Colin Blythe, The Forger Trivia Quiz

Answer: Donald Pleasence

Donald Pleasence, a British actor, plays the role of Colin Blythe in "The Great Escape." Pleasence had a long and distinguished acting career, appearing in over 200 films. He played the James Bond villain Blofeld in the 1967 film "You Only Live Twice". Pleasence had real-life experience as a prisoner of war- in August 1944 his plane was shot down and he was taken to a German POW camp. Richard Attenborough plays Roger "Big X" Bartlett in "The Great Escape"; James Garner is Hendley, the Scrounger; and James Coburn plays the role of Sedgwick, the Manufacturer.

Answer: birdwatching

Blythe is an enthusiastic bird watcher and artist. In order to fool the camp guards, Blythe gives lectures to his team of forgers about various types of birds. His "students" are expected to learn about and draw pictures of Blythe's avian friends. After the guards leave the lecture room, Blythe and his team immediately resume their forgery work.

Answer: tea with milk

Colin Blythe is an avid tea drinker. He complains to his roommate Hendley in the beginning of "The Great Escape" that the quality of the camp's tea leaves is "wretched". He also tells Hendley that tea without milk is so "uncivilized". One of the first items that Hendley scrounges is a tin of milk for Blythe to enjoy.

Answer: splendid

"Splendid" is undoubtedly Colin Blythe's favorite word throughout "The Great Escape". He uses this adjective, for example, in the beginning of the movie, when informed by Roger Bartlett that a tunnel is being planned. He also uses "splendid" when told by Hendley that their airplane is only 20 minutes away from reaching the Swiss Alps.

Answer: chess

Blythe and Hendley are playing a game of chess when a venal camp guard named Werner (Robert Graf) enters their barracks. Hendley introduces Werner to Blythe and assures the guard that it is quite safe to speak candidly in front of Blythe. After Werner leaves the room, Blythe declares "checkmate" on his roommate.

Answer: a 35mm camera

Hendley is an adroit pickpocket; he lifts Werner's wallet in order to pass identity papers and documents along to Blythe, who then expertly forges them. In a friendly tone of voice, Hendley promises to help Werner locate his "lost" wallet. In exchange, however, Werner must obtain a 35 mm camera with a focal plane. Blythe then uses the camera to take photos of the prisoners in order to make their forged passports look authentic.

Answer: a pin

Unfortunately, Colin Blythe has developed progressive myopia due to his many years of forgery work; he can see objects at very close range but is unable to see five feet in front of his face. When "Big X" Bartlett finds out about Blythe's condition, he wants to prevent Colin from entering the escape tunnel. Blythe had earlier planted a pin on the floor in case anyone doubted his eyesight. Roger Bartlett, however, doesn't fall for the ruse and moments later trips Blythe.

Hendley then comes to Blythe's defense by assuring Big X that he, Hendley, will take take care of Colin in the escape.

Answer: He and Hendley make their way to the Neustadt train station.

Colin Blythe and Hendley escape through the tunnel and then head toward the nearest town. Dressed in business suits, the two men board a train at the Neustadt station. Hendley notices Gestapo agents aboard the train and tells Blythe that it will be necessary to leave the train. Sedgwick escapes the camp with a steamer trunk. Danny (Charles Bronson) becomes claustrophobic inside the tunnel. Hilts (Steve McQueen) is the baseball enthusiast among the Allied prisoners.

Answer: He turns an airplane propeller clockwise.

After seeing Gestapo agents aboard the train, Hendley quietly informs Blythe that they must leave. The two men head to the back of the train. Blythe tells Hendley, "Give me a good push." and they jump off the train. Later, Hendley and Blythe approach a German airfield in order to steal an airplane.

Hendley tells Blythe to turn the plane's propeller clockwise while Hendley starts the engine. The two then escape by air.

Answer: He is shot to death.

Blythe and Hendley are unlucky. Just minutes away from the Swiss border, their plane develops a fuel pump problem and crash lands in a field. The two men survive the accident, but moments later Blythe is shot and killed by a German patrol. Hendley tells the soldiers not to shoot; however, he is too late to save Blythe's life. In his dying words, Colin thanks Hendley.