The Great Escape (1963)

The Nazi's had a problem with certain prisoners of war always finding a way to escape. Their solution was to put their biggest offenders all in one camp. An escape proof camp. The prisoners plan an escape. One might even call it a 'great' escape.

The movie is based on a 1950 book detailing actual events. The characters were combined or fictionalized, so you won't learn about the real people. That's what books are for, I presume. Americans were added for box office reasons.

Officers saw it as their duty to attempt to escape from prison camps, if for no other reason than to divert Nazi resources away from the war. A third front, as it were.

The assembled cast is quite impressive. James Garner, Steve McQueen, and Richard Attenborough head a cast that also includes James Coburn (in a terrible Australian accent), Charles Bronson, and Donald Pleasence, among others. The film divides time between them quite well.

When reviewing Stalag 17 I noted the parallels to the TV show Hogan's Heroes. This film, however, appears to be it's true inspiration. Garner is totally Hogan.

Despite its almost three hour runtime, The Great Escape does not drag. The many details of the escape plan and side stories are fascinating. AMRU 4.