Hollywood vs. history
A story was inspired by an actual shake off prison camp Stalag Luft III in 1944. When the film condenses various aspects of period & place, a disclaimer claims it to exist as true to the original as far as possible. This includes all the real-life details of the plans, tunnels, successes and tragical effect of the "great escape." Paul Brickhill, an inmate of a original camp, wrote an account of the escape under the equivalent title, upon which the film was depending. Notwithstanding, despite a presence of the film's high-profile U.s. stars, pack Americans were taking part in the actual escape. A Americans present were actually serving within either a British or even American military machine (mostly a RAF or RCAF, but John Dodge was in the British army). A POWs were principally British, American & Australian. (Refer to the prison camp link for more historical details.)

Featuring an everthing-star cast—including Steve McQueen (whose motorcycle chase is the film's virtually all remembered action scene), Richard Attenborough, James Coburn, James Garner, Charles Bronson, and Donald Pleasence—The Great Escape is esteem a classic & often repeated in television. A march tune that serves as a film's independent theme, written by Elmer Bernstein, has also turn into an well recognizable classic.

Film plot

In a film 73 men come said to keep close at hand shake off the camp. Virtually all of the two come captured although just two or three come shown.

A ones that acquire captured come:

Man world health organizatiin hitchikes his way on the truck finds retired that the driver has taken him to a big squad of German army men. Hilts (Steve McQueen) utilizes the wire through 2 fence posts to trap the Gerhuman foot man camping retiring in the minibike. He so puts on a German uniform & rides a bike to the Swiss border, in which he finds he just can not become preceding the guards. Fallowing an extended minibike chase, he is captured entangled around barbed wire on the border using Switzerland. Hendley (James Garner) requires all over a trainer plane & flys it running for Switzerl&, however he has to land because of the condition by having the fuel pump and is captured by German troops fallowing Colin gets shot. Roger (Richard Attenborough) & 'Mac' (Gordon Jackson) handle to evade capture many days, because of their expert spoken German & French. One of these days when it is boarding the bus it is asked to look at their papers by the German officer world health organization knows German, French & English, & world health organization tricks Mackintosh by request him the wonder inside English which he answers. It so try to run it, Mackintosh is captured, however Roger gets away over again by pretending to become German, though he is eventually captured by an officer world health organization recognised him.

Fifty of the men captured come executed in the outdoors. Two or three men had flushed instead of existence captured in the 1st place. Which are actually:

Colin (Donald Pleasence) world health organization is shot by German troops because doesn't underst& the babies because he is unsighted and can't process out of the babies. Man on a train world health organization experienced by owning success gotten retiring Gestapo officers because of his effective spoken German, understands a Gestapo identifying Roger Bartlett, & attacks the Gestapo officer, shooting him with his have gun. When he is running off away down the station platform, he is shot by German army & dies on the railway tracks.

3 come shown to keep around escaped. Which are actually:

The Australian (James Coburn) world health organizatiaround got no more through the burrow using the big briefcase, utilizes cutters handily located in his chest pocket to cut the lock on the bike; he finishes higher in Paris at the coffee bar in which he witnesses German officers existence assassinated per Trend lines, & is hooked higher by owning the choice world health organization requires him to the Spanish border in which he escapes into Spain. Danny (Charles Bronsin) & his friend when occasionally pain generating Danny call at the burrow due to him existence claustrophobic, handle for on the boat & row to Sweden.

Sequels and remakes
A extremely fictionalized, mass produced-for-television sequel, The Great Escape II: The Untold Story, appeared many years late. It starred Christopher Reeve as John Dodge and, interestingly, Pleasence as an SS villain.

Within 2003 it was announced that actor Jean-Claude van Damme wanted to do the remaking.

2003 too saw the release of a video game based on the film for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox consoles.

The Great Escape in popular culture

In The Simpsons episode "A Streetcar Named Marge" (1992), Maggie plots a "Great Escape" from a Ayn Rand School for Tots. In Red Dwarf episode "Queeg", Lister and A Cat run whistling a tune as a project is launch to oppose a demanding backup computer, Queeg. In a 1994 film The Shawshank Redemption, a captive is seen dispersing detritus from either a burrow operation in the exercise front yard in the equivalent manner when the inmates of Stalag Luft III. The alive film Chicken Run (2000) contains many information. Ironically, that film also information Stalag 17, considered (along with "Escape") to become one of, in case does'nt a, greatest World War II POW movie. English football fans enjoy whistling the theme tune when you took matches. The Great Escape is also the title of a 1995 album by British band Blur. It reached #1 in the UK stock and index charts. Former Monty Python cast members Michael Palin and Terry Jones parodied The Peachy Escape in their Ripping Yarns series, in an episode entitled "Escape from Stalag Luft 112 B", just about a captive whose myriad, too perfectionist escape plans require sayonara to complete that the war finishes prior to he is breathe to last across by having any of the two. Naked Gun 33 1/3 featured a parody of the Wonderful Escape, hiding the dirt inside various moderation & otherwise zany ways. A Wonderful Escape is likewise a title for deuce different video games. Of these published by Ocean in 1986 [http://www.worldofspectrum.org/infoseek.cgi?regexp=^Great+Escape%2c+The$&pub=^Ocean+Software+Ltd$] and another a single from either SCI [http://www.thegreatescapegame.com/]. In football, "The Great Escape" has get the meme for a club's unlikely shake off relegation. Inside recent times, a term has been widely utilized within association by using a escape of West Bromwich Albion from either near-certain relegation from a English Premier League in the 2004-05 season. In point of fact, when Albion's final match & a assurance of their safety in a Premiership, a theme tune was played above the audio system at The Hawthorns while ecstatic fans stormed a pitch. In a UK, these are a normally-held misconceptiin that the film has traditionally been shown on terrestrial television at Christmas. In point of fact, when it has typically been broadcast in or even in the area of legal holiday (particularly Easter), it has been shown during a christmas holidays merely twice: around 2001 and 2004. The computer game "Metal Gear Solid 3" has the information inside a radio transmission

Trivia

Charles Bronson (Flight. Lt. Danny "The Tunnel King" Velinski) & David McCallum (Lt. Cmdr. Eric "Dispersal" Ashley-Pitt) were each married to English actress Jill Ireland: McCallum from May 11, 1957 until 1967, Bronson from October 5, 1968 until her death in May 18, 1990.

This film shares ternary of its stars (Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson and James Coburn), its director and producer (John Sturges) and its composer (Elmer Bernstein) with The Magnificent Seven. Each films too feature one of a stars of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: David McCallum appears in this film while Robert Vaughn appeared in the earlier one.

Richard Attenborough (Squadron Leader Roger "Big X" Bartlett), James Garner (Flight Lt. Bob Anthony "The Scrounger" Hendley) & David McCallum (Lt. Cmdr. Eric "Dispersal" Ashley-Pitt) come a just living major stars of the film.

Steve McQueen did most of his have motorcycle stunts. A exclusively stunt he didn't perform was a Lx foot go for it on top a Austrian/Swiss border fence. That stunt was performed by stuntman Bud Ekins, who likewise doubled for McQueen within Bullitt.

According to David McCallum, the barbed wire that Hilts (Steve McQueen) crashes into near a prevent of the film, which was actually mass produced of rubber, was mass produced per cast & crew in the period of their free instance by ligature little pieces of rubber around big ones.

When Roger & MacDonald hold off to board the bus, the German officer tricks Mac into blowing his handle. This scene is somewhat ironic since it was Mac himself world health organization, earliest in a film, told one of the more POWs not to fall for the same trick.

In the scene as a consequence Hilts' thieving of the German motorcycle, he pulls into a German town, where he is stopped by the officer. A officer says something to Hilts inside German, world health organization kicks a officer & rides off. Hilts was asked for identification papers he didn't have.

Books about The Great Escape
A Smashing Escape, Paul Brickhill A Yearn Burrow, Alan Burgess A Wooden Horse, Eric Williams (just about a second shake a equivalent camp, Stalag Luft III)