Movie: The Great Escape (1963)
“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. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net}”
- Director: John Sturges
- Release Date: 4 July 1963 (USA)
- Run Time: 172 min
- Country: USA
- Genre: Action , Adventure , Drama , History , Thriller , War
Tagline: put a fence in front of these men…and they’ll climb it…
Trivia: Charles Bronson, who portrays the chief tunneler, brought his own expertise and experiences to the set: he had been a coal miner before turning to acting and gave director John Sturges advice on how to move the earth. As a result of his work in the coal mines, Bronson suffered from claustrophobia just as his character had.
Goofs: Anachronisms: Traffic signs are clearly post-war.