The Great Escape (1963)

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

Paul Brickhill (book)
James Clavell (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

4 July 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History | Thriller | War

Tagline:

A Glorious Saga Of The R.A.F.

Plot:

Several hundred Allied POWs plan a mass escape from a German POW camp.

Plot Keywords:

1940s | US Air Force | Sidecar | Rowboat | Swastika

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. May 25

10:30 PM

AMC

Cast

Steve McQueen	...	Capt. Hilts "The Cooler King"
James Garner	...	Flight Lt. Hendley "The Scrounger"
Richard Attenborough	...	Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett "Big X"
James Donald	...	Group Capt. Ramsey "The SBO"
Charles Bronson	...	Flight Lt. Danny Velinski "The Tunnel King"
Donald Pleasence	...	Flight Lt. Colin Blythe "The Forger"
James Coburn	...	Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick "The Manufacturer"
Hannes Messemer	...	Col. von Luger
David McCallum	...	Lt. Cmdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt "Dispersal"
Gordon Jackson	...	Flight Lt. Sandy MacDonald "Intelligence"
John Leyton	...	Flight Lt. William Dickes "The Tunneler"
Angus Lennie	...	Flying Officer Archibald Ives "The Mole"
Nigel Stock	...	Flight Lt. Denys Cavendish "The Surveyor"
Robert Graf	...	Werner 'The Ferret'
Jud Taylor	...	Goff

Runtime:

172 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | USA:Approved (PCA #20399) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | New Zealand:PG | West Germany:12 (f) | Netherlands:12 | USA:Unrated (video release) | South Korea:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

Hilts (Steve McQueen) strings a wire across the road to obtain a motorcycle. McQueen himself played the German motorcyclist who hits the wire.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Traffic signs are clearly post-war.

Quotes:

Bartlett: What about the goon towers?
Hilts: That's a chance you're gonna have to take. But they're gonna be watching the compound, not the woods.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Steve McQueen: The Essence of Cool (2005) (TV)

A Great Escape

I saw this movie for the first time as a nine year old boy on a big screen in the Bronx. I'm now in my 40's. I have seen it many times since but not on the big screen. It was meant for the big screen! It's on my top five list along with The Sand Pebbles. It's a great movie about hope and freedom and man's responsibility to his fellow man. These men are all near saints; James Garner insisting on Donald Plesence making the escape, Charles Bronson fighting his claustrophobia. Steve McQueen is the star among the stars, not merely because of his motorcycle skills but for his attempt to save a life and for bringing the game of "off the wall" to the masses. :-)