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Colditz 2x05, "Frogs in the Well"
Dick and another officer, Captain Walsh, are making observations of Colditz's (closed) theater at night and during the day. They discover that it's possible to get out through a window behind the stage into a corridor and then down into a light well, which when the guard is changed has a two-minute period without a sentry.
Dick then presents a plan to the escape committee--he and Walsh will use this route to get into the kitchens, where they will steal overalls and walk out of the castle disguised as kitchen workers. We learn that George Brent, whom we might have expected to be the other escaper, can't go because he has pulled a muscle during the last episode's faked escape. Dick's plan is approved despite some skepticism from the escape committee, but it depends on reopening the theater, which was closed the previous year after being used in another escape.
Preston goes to the Kommandant to request the reopening. The Kommandant is reluctant and Mohn argues strongly against it, but Ulmann says he will keep a close eye on things and that the prisoners may be easier to monitor when they're crowded together working in the theater, so the Kommandant eventually approves.
During "rehearsals," Dick and Walsh use the chaos to get into the corridor and work on sawing through the bars that block the window into the light well. Ulmann does a spot check and, when no one can tell him exactly what the theater's going to be used for, puts Tim in charge of the production and insists on a schedule and a list of acts as soon as possible.
Preparations continue, hindered by the difficulty of sawing through the bars with homemade equipment. One night Mohn comes into the dorm while Dick is in the theater working on the window; Simon distracts him with a chess game so that he won't notice Dick's absence, and then to allow Dick to sneak back in unnoticed by Mohn.
The escape's prospects begin to look brighter when an NCO who works in the Colditz laundry tells Simon he can get them real German civilian clothes. The escape committee also formulates a plan, proposed by George, to block the theater entrance with the piano during the two crucial minutes to prevent Ulmann doing a spot check.
On the day of the attempt, everything is going well until Dick and Walsh discover two French prisoners also trying to get out through the light well. There's an argument (nearly a fistfight) that uses up their time and the attempt has to be called off. After a lot of wrangling between Simon and the French EO Coty, then between Preston and the Senior French Officer, it's decided that the British will use the light well first, with the French going the next day. This means that even with the ghost holes that throw off the British headcount, Dick and Walsh will only have 24 hours before it's discovered there's been an escape.
The next day, Ulmann notices oddities that make him suspicious, and he starts trying to open the door that leads to the space behind the stage. To distract him, Simon stages a fight with a Dutch officer, in the course of which he's shoved into a German guard and knocks him down. Ulmann arrests him for assault. Mohn argues to the Kommandant that an example should be made of Simon--he should be formally charged with assaulting a guard, which carries the death penalty. The Kommandant, accepting that the "assault" was an accident, refuses to do this but does sentence Simon to four weeks in solitary for fighting.
Meanwhile, the French escapees are recaptured, and the French EO wonders why the British escape went unnoticed at appel. Mohn is also wondering, and finally does an identity parade of the British officers, checking each man against his photograph. Someone else tries to pass as Dick but Ulmann knows Dick by sight and isn't fooled. Mohn reasons out most of the ghost hole plan.
In the last scene, Mohn visits Simon in solitary with a chess set and, by giving Simon "extra" pieces that he can hide, shows that he knows what's going on. Simon puts the pieces in his pocket and the episode ends with him making the first move in the game.
Timeline note: We're told that it's earlyish October, and it must still be 1943. I can only conclude that Colditz exists in a time warp where 1941 happened twice, 1942 went by in a couple of months, and autumn/winter 1943 lingered on for a very long time in a muddled condition where sometimes it's winter, then it's autumn, then winter again.
Dick then presents a plan to the escape committee--he and Walsh will use this route to get into the kitchens, where they will steal overalls and walk out of the castle disguised as kitchen workers. We learn that George Brent, whom we might have expected to be the other escaper, can't go because he has pulled a muscle during the last episode's faked escape. Dick's plan is approved despite some skepticism from the escape committee, but it depends on reopening the theater, which was closed the previous year after being used in another escape.
Preston goes to the Kommandant to request the reopening. The Kommandant is reluctant and Mohn argues strongly against it, but Ulmann says he will keep a close eye on things and that the prisoners may be easier to monitor when they're crowded together working in the theater, so the Kommandant eventually approves.
During "rehearsals," Dick and Walsh use the chaos to get into the corridor and work on sawing through the bars that block the window into the light well. Ulmann does a spot check and, when no one can tell him exactly what the theater's going to be used for, puts Tim in charge of the production and insists on a schedule and a list of acts as soon as possible.
Preparations continue, hindered by the difficulty of sawing through the bars with homemade equipment. One night Mohn comes into the dorm while Dick is in the theater working on the window; Simon distracts him with a chess game so that he won't notice Dick's absence, and then to allow Dick to sneak back in unnoticed by Mohn.
The escape's prospects begin to look brighter when an NCO who works in the Colditz laundry tells Simon he can get them real German civilian clothes. The escape committee also formulates a plan, proposed by George, to block the theater entrance with the piano during the two crucial minutes to prevent Ulmann doing a spot check.
On the day of the attempt, everything is going well until Dick and Walsh discover two French prisoners also trying to get out through the light well. There's an argument (nearly a fistfight) that uses up their time and the attempt has to be called off. After a lot of wrangling between Simon and the French EO Coty, then between Preston and the Senior French Officer, it's decided that the British will use the light well first, with the French going the next day. This means that even with the ghost holes that throw off the British headcount, Dick and Walsh will only have 24 hours before it's discovered there's been an escape.
The next day, Ulmann notices oddities that make him suspicious, and he starts trying to open the door that leads to the space behind the stage. To distract him, Simon stages a fight with a Dutch officer, in the course of which he's shoved into a German guard and knocks him down. Ulmann arrests him for assault. Mohn argues to the Kommandant that an example should be made of Simon--he should be formally charged with assaulting a guard, which carries the death penalty. The Kommandant, accepting that the "assault" was an accident, refuses to do this but does sentence Simon to four weeks in solitary for fighting.
Meanwhile, the French escapees are recaptured, and the French EO wonders why the British escape went unnoticed at appel. Mohn is also wondering, and finally does an identity parade of the British officers, checking each man against his photograph. Someone else tries to pass as Dick but Ulmann knows Dick by sight and isn't fooled. Mohn reasons out most of the ghost hole plan.
In the last scene, Mohn visits Simon in solitary with a chess set and, by giving Simon "extra" pieces that he can hide, shows that he knows what's going on. Simon puts the pieces in his pocket and the episode ends with him making the first move in the game.
Timeline note: We're told that it's earlyish October, and it must still be 1943. I can only conclude that Colditz exists in a time warp where 1941 happened twice, 1942 went by in a couple of months, and autumn/winter 1943 lingered on for a very long time in a muddled condition where sometimes it's winter, then it's autumn, then winter again.