WW II Escape Films
This is a list of escape films (cinema or TV) of WW II. Only successful escapes from POW camps are included. Simple escapes from behind front lines are not included.
Most people think of films showing Allies escaping, but at least two of these films show German escape attempts. Two of the films show escapes from the Japanese.
I label the films either "Fiction" (no basis in actual incident, though possible real location) or "Truthful" (varying degrees of basis in actual incident).
It's not my intention to include documentaries, as they don't have the entertainment value that Hollywood made films have. Documentaries are very educational, but I watch films for their entertainment value, not to necessarily become educated.
If anyone knows of any other WW II escape films I have missed, I would certainly like to know about them.
Most people think of films showing Allies escaping, but at least two of these films show German escape attempts. Two of the films show escapes from the Japanese.
I label the films either "Fiction" (no basis in actual incident, though possible real location) or "Truthful" (varying degrees of basis in actual incident).
It's not my intention to include documentaries, as they don't have the entertainment value that Hollywood made films have. Documentaries are very educational, but I watch films for their entertainment value, not to necessarily become educated.
If anyone knows of any other WW II escape films I have missed, I would certainly like to know about them.
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- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsAnthony SteelJack WarnerRobert BeattyIn 1944, at a POW camp in Germany the Allied prisoners use a dummy prop named Albert to fool the German guards and escape.Fiction - Escaping from a German POW camp. Not a very well known film and not yet available on DVD. I've never seen it.
- DirectorDon ChaffeyStarsRichard ToddBernard LeeMichael WildingIn 1943, an Italian-administered P.O.W. camp for captured Allies goes through a series of failed escapes only to culminate in a daring plan for a dramatic mass escape.Fiction - Plot summary from IMDb: "In 1943, an Italian-administered POW camp for captured Allies goes through a series of failed escapes only to culminate in a daring plan for a literally-dramatic mass escape."
- StarsDamian LewisSophia MylesTom HardyWhile WWII Allied officer Jack Rose is held prisoner in Germany's notorious Colditz Castle, he recruits a band of fellow escape artists in the ultimate break-out only to discover that the greatest betrayal awaits him on safe ground.Fiction - I don't know much about this film, except from the IMDb plot descriptions. Seems like fictional escapes from a real WW II POW camp in Poland. It may be more about a romance involved than the actual escape.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsJohn MillsEric PortmanChristopher RhodesAllied prisoners - British, Dutch, French and Polish - pool their resources to plan numerous escapes from the "escape-proof" German P.O.W. camp housed in a Medieval castle known as "Colditz".Truthful - Not a very well known film, but it's an interesting depiction of multi-national cooperation in escaping the Germans. Colditz is a castle in former East Germany, about 20 miles SE of Liepzig. During the war it was a POW camp, but no escapes. Americans freed the POWs in 1945, but then gave up the town to the Soviets under the Yalta agreement.
- DirectorKen AnnakinStarsJames Robertson JusticeLeslie PhillipsStanley BaxterA somewhat happy-go-lucky bunch of Brits in a German POW camp find their new acerbic fellow prisoner is a key officer who must be got out at all cost.Fiction - This is a comedy about a fictional escape from a POW camp in Germany.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsJean-Pierre AumontGene KellyCedric HardwickeA group of French soldiers during WWII are captured by German troops and sent to a POW camp. There they have to make use of his best resources to stay alive - and sane, while at the same time scheming a way out.Fiction - An uplifting story of surviving in a German POW camp. They receive counsel from a soldier priest who gives them moral strength to survive and find a way out.
- DirectorJack GoldStarsAlan ArkinJoanna PaculaRutger HauerGerman death camp in Sobibor, Poland, killed two hundred fifty thousand Jews. It had the most successful prisoner escape in World War II on October 14, 1943.Truthful - This film shows the escape of Jews from a labor camp in eastern Poland in 1943. It was the largest escape from a German concentration camp in WW II. The camp was closed shortly after the escape, partly because there were no more prisoners, but also due to the horrors committed against the Jews at the camp. The film does not dwell on the horrors, but dwells on the escape.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied officers in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II making a daring plan for a mass escape by hundreds of their men, hoping to draw German personnel and resources away from combat operations.Truthful - Probably the best known of all the WW II escape films. Starring Steve McQueen, the film shows the planning and tunneling out of the POW camp. It shows that the tunnel actually ended up being just short of the trees they had planned on reaching. The escape is from Stalag Luft III in SW Poland, 24 March 1944.
- DirectorsJud TaylorPaul WendkosStarsChristopher ReeveJudd HirschTony DenisonAllied prisoners tunnel out of a stalag. After the war, two of them try to hunt down the former Gestapo officers who executed most of the recaptured escapees.Truthful - A sort of followup of the famous Steve McQueen film. This film depicts the escape more truthfully than the original film, but also shows the postwar investigation of the Gestapo members who killed the 50 escapees.
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsBenjamin BrattJoseph FiennesJames FrancoTaking place towards the end of WWII, 500 American Soldiers have been entrapped in a camp for 3 years. Beginning to give up hope they will ever be rescued, a group of Rangers goes on a dangerous mission to try and save them.Truthful - This film shows the escape of the American POWs from a Japanese POW camp. These particular POWs were those who survived the Bataan Death March in 1942 after the Japanese captured the Philippines. The film shows how the POWs were rescued from the Japanese camp in January 1945.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsIngrid BergmanRobert DonatCurd JürgensA tenacious British woman becomes a missionary and runs an inn for travelling merchants in China during the Japanese invasion and the tumultuous years leading up to the Second World War.Truthful - The film shows the real life story of Gladys Aylward, English missionary in China. It's an exception to my criteria of this list, in that the escape does not involve a POW camp. But it's such a great story, include it here.
For China WW II started in 1937 with the Japanese invasion of China. In 1938 as Japanese forces threatened the orphanage that Aylward was managing, she led the children to safety. In my opinion this was Ingrid Bergman's greatest role, depicting Aylward. - DirectorLamont JohnsonStarsBrian KeithHelmut GriemIan HendryDuring WW2, German POWs in Britain plot to escape from their prison camp in Scotland.Fiction - This is a story of German POWs in a prison camp in Scotland and their attempted escape. Their escape is suspected, so a tough Capt. Connor (portrayed by Brian Keith) is called in to deal with it.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsHardy KrügerColin GordonMichael GoodliffeA cocky German fighter pilot is shot down over England in 1940 and makes numerous attempts to escape to fight again.Truthful - This is the real life story of Franz von Werra (portrayed by Hardy Kruger), the only German POW to escape from Canada all the way back to Germany. One can imagine the difficulty involved in escaping across the Atlantic back to Germany. After several unsuccessful escape attempts in England, Werra was sent to a POW camp in Canada in January 1941. On the way in Canada Werra escapes a train to the United States. Since the United States was not yet in the war, Werra manages to travel through the USA, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and back to Germany. Hitler of course made the most of the incident, awarding Werra the Iron Cross. I have not seen this film, but it looks very interesting, I'll keep an eye out for it.
- DirectorAndrew L. StoneStarsDirk BogardeMaria PerschyAlfred LynchBritish N.C.O. Sergeant Major Charles Coward (Sir Dirk Bogarde) escapes from the Stalag VIII-B P.O.W. camp, and is mistakenly awarded with the Iron Cross by the Germans.Truthful - An actual story of a fellow who escaped several times and was purposely recaptured as he sent info back to the Allies in England. According to the IMDb plot summary, he was a British soldier, who was awarded the Nazi Iron Cross in the process of his escapades.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.Fiction - An interesting story of Sgt Sefton (portrayed by William Holden), who is accused by his fellow POWs of giving information to the Germans about escape attempts. So in order for Sefton to clear his name, he must find out the real informer. Then he has to make his own escape. I have not seen this film, but I really like William Holden, so will look for it.
- DirectorAdrian ShergoldStarsStephen FryNicholas LyndhurstGeoffrey PalmerDuring WW2, after the 'ingenious' desertion of the German guards, the Allied prisoners of a POW camp decide to remain in the camp, some masquerading as German guards, in order to fool the frequent SS inspections.Fiction - A comedy of older POWs in a German camp. They manage to switch places with the German guards and officers and start running the camp with the Germans being the prisoners. I have not seen this film. It is not well known. Being a comedy, it reminds me of Hogan's Heroes.
- DirectorDavid L. CunninghamStarsRobert CarlyleKiefer SutherlandCiarán McMenaminDuring World War II, four Allied POWs endure harsh treatment from their Japanese captors while being forced to build a railroad through the Burmese jungle.Truthful - Based on the plot summaries at IMDb, this film depicts a sort of spiritual escape from harsh Japanese treatment by British prisoners earning the respect of their Japanese captors. It seems there is no physical escape, only a spiritual escape, and being a spiritual individual, I've included it herein.
The film also reminds me of another WW II film, "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) (not an escape film), also showing British soldiers building a railroad for the Japanese in the Southeast Asian jungle. - DirectorLionel ChetwyndStarsWilliam HurtHoward RyshpanCarol ShamyVarian Fry rescues more than 2,000 artists from Nazi persecution during World War II.Truthful - Real story of an American, Varian Fry (portrayed by William Hurt), who aids the escape of Jews from Vichy France. Fry was an American journalist living in the USA and went to France specifically to aid the Jews. He is helped in this effort by Miriam Davenport (portrayed by Julia Ormond, a favorite actress of mine), another American in France since the start of the war. Together they helped thousands of Jews from all over Europe escape through France to Spain and on to the United States from 1940 to 1942.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsMichael CaineSylvester StallonePeléAs allied P.O.W.s prepare for a soccer game against the German National Team to be played in Nazi-occupied Paris, the French Resistance and British officers are making plans for the team's escape.Fiction - A great story of a soccer team competing with Germans in Paris. Allies, playing soccer in a German POW camp, are challenged to a match in a huge stadium in Paris (Colombes Stadium, about 1500 feet from the Seine, but the stadium used in the film is located in Budapest). If you get a chance to see this film, be certain to watch it all the way to the end to see the actual escape. The players are heroic and the actual escape is a great tribute to the masses of people. Sylvester Stallone plays an American on the team who knows very little about soccer, but makes a great goalie. Michael Caine stars as the captain of the team and works with Max von Sydow, portraying a German officer in the POW camp, to get the game to happen. You really have to see the actual escape. It's amazing, even if it is fiction.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsFrank SinatraTrevor HowardRaffaella CarràAn American POW leads a group of mainly British prisoners to escape from the Germans in WWII.Fiction - A story of British & American prisoners in an Italian POW camp just as the Allies have conquered Sicily. Frank Sinatra stars as American pilot, Colonel Ryan. He gains the moniker "von Ryan" from British Major Fincham (portrayed by Trevor Howard) for exposing escape intentions to the Italian guards. Ryan, aka von Ryan, did this to get medicine, food and clothing for the prisoners, justifying the exposure by the belief that the American forces would rescue them in a few weeks. The Italian guards abandon the POW camp as the Americans are marching north through Italy. As Italy has surrendered to the Allies, Germans quickly recapture the prisoners and plan to take them by train to Austria. So the Allied prisoners take over the train and have to maneuver their escape.
- DirectorsJack LeeIan DalrympleStarsLeo GennDavid TomlinsonAnthony SteelTrue story of three British POWs and their attempt to escape from Nazi Germany.Truthful - This film depcits an escape from Stalag Luft III in SW Poland, October 1943 (same camp as The Great Escape -1963). I have not seen this film, so the significance of the wooden horse is not clear to me. But evidently there was a wooden horse involved in the escape, and it was small enough for a man to carry.
