Escape of the Birdmen

I saw this movie in Saudi Arabia in the late seventies with my brother. The other day he asked me if I remembered this war movie about a glider and starring Chuck Connors. Before he could say another word, I started to sing the tune. He was quite shocked that I still remembered. We tried Connors and McClure's autobiography on other websites with no success. This was the first site that I found that has all this information. Thanks a lot. I will now try to get this movie. Maybe my brother and I will get together, watch a movie, and reminisce. I never new if he enjoyed the movie, or even remembered it, as I did. He tried researching for the title to no avail. That is what spurred me on. That song is very catchy.

I think this movie is one of the best made for the period and about the war. The determination of the POW's to escape and the importance of one man to the world, and the US government is shown in the drama. The actors include Chuck Connors, and others fit like a glove into their roles.

I feel "The Birdman"was one of the best war movies ever made. The cast of actors is excellent. The plot was interesting, and the movie was well produced. Any fan of Richard Basehart or Chuck Connors, should check out this movie. They will be in for a pleasant surprize. P.S. I'm currently looking for a copy of this movie.

The song that the prisoners sang was "Die Gedanken sind frei" Which roughly translates to My thoughts are free. It told the Germans that although you have my body in prison, you will never imprison have my spirit. This movie is one of my all time favorites. As a kid growing up, I loved movies and songs that showed American ingenuity. The premise of building a glider to escape from prison fascinated me. You can see the German words to the song at the following website: http://www.online.ee/~pikka/voorlaul.html#50 If you want to know what the words mean, copy and paste the test to Google's translation program.

I loved the movie, but always wanted to know what was the song the the prisoners sung and why it so bothered the guards. Here is the song with the translation and explanation.

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.

Colditz Castle has always been considered a place of high security. However, if Chuck Norris had been present it would have surely ensured that more men would have escaped form this famous prison. Set high on a hill above the small town of Colditz, the sleepy village was unaware of the tensions and drama that lived within the dark and cold walls of the castle. The lessons learned within those hallowed walls held both prisoners and guardians in good stead in the free world till this day. Chuck Connors, a master character actor, plays a believable portrait of a man fighting against the forces of evil. His flight from the castle was quite inspiring and must be used for all future Colditz films. Be sure to view "The Colditz Story" which can only pale against this epic. I highly recommend it to all collectors of serious war movies.