
a bunch of German soldiers

who, at one time or another,
lived in the States,

and putting them through
some kind of course of special training.

Exactly.

Dressing them up in American uniforms

and planning to infiltrate them
through Allied lines.

Well, a group of men like that
could create havoc,

and a different sort of havoc
in a place like this.

With all due respect, Tim,
it seems a bit far-fetched to me.

Oh, does it, Mawson?

Now look, just because you haven't been
locked up here for years

like the rest of us, there's no need to
think we've lost all touch with reality.

We haven't.
And do you know why we haven't?

Because we've used our brains,
seized on every scrap of information

to piece together a complete picture
of what's going on,

not just here in the castle

but in the surrounding countryside,
even in the occupied countries.

And some of those leads
we started out with

were pretty far-fetched, believe you me.

Now, as far as this Brandenburg business
is concerned, let me tell you something.

We've got exactly the same thing
in our army.

You have?
- Yes, in the British Army.

Chaps dressed up in German uniforms

doing German drill
and giving German orders.

Haven't we, Mawson?

Yes, but it's not the same thing.

It's not intended for sabotage,
but for training and demonstration.

Nevertheless, it does exist.
- All right, then supposing...

You'll never tell me
that Phil Carrington

would let himself in
for a caper like that.

Well, maybe not, Simon, but...

Look, just think for a moment.
Supposing Phil was captured.

Now, you and I know him.
He's a very resourceful sort of chap.

He may have decided
to go along with Jerry

and then spill the beans
at the last minute.

Yeah, what about the other two?

Well, I don't know.

Sent here to try and find out about
codes, contacts with the resistance,

plans for mass breakouts...
- If so,

Phil will tell us when
he comes out of solitary.

I could punch a hole right through
your theory, Jim.

If they are Nazis in disguise,
why would they be put in solitary?

Why wouldn't they be put
in here with the rest of us?

Because...
- To work up our sympathy,

like with the handcuffs and the bruises,
make us sorry for them.

Make us... It's a funny way
to make us sorry for them,

show them lounging around
reading American newspapers.

Yeah, but Ulmann bawled out
the guard for that.

He'd ordered all the books and papers
taken away before he got there.

Well, I'm going to go and see the SBO.

Gentlemen, I'm grateful to you
for your differing points of view,

especially as Hauptmann Ulmann
informs me that the three Americans

are going to be released from solitary
confinement at 10:00 tomorrow morning.

I suggest that we form
a select committee

to, uh, welcome them tomorrow.

And I must stress that we should have
no preconceived ideas about them.

Just listen to what they've got to say,
and then take it from there.

Gentlemen, I have the honour now
to present to you

your American comrades-in-arms.

In one case, at least,
introductions will not be necessary.

In the case of the others, I will leave
you to make them among yourselves.

Hello, Phil.

It seems a strange place
in which to say welcome,

but I'd like to say it, just the same.

Colonel, if it was any place else
but Colditz,

I would say it was good
to see you again.

As it is, it's great.

May I introduce you
to my commanding officer, Colonel Dodd?

Maximilian Dodd.
- Hello, how do you do?

Colonel Preston, this is Captain Nugent.

Colonel.
- How do you do, Captain?

Well, that's the formal introductions
over. Won't you have a seat over here?

I feel I ought to introduce you to
your only other fellow countryman here.

Oh?
- Phipps, where are you?

Sir.

This is Lieutenant Phipps,
United States Air Force.

How do you do, Lieutenant?
- How do, sir?

Been here long?
- Six weeks. In Colditz, that is.

Ah. Well then, we'll have
to bring you up to date

on what's been happening stateside.

Though I'm afraid we've been absent
for quite some time ourselves.

Thank you, sir.

Phil, why don't you
take a seat over there?

How do?
- Phil Carrington.

Hi.

Hey, Lieutenant?

Uh, when you were in England, did you
by any chance get to see our families?

I knew you were going to ask me that.
I never did get to England.

I did start to write your families,

but because of my status
as an escaped prisoner-of-war,

I was unable to.

Red tape. I'm sorry.

Well, that's odd because Ulmann said
you did get to England.

The less Ulmann knows what I did,
the better.

Can we know?

Sure.

You got the card from Switzerland?
- Yes, we did.

It caused quite a stir.

Well, from there I crossed the border
into France at a place called Yvoire,

down to the Alpes Maritimes,
to Marseille,

I finally made it to Spain,
then to Lisbon,

and from Lisbon was flown
via the Azores to the United States.

I see.

Um, Colonel, I wonder,
might we know a little about you?

Which front were you captured on?

No front. We just dropped in.

You dropped in?
You mean, like that, in uniform?

Well, we didn't buy these second-hand
in Leipzig, I can tell you that.

You parachuted in?

Parachuted in where?

Well, one could say Hungary or Romania.

It could just as easily have been one
as the other.

Would it be proper for me
to ask the nature of your mission?

It would be as proper
for you to ask, sir,

as it would be for me
to refuse to answer.

And please call me Max.

Excuse me, sir, uh,
what outfit are you with?

We're in the army, son,
same army you're in.

But you're in the Air Force,
aren't you, Phipps?

For your information, sir,
Lieutenant Phipps

is in the United States Army Air Force.

What is this, gentlemen?
A court-martial?

Well, Colonel, may we at least know
when you were captured?

Colonel, I think that, in all fairness,

we should fill them in
on as much as possible.

Yes, I can understand that.

You see, since you've been here, you've
received a very special VIP treatment.

May I take it from that that
this was a very high-level affair?

A high-level affair?

I suppose you could call it that.

Beyond that, sir,
I'm afraid I've nothing to say.

Colonel, I wonder if you and I might
have a word together on our own, please?

Excuse me.

How's it going?

Colonel, I can understand your reticence
to a certain degree,

but suspicion and mistrust
are a very real thing in here.

The Germans have attempted
to plant people on us before.

Look, can't you at least tell us
as much of your story

as the Germans know themselves already?
It is the normal procedure.

That much. No more.

Thank you.

Gentlemen...

Okay, six weeks ago, the three of us
were standing on the tarmac

of the United States Army Air Force base
at Brindisi, Italy.

We were about to board one of
your RAF transport planes.

Me, I hadn't done
too much flying,

but I was always being told it was safer
than being in an automobile.

So I'm feeling happy.

We had a deadline to meet
and were due to hit the silk

no later than midnight that night
over our drop area,

somewhere in Central Europe.

It had all been worked out
so beautifully back in Washington.

I say that because
we were just about to take off when,

all of a sudden, the son-of-a-bitching
fog came up and socked us in.

Well, we figure, maybe a little delay is
not going to make that much difference,

but it lasted three whole days.

That's what cost us the mission.

All dressed up, nowhere to go.

Pistol belt, holster, .45 automatic,
and lipstick and nylons for the ladies.

You're honestly trying to tell us
you dropped in,

dressed like that,
armed with nothing but pistols?

Yes, sir.

Because we wanted there to be
absolutely no doubt

that we were what we are,
soldiers, genuine American soldiers.

Phil, did you volunteer for this?

Yes.

Why?

I was told to.

Why you?

Well, they're running short
of men like me

with experience in occupied Europe,

and with all due respect
to what Colonel Dodd has just said,

the United States is
not yet sophisticated

in these areas of operations.

And there's another reason
I was asked to join this team.

And that's classified, sir.

Does "classified" mean
you don't trust us?

We do have an elaborate system of
security, you know, lookouts and so on.

I had assumed that, sir.

Well, Colonel, will you please go ahead
and tell us as much of your story

as you feel free to do?

Finally, three days later, we took off.

We hit the silk dead on target,
12 kilometres Northeast

of the chief city of the province.

Which was?
- "Lollipop" was our codename for it.

We landed smack in the middle
of a field,

stomping around in there,

loaded down with radio equipment
and every other goddamn thing.

We were feeling good, though.

Our guy's not here.

Check our position.

We expected a contact
to take us into the nearest village.

The church was there.
At least, a church was there.

No sign of contacts, though.

There it is.

Let's get rid of this stuff.

Anyway,
we decided to take a chance

and walk right into the village.

Everybody was asleep.

That could be just as well
for our purpose,

the idea being to get a ride into
the local garrison town

as quietly as possible,

and lay our cards on the table
for the local commander.

The town hall seemed our best bet

As it got lighter,
the place started to fill up.

It turned out to be market day,

so pretty soon there were
quite a few citizens gawking at us.

And the lighter it got. the more
incongruous our presence began to feel.

Maybe it was because
he'd heard the rumpus

or perhaps he'd been tipped off
from higher up,

but the mayor seemed to know the score.

You are Americans?

Yes.

You are welcome.

Meanwhile, the locals seem
to have got the idea

that our presence meant
some kind of liberation,

or that the war was over.

Or maybe it was just on account of
it being market day.

Anyhow, the next thing we knew,
it was garlands of roses.

I'm not kidding about that
Garlands of roses.

He broke out all the schnapps and
sent for the dancing girls, literally,

and the gypsies.

Five minutes later, half the village
must have been in there.

That, as I see it,
was the high spot of the whole trip.

I was a radio operator,

and I felt like sending a message
back to the base then and there.

When you've got Hungarians for enemies,
who needs friends?

Anyway, right at that minute,
she was the best-looking dame

I'd ever set eyes on. Oh ho, yeah!

But the mayor had sent
a kid on a bicycle

to the local garrison town,

and sooner or later,
we knew things would start happening.

And they did.

Gentlemen, you are prisoners of war.

In the name of the Hungarian army,

I must ask you
to surrender your pistols.

So, honour has been satisfied.

I do not know what
you are doing in Hungary,

but I have instruction from my superiors
that you are to be treated with respect

due to officers captured
on the field of battle.

Thank you.

Come on, gentlemen.

After that, it was more schnapps.

Now, it goes without saying that
before we started on this mission,

we did have some sort of
high-level arrangement with somebody.

Anyway, this particular officer didn't
seem that surprised to see us,

so we figure he's been tipped off,

which was what we'd been betting on

when we sent him the message
in the first place.

Tipped off by somebody high up
in the government of, say, Ruritania?

Look, we'd better get this straight,
once and for all.

I can see a lot of doubt
on the faces in this room.

We've got our problems, Colonel.
You've got yours, sir.

And frankly, I don't want to know
them, wouldn't want to share them,

unless, of course, you invited me to.

Then that'd be
a different kettle of fish.

All right, point taken.

We spent the night in the garrison town,
under guard.

Now it won't work. Now it's too late.

I don't remember asking
for your opinion.

We were under guard,
but there was talk and drink.

The officer said he'd been
in touch with his brass

and we were to ship out of there at dawn

in one of their trucks,
for the capital city.

It was Budapest.

I don't suppose the Gestapo
will be grilling anyone on that.

But we were on the way to glory,
the success of the mission.

Any of you gentlemen
ever been to Budapest?

A beautiful city.

We were under a phoney arrest.

It was a headquarters,
of what I'm not at liberty to say.

Whatever it was,
we were in by the side entrance.

Quite markedly so, and in my view,
that didn't bode well for our success.

However, at length, we were finally
ushered in to the holy of holies.

There was our man, the one on whom the
whole success of our mission depended.

This was Phil Carrington's cue.

I imagine he remembers it
ever more vividly than 7 do.

Janosz.

Phillip Carrington.

Remember me?

Berlin.

Remember me?

Of course!
You were the correspondent for the...

Collier's. Collier's magazine.

Carrington! My thanks to God.

He's a friend, you see. Thanks to God.

Because up to this moment,
I didn't know

if this whole idea wasn't perhaps
a trick, a German trick.

I've taken a terrible risk as it is.

We'll swap you.
- I know you, too, I know, I know.

This is my commanding officer,
Colonel Dodd.

How are you?
- My pleasure, sir.

And Captain Nugent.

How do you do?
- How do you do?

And now, I'm afraid, all for nothing.

For nothing?

Yes. Because I am now
completely powerless.

I shouldn't have received you at all.

In the past 24 hours,
everything has changed.

Our German allies are
about to occupy Budapest,

so your presence here is meaningless,
it's worse, it can be a tragedy for us.

I am sorry, but I don't know
who it is going to be worse for.

If anyone finds out,

I don't know how I am going to explain
your presence here in Budapest.

How are you going to explain it
if they catch up with you?

Look, look, we'll face that
when we come to it. Can't we...

I tell you, I have no power.
By tomorrow, I may not even be here.

Besides, I haven't got time.

The only reason I received you at all
was to impress on you the importance

of giving away as little as you can

about who you came to see
or why you have come.

Otherwise, everything's lost for us.

Janosz, we didn't undertake this mission
to betray anybody or give anything away.

Thank you for that promise,
but the longer we stay in this room,

the more incriminating it becomes
for all of us

and harder your promise to keep.

Every second counts.

So now, gentlemen, I am sorry.

This is a very difficult moment for me,

especially as I regard Phil Carrington
as my friend.

Now, wait a minute,
this is no time to...

I have no power any more.

Can't you at least
get us to the frontier?

Frontier? what frontier?

The frontier of Hungary is
the German army.

Carrington, my friend,
it was wonderful to see you.

And I hope that we shall meet under more
pleasant circumstances after the war,

in Paris or New York, yes?

But now, my friend...

Where are they taking us?

Where are you taking them? I forget now.

Rakoczi barracks.

Rakoczi barracks. Yes, well, they are...

I am sorry, but you know,
it had to work out this way.

Three days ago,
it might have been a different story.

No one's to blame.

But now, uh... It's the fortune of war,
isn't it, gentlemen?

That night,
the German army occupied Budapest

and installed a new regime.

We spent the night in detention barracks
on the other side of town.

Early the next morning,
the Gestapo took it over, and us.

They also took over
our Hungarian friend.

He didn't tell them anything.

He jumped out of the fifth floor
of Gestapo headquarters

during interrogation.

Then they turned the heat on us.

Then they took us to Vienna.

They started interrogating us again.

They even threatened to shoot us on the
grounds that we weren't real soldiers,

we were political spies.

It would be interesting to know what was

their final interpretation
of your mission.

Good question.

Their best guess,
according to them, mind you,

was that we'd been sent
to work out terms

for a separate peace
between us and Hungary,

to detach Hungary from her alliance
with the Nazis,

in return for certain
post-war guarantees.

A preposterous assumption, of course.

Of course.

Anyway, gentlemen, here we are.

That's quite a story, Colonel.

Now, is there any request
you have of us?

Anything we might be able to do for you?

You're the Senior British Officer.
You represent the British in this camp.

Yes.

I hold the same status.
I represent the Americans here.

There are only four of you.

What's wrong with Colonel Preston
representing the lot of us?

What you mean is that we
don't trust each other, isn't that it?

All this fuss is over
a small technical question,

the one raised by Colonel Dodd,
and that's all.

It's not all, and you know it.

All right, gentlemen,
before this gets out of hand

more than it has already,

I hope you don't think it discourteous
of me, Colonel,

but I would like to talk
to the British officers on their own.

Simon?
- Yes.

Would you mind coming with us?
Please, it would help.

What's happening?

Well, some of the chaps saw you
boning up on old American newspapers

and it made them suspicious.

It made us suspicious, too.

Don't you think we were asking
the same questions?

I knew there was a reason for it.
I just haven't figured it out.

Yeah, but somebody else saw you
eating meat and drinking coffee.

Yeah, that's right. We were.

In solitary?
- Right.

Well, that made them think that maybe
you were working for the Germans.

Working for the Germans?
Are you kidding?

No, wait a minute.

Why should the Germans
want to drive a wedge between us?

I mean, it can't be because they want us
to give our secrets to you.

If that were the case, they wouldn't
have bothered to make us suspicious.

Because they want us to give
our information to you.

Yeah.
- Right?

Maybe Downing was right.
- What do you mean?

Well, somebody would
have to take that information

back to the Germans, wouldn't they?

How well do you know Colonel Dodd
or Captain Nugent?

How well do you know Downing or Brent?
They've been in here for a long time.

Listen, Simon, Dodd and Nugent
are in here because of me.

You're sure it couldn't be
either one of them?

I'm 100% sure.

None of us are collaborating
with the Germans.

Well, it can't be one of our chaps.

Now, why the hell couldn't you have
levelled with us in the first place?

Wait a minute.

We're playing
right into their hands.

Let's not go any further.
- What?

Now, don't say anything about this
to Colonel Preston.

I'm going to go talk
to Colonel Dodd, okay?

All right.

Colonel, may I speak to you
for a moment?

No, no, leave that on.

Sir, I know we'd all like to hear
your view above any other.

Yes, before that, Phipps,
you're the only other American here.

Have you any doubts?

No, sir, none at all.

Well, neither have 1.
I believed every single word of it.

Right, gentlemen, I don't want any more
lingering doubts. Is that understood?

I'm quite happy to go along
with your instinct, sir.

I think everybody else is.

It's hopeless.

Colonel Dodd, on behalf of the...

Colonel Preston, if I may interrupt you
for a moment, sir.

Yes, what is it?

Well, gentlemen, we fully understand
why you have certain reservations

about accepting us as exactly...
- No, we don't.

Accepting us in the total sense.

You have your own plans,
your own security arrangements,

your own secrets.

And until you're 100% sure exactly
who we are and what we stand for...

We are.

But to end all doubt, all suspicion,

I'm quite sure
that you'd all be very happy

to take Colonel Preston's word for it.

If we were to write down
on a piece of paper

the names of our Hungarian contacts
and our immediate superiors,

then that would prove beyond
any question of a doubt

the authenticity of our mission.

Sir, if you'd be so kind
as to read this.

Nobody move!

Colonel, the paper, please.

Thanks, no, Brent.

Where is it?

Where is the microphone?

Gentlemen, I apologise
for the interruption.

Major Mohn, I'm requesting an interview
with the Kommandant at once, please.

What's he talking about?
What microphone?

What was on that piece of paper?

Thank you, Walters.

It says, "When, in the course
of human events,

"it becomes necessary for one people
to dissolve the political ties

"which have connected them
with another..."

This, I take it, Colonel,

is the American Declaration
of Independence from the British.

You may, sir.

But not personally.

Well, thanks to what Major Mohn
has called "his interruption",

I feel there can be no doubts left
in anyone's mind,

if there was already.

To use Colonel Dodd's words, these
gentlemen are what they say they are,

three genuine American soldiers.

Colonel, I've asked for an interview
with the Kommandant, as you heard.

I suggest that you accompany me there.

Hey, Philadelphia!

How are you, pal?

Very good.

Kommandant, before making
a formal complaint against Major Mohn,

I would like to establish
that Colonel Dodd

is afforded the same status as myself,

in that he is
the Senior American Officer.