The Great Escape (1963)

Director:

John Sturges

Writers:

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

Release Date:

4 July 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Thriller | War

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Plan | Escape Attempt | Prisoner | Tunnel

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

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
Hans Reiser	...	Herr Kuhn
Harry Riebauer	...	Stratwitch
William Russell	...	Sorren
Robert Freitag	...	Capt. Posen
Ulrich Beiger	...	Preissen
George Mikell	...	Lt. Dietrich
Lawrence Montaigne	...	Haynes ('Diversions')
Robert Desmond	...	Griffith 'Tailor'
Til Kiwe	...	Frick
Heinz Weiss	...	Kramer
Tom Adams	...	Dai Nimmo ('Diversions')
Karl-Otto Alberty	...	S.S. Officer Steinach

Directed by
John Sturges

Writing credits
Paul Brickhill		(book)
James Clavell		(screenplay) and
W.R. Burnett		(screenplay)

Produced by
John Sturges	....	producer
James Clavell	....	producer (uncredited)
Walter Mirisch	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Elmer Bernstein

Cinematography by
Daniel L. Fapp		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ferris Webster

Art Direction by
Fernando Carrere

Set Decoration by
Kurt Ripberger

Makeup Department
Emile LaVigne	....	makeup artist
Jay Sebring	....	hair designer: Steve McQueen, James Garner (uncredited)

Production Management
Allen K. Wood	....	production supervisor
Hubert Fröhlich	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack N. Reddish	....	assistant director
John Flynn	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Robert E. Relyea	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Frank Agnone	....	property

Sound Department
Wayne Fury	....	sound effects editor

Special Effects by
A. Paul Pollard	....	special effects (as Paul Pollard)

Stunts
Bud Ekins	....	stunt double: Steve McQueen, motorcycle jump (uncredited)
Tim Gibbs	....	stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward	....	stunts (uncredited)
Roy Jenson	....	stunts (uncredited)
Robert E. Relyea	....	stunt pilot (uncredited)
Roy N. Sickner	....	stunts (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bert Henrikson	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Don Tomlinson	....	assistant film editor

Music Department
Richard Carruth	....	music editor
Jack Hayes	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
John Franco	....	script supervisor
Robert E. Relyea	....	assistant to producer
Wally Floody	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Mirisch Corporation, The (as The Mirisch Company)

Distributors

• United Artists (1963) (USA) (theatrical) (released thru)
• United Artists (1963) (France) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1963) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Nova Film (1963) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical) (new 35mm print re-issue)
• Cine Qua Non Films (Japan) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2000) (Japan) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Japan (2000-2007) (Japan) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (VHS)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (1985) (Greece) (VHS)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1967) (USA) (TV)
• Criterion Collection, The (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1991) (USA) (laserdisc)
• MGM Home Entertainment (Europe) (2002) (UK) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (VHS)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2002) (France) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1999) (Germany) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1990) (Japan) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (Japan) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Vidéo (1996) (France) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS) (short version)

Other Companies

• Samuel Goldwyn Studios  scoring (Samuel Goldwyn Studios, Scoring Stage Seven) (uncredited)
• Stalmaster-Lister Co.  casting

Also Known As:

Runtime:

172 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) | Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | Iceland:12 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:Approved (PCA #20399) | USA:Unrated | West Germany:12 (f) | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:PG | Japan:G (2009) | Brazil:12 | UK:U (passed with cuts) | Netherlands:14 (orginal rating) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Filmstudios, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Mirisch Corporation, The

Trivia:

The medal that Colonel von Luger wears around his neck is the Pour le Merite, also known as the Blue Max. Originally a Prussian military honor, in the First World War it was automatically given to fighter pilots who shot down eight planes (later raised to sixteen). The Nazis replaced it with the Knight's Cross but it could still be worn by officers who'd won it before the Third Reich.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Ashley Pitt is in the tunnel, the topsoil is a sandy color and the tunnel soil is dark. In reality it was the other way around with the topsoil being gray and tunnel soil being yellow.

Quotes:

Danny:Oh, Hendley. I need a pick. Big, heavy one.
Hendley:Only one?
Danny:Two would be better.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 100 Greatest Cartoons (2005) (TV)

If you're going to critique the history, then know the history.

I find it difficult to believe that some reviewers' negative reactions to this film are based on their (misguided) beliefs that none of this could possibly have happened. Comments like these make it crystal clear that what some people don't know about history is appalling. If you are going to judge a film based on historical fact, it helps if you know what it is.

It is well-documented what amazing technical feats the POW's were able to accomplish in the stalags. There was even an entire section of the British Secret Service dedicated to coming up with all sorts of clever ways to send these captured men the tools they needed to facilitate their escape attempts, i.e., sandwiching maps between the split sides of a record album (yes, the Germans allowed the prisoners to have records in the camps) or compasses in pens. At Colditz Castle, one of the more forbidding stalags, (actually an offlag since is was for officers only), many, many tunnels were dug and disguises created. One man actually created a German sergeant's uniform totally from scratch, donned a moustache and created an overall impersonation so realistic, it fooled two out of three sets of sentries. Some of the POW's built and concealed an entire glider that would have carried two men off the roof and over the wall! The only reason it didn't fly was because the prison was liberated before they got the chance! The Colditz experience is well documented. There are many books written about that particular prison complete with photographs, including one by a German officer confirming these amazing escapes and attempts. The reviewers who doubt what can be done when necessity is truly the mother of invention should look for them and learn something.

As for the prisoners not being in jumpsuits, as suggested by one reviewer as one reason to question the authenticity of the film? Ludicrous, POW's wore what they were captured in. The German military (different from the Gestapo and the SS) considered them soldiers and allowed them to keep their badges of rank.

As for the film itself, it is long, but absorbing. There are historical flaws (as there are in all movies), but several of the former POW's participated in the filming process, keeping it, for the most part, very authentic. As for the emphasis on Americans, it's true they were not among the escapees per se, but several did assist in the effort before they were transferred out, as mentioned by a previous reviewer. However, you must remember that the movie was made for an American audience in 1963, long before international distribution revenue became so important to a studio's bottom line. They needed American stars who would appeal to an American audience. Who knows, perhaps if they were to remake it today, the cast would be all British and German, but I doubt it (see "Hart's War" where not only the plot, but all the British and Canadian characters that were in the book, disappeared).

All in all, "The Great Escape" is an entertaining movie telling a fascinating story of what ordinary men can achieve in adverse circumstances. It's well worth the time.