The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security ‘escape-proof’ camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- Hilts ‘The Cooler King’: Steve McQueen
- Hendley ‘The Scrounger’: James Garner
- Bartlett ‘Big X’: Richard Attenborough
- Ramsey ‘The SBO’: James Donald
- Danny ‘Tunnel King’: Charles Bronson
- Blythe ‘The Forger’: Donald Pleasence
- Sedgwick ‘Manufacturer’: James Coburn
- Von Luger ‘The Kommandant’: Hannes Messemer
- Ashley-Pitt ‘Dispersal’: David McCallum
- MacDonald ‘Intelligence’: Gordon Jackson
- Willie ‘Tunnel King’: John Leyton
- Ives ‘The Mole’: Angus Lennie
- Cavendish ‘The Surveyor’: Nigel Stock
- Werner ‘The Ferret’: Robert Graf
- Goff: Jud Taylor
- Herr Kuhn: Hans Reiser
- Stratwitch: Harry Riebauer
- Sorren: William Russell
- Capt. Posen: Robert Freitag
- Preissen: Ulrich Beiger
- Lt. Dietrich: George Mikell
- Haynes (‘Diversions’): Lawrence Montaigne
- Griffith ‘Tailor’: Robert Desmond
- Frick: Til Kiwe
- Kramer: Heinz Weiss
- Dai Nimmo (‘Diversions’): Tom Adams
- S.S. Officer Steinach: Karl-Otto Alberty
Film Crew:
- Music Editor: Richard Carruth
- Editor: Ferris Webster
- Production Supervisor: Allen K. Wood
- Director of Photography: Daniel L. Fapp
- Original Music Composer: Elmer Bernstein
- Art Direction: Fernando Carrere
- Production Office Assistant: Robert E. Relyea
- Makeup Artist: Emile LaVigne
- Producer: John Sturges
- Executive Producer: Walter Mirisch
- Special Effects: A. Paul Pollard
- Set Decoration: Kurt Ripberger
- Assistant Director: Jack N. Reddish
- Producer: James Clavell
- Novel: Paul Brickhill
- Screenplay: W.R. Burnett
- Script Supervisor: John Franco
- Wardrobe Supervisor: Bert Henrikson
- Sound Effects Editor: Wayne Fury
- Property Master: Frank Agnone
- Assistant Editor: Don Tomlinson
- Musician: Sam Freed Jr.
Movie Reviews:
- John Chard: Not just great, simply magnificent more like!
“Wait a minute, you aren’t seriously suggesting that if I get thru the wire and case everything out there, and don’t get picked up, to turn myself in and get thrown in the cooler for a couple of months so you can get the information you need”
Smart, witty and directed with adroit hands by John Sturges, The Great Escape is standing the test of time as a joyous multi cast family favourite. Based on the real accounts of allied soldiers escaping en mass from a German POW camp back in 1942, the film is involving from start to finish, due in the main to the wonderful array of characters on show. We follow them from the moment they arrive at the camp right through to the stunning climax, and it is with great joy I say that none of the cast lets the side down, they all do great work for the astute and undervalued Sturges. A number of great set pieces align with Elmer Bernstein’s fabulous score to never let the blood settle, and in among the cheeky slices of humour is palpable tension to make this simply one of the best films of its type, in fact one of the best films ever.
Sturges and his writers, James Clavell & W.R. Burnett, adapt from the book written by Paul Brickhill, someone who speaks from experience having been one of the prisoners of super POW camp Stalag Luft III, which of course is what The Great Escape is born from. Sturges was fascinated by the story and after trying without fail for over a decade to get it onto the screen, he finally succeeded. The success three years earlier of his star ensemble Western, The Magnificent Seven, enabled Sturges to realise his vision, the result of which is still enthralling new generations with each passing year.
The cast is made up of notable thespians and iconic heroes. Steve McQueen (enticing the American audience in one feels), Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, James Donald, Donald Pleasance, James Coburn, James Garner, David McCallum, John Leyton and Gordon Jackson. Which of course is a pretty tidy roll call, but the input and impact of Hannes Messemer as the Camp Commandant, Colonel Von Luger should not be understated. His scenes have a real humanistic quality that shows a softer side of Germany to the one ruled by a certain despot (the finale here offering up the counter opposite of the war), the writers smartly, and rightly, not tarring a nation with the same old brush.
A wonderful involving movie that puts characteristic heart in bed with the action and suspense laden plot. 10/10