The Great Escape (1963)

Allied POWs plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

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

Stars:

Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough

Top 250 #110 | Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steve McQueen	...	Hilts 'The Cooler King'
James Garner	...	Hendley 'The Scrounger'
Richard Attenborough	...	Bartlett 'Big X'
James Donald	...	Ramsey 'The SBO'
Charles Bronson	...	Danny 'Tunnel King'
Donald Pleasence	...	Blythe 'The Forger'
James Coburn	...	Sedgwick 'The Manufacturer'
Hannes Messemer	...	Von Luger 'The Kommandant'
David McCallum	...	Ashley-Pitt 'Dispersal'
Gordon Jackson	...	MacDonald 'Intelligence'
John Leyton	...	Willie 'Tunnel King'
Angus Lennie	...	Ives 'The Mole'
Nigel Stock	...	Cavendish 'The Surveyor'
Robert Graf	...	Werner 'The Ferret'
Jud Taylor	...	Goff

Storyline

Based on a true story, a group of allied escape artist type prisoners of war are all put in an 'escape proof' camp. Their leader decides to try to take out several hundred all at once. The first half of the film is played for comedy as the prisoners mostly outwit their jailers to dig the escape tunnel. The second half is high adventure as they use boats and trains and planes to get out of occupied Europe.

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Plot Keywords:

escape | plan | escape attempt | prisoner | tunnel | 

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Taglines:

put a fence in front of these men...and they'll climb it...

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French Russian

Release Date:

4 July 1963 (USA)

Also Known As:

El gran escape

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

172 min

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The real-life escape was on the night of 24 March 1944, and the ground was snow-covered. The German town near the prison camp, called Neustadt in the film, was really Sagan (now Zagan, Poland). Steve McQueen was born on March 24th.

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Goofs

Sedgwick is shown reading "Liberation", a newspaper not published during the German occupation of France.

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Quotes

Bartlett: Virgil, isn't it?
Hilts: Hilts. Just make it Hilts.

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Connections

Referenced in The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005)

User Reviews

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. :-)