The Great Escape
Allied POWs plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
- Director: John Sturges
- Genre:Action / Adventure / Drama / Thriller / War
- Runtime:165 minutes
Cast
Steve McQueen : Capt. Hilts “The Cooler King”
James Garner : Flight Lt. Hendley “The Scrounger”
Richard Attenborough : Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett “Big X”
James Donald : Group Capt. Ramsey “The SBO”
Charles Bronson : Flight Lt. Danny Velinski “The Tunnel King”
Official Site:-
Having wasted an enormous amount of resources on recapturing escaped Allied prisoners of war (POWs), the Germans move the most determined and capable escapees to a new, high-security prisoner of war camp. The commandant, Luftwaffe Colonel von Luger, tells the Senior British Officer (SBO) Group Captain Ramsey, “There will be no escapes from this camp.” The SBO replies that it is their duty to try to escape. After several failed escape attempts on the first day, the POWs settle into the prison camp.
Gestapo and SS agents bring Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett (RAF) to the camp and deliver him to von Luger. Known as “Big X,” Bartlett is the principal organizer of escapes and Gestapo agent Kuhn suggests that he be kept under the strictest security confinement permanently, something which von Luger, who is contemptuous of the Nazis, will only make a “note” of. As Kuhn leaves, he warns Bartlett that if he escapes again and is caught, he will be shot. Afterward, Bartlett is put with the rest of the POWs.
Locked up with “every escape artist in Germany”, Bartlett almost immediately plans the greatest escape attempted—a tunnel system for breaking out 250 prisoners. The intent is to “confuse and harass the enemy” to the point that as many troops and resources as possible will be wasted on finding and detaining POWs, instead of being used on the front line. Read more
