Breakout (1959)

Richard Todd: Lt. Col. David Baird, M.C.

Quotes 

• Lt. Col. Huxley : [the prisoners are discussing the corpse of a man discovered in an escape tunnel]  Obviously we must report this to the Italians at once.

  Lt. Col. David Baird, M.C. : Report it, aye, but do you have to tell them where you found him?

  Lt. Col. Huxley : Yes, of course we do. Their doctors will prove he died under a fall of sand. That means only one thing - a tunnel.

  Lt. Col. David Baird, M.C. : Well just for the record, if you tell 'em the truth, you'll be making them a present of the only tunnel in this camp with a real chance.

  Lt. Col. Huxley : What alternative do you suggest?

  Lt. Col. David Baird, M.C. : Put him in another tunnel. An abandoned one. And then report it.

  Lt. Col. Huxley : You mean fake a fall in another tunnel?

  Lt. Col. David Baird, M.C. : Well, it happens easily enough by accident. It shouldn't be difficult to do it on purpose.

  Lt. Col. Huxley : That might not be the end of the matter, you realise that?

  Lt. Col. David Baird, M.C. : Well I'm still for it, sir.

  Lt. Col. Huxley : Alright. Who'll do it?

  Capt. Roger Byfold : I will, sir.

  Lt. Col. Huxley : Well, the less I know about it, the better. And, just as a matter of interest, might I be allowed to know where this abandoned tunnel starts?

  [Baird looks at the floor below Huxley's feet, indicating that Huxley is standing on it]