Danger Within
Encyclopedia
Danger Within is a 1959 British war film
set in a prisoner of war
camp in northern Italy
during the summer of 1943.
) suspects that there is an informer in their ranks. The prime candidate is a Greek officer, Lieutenant Coutoules (Cyril Shaps
), but when he is found dead in an escape tunnel, all thoughts of an informer die down. To explain his death to the Italian captors, his body is placed in an abandoned tunnel within the camp and the Italians are informed he was killed by a roof fall
.
Sadistic Capitano Benucci (Peter Arne
) charges Captain Roger Byfold (Donald Houston
) with the murder of the Greek. The escape committee form a plan to get Byfold and two other officers (played by Peter Jones
and Michael Wilding
) out of the camp before he can be shot. The three scale the camp fence with a ladder constructed from two rugby posts, but Benucci is waiting and shoots them.
The race is then on to find the informer and for the rest of the inmates to escape en masse before the camp is handed over to the Germans as part of the Italian Armistice
. The escape plan devised by Lieutenant Colonel Huxley (Bernard Lee
) is for the prisoners to make their escape during the day, under cover of a production of Hamlet
in the theatre hut by a group of POWs led by Captain Rupert Callender (Dennis Price
).
, Surrey
, and Shepperton Studios
.
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
set in a prisoner of war
Prisoner of war
A prisoner of war or enemy prisoner of war is a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict...
camp in northern Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
during the summer of 1943.
Plot
After a clever escape plan fails, the escape committee, led by Lieutenant Colonel David Baird (Richard ToddRichard Todd
Richard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
) suspects that there is an informer in their ranks. The prime candidate is a Greek officer, Lieutenant Coutoules (Cyril Shaps
Cyril Shaps
-Biography:Shaps was born in Highbury, London; he was of Polish ancestry and his father was a tailor.He was a child broadcaster, providing voices for radio commercials at the age of 12. After grammar school and Army service he trained at RADA and then worked for two years as an announcer, producer...
), but when he is found dead in an escape tunnel, all thoughts of an informer die down. To explain his death to the Italian captors, his body is placed in an abandoned tunnel within the camp and the Italians are informed he was killed by a roof fall
Cave-in
A cave-in is a collapse of a geologic formation, mine or structure which typically occurs during mining or tunneling. Geologic structures prone to cave-ins include alvar, tsingy and other limestone formations, but can also include lava tubes and a variety of other subsurface rock formations.In...
.
Sadistic Capitano Benucci (Peter Arne
Peter Arne
Peter Arne was a British character actor best known for various performances in British film and television, including supporting roles in the television series The Avengers, Danger Man, as well as villains in Blake Edwards' Pink Panther series, in a career that spanned 40 years...
) charges Captain Roger Byfold (Donald Houston
Donald Houston
Donald Daniel Houston was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful...
) with the murder of the Greek. The escape committee form a plan to get Byfold and two other officers (played by Peter Jones
Peter Jones (actor)
Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
and Michael Wilding
Michael Wilding (actor)
-Early life:Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, Wilding was a successful commercial artist when he joined the art department of a London film studio in 1933. He soon embarked on an acting career.-Career:...
) out of the camp before he can be shot. The three scale the camp fence with a ladder constructed from two rugby posts, but Benucci is waiting and shoots them.
The race is then on to find the informer and for the rest of the inmates to escape en masse before the camp is handed over to the Germans as part of the Italian Armistice
Armistice with Italy
The Armistice with Italy was an armistice signed on September 3 and publicly declared on September 8, 1943, during World War II, between Italy and the Allied armed forces, who were then occupying the southern end of the country, entailing the capitulation of Italy...
. The escape plan devised by Lieutenant Colonel Huxley (Bernard Lee
Bernard Lee
John Bernard Lee was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven James Bond films.-Life and career:...
) is for the prisoners to make their escape during the day, under cover of a production of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
in the theatre hut by a group of POWs led by Captain Rupert Callender (Dennis Price
Dennis Price
Dennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
).
Cast
- Richard ToddRichard ToddRichard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
as Lieutenant Colonel David Baird - Bernard LeeBernard LeeJohn Bernard Lee was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven James Bond films.-Life and career:...
as Lieutenant Colonel Huxley - Michael WildingMichael Wilding (actor)-Early life:Born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, Wilding was a successful commercial artist when he joined the art department of a London film studio in 1933. He soon embarked on an acting career.-Career:...
as Major Charles Marquand - Richard AttenboroughRichard AttenboroughRichard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
as Captain 'Bunter' Phillips - Dennis PriceDennis PriceDennis Price was an English actor, remembered for his suave screen roles, particularly Louis Mazzini in Kind Hearts and Coronets, and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G...
as Captain Rupert Callender - Donald HoustonDonald HoustonDonald Daniel Houston was a Welsh actor whose first two films – The Blue Lagoon with Jean Simmons, and A Run for Your Money with Sir Alec Guinness – were highly successful...
as Captain Roger Byfold - William FranklynWilliam FranklynWilliam Leo Franklyn was a British actor, perhaps best known for voicing the "Schhh... You Know Who" adverts for Schweppes from 1965 to 1973...
as Captain Tony Long - Vincent BallVincent BallVincent Ball is an Australian actor who has worked both in Australia and in the United Kingdom....
as Captain Pat Foster - Peter ArnePeter ArnePeter Arne was a British character actor best known for various performances in British film and television, including supporting roles in the television series The Avengers, Danger Man, as well as villains in Blake Edwards' Pink Panther series, in a career that spanned 40 years...
as Capitano Benucci - Peter JonesPeter Jones (actor)Peter Jones was an English actor, screenwriter and broadcaster.-Early life and career:Jones was born in Wem, Shropshire and he was educated at the Wem Grammar School and Ellesmere College. He made his first appearance as an actor in Wolverhampton at the age of 16 and then appeared in repertory...
as Captain Alfred Piker - Ronnie StevensRonnie Stevens (actor)Ronald Stevens was a London-born English actor known as Ronnie Stevens.He appeared in many television comedy series in regular roles, including May to December, Goodnight Sweetheart and A J Wentworth, BA. He also appeared as the "Minister of Pollution", in The Goodies pollution episode...
as Lieutenant Meynell, 'The Sewer Rat' - Terence AlexanderTerence AlexanderTerence Joseph Alexander was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama Bergerac.-Early life and career:...
as Lieutenant Gibbs - Andrew FauldsAndrew FauldsAndrew Matthew William Faulds was a British actor and politician.Born in Isoko, Tanganyika , to missionary parents, Faulds married Bunty Whitfield in 1945...
as Lieutenant Commander 'Dopey' Gibbon, R.N. - Steve Norbert as Lieutenant Pierre Dessin
- Cyril ShapsCyril Shaps-Biography:Shaps was born in Highbury, London; he was of Polish ancestry and his father was a tailor.He was a child broadcaster, providing voices for radio commercials at the age of 12. After grammar school and Army service he trained at RADA and then worked for two years as an announcer, producer...
as Lieutenant Cyriakos Coutoules - Eric Lander as Lieutenant Tim O'Brien
- Harold SiddonsHarold SiddonsHarold Siddons was a British film and television actor, appearing in Genevieve, The Dam Busters, Appointment in London, They Who Dare, The Purple Plain, Quatermass and the Pit, A Night To Remember and The Wrong Arm of the Law...
as Captain 'Tag' Burchnall - John Dearth as Lieutenant Robson
- Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as POW (uncredited)
Filming locations
Filming locations for the movie were Chobham CommonChobham Common
Chobham Common is a area of lowland heath a globally rare and threatened habitat, in Surrey, England. It was formerly a freehold owned by the Earl of Onslow, and purchased for £1 an acre by Surrey County Council in 1966...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, and Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
.