The Great Escape Overview:

The Great Escape (1963) was a Adventure - Drama Film directed by John Sturges and produced by James Clavell and John Sturges.

Academy Awards 1963 --- Ceremony Number 36 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Film EditingFerris WebsterNominated
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BlogHub Articles:

Cinemallennials: The Great Escape (1963)

By Dave Lewis on Jun 16, 2021 From Classic Movie Hub Blog

Cinemallennials: The Great Escape (1963) For those of you who are unfamiliar with Cinemallennials, it is a bi-weekly podcast in which I, and another millennial, watch a classic film that we?ve never seen before, and discuss its significance and relevance in today?s world. In today?s ... Read full article

The Great Escape (1963)

By Beatrice on Jan 5, 2018 From Flickers in Time

The Great Escape Directed by John Sturges Written by James Clavell and W.R. Burnett from a book by Paul Brickhill 1963/USA The Mirisch Company Repeat viewing/Netflixrental One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die I’ve loved this movie since I was a kid. The German Luftwaffe gets the b... Read full article

The Great Escape (1963, John Sturges)

By Andrew Wickliffe on Jul 21, 2014 From The Stop Button

While The Great Escape runs nearly three hours, director Sturges and screenwriters James Clavell and W.R. Burnett never let it feel too long. Part of the quick pace comes from the first half hour being told in something like real time and another big part of it is the aftermath of the escape taking ... Read full article

The Great Escape (1963)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Apr 25, 2014 From 4 Star Films

Based on true events, this film describes the heroic exploits of POWs in a German Stalag during World War II. With extreme heart and teamwork the men take upon the task of making a?massive?escape. Led by Richard Attenbourough, Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Charles Bronson to name a few, they begi... Read full article

The Great Escape (1963)

By 4 Star Film Fan on Apr 25, 2014 From 4 Star Films

Based on true events, this film describes the heroic exploits of POWs in a German Stalag during World War II. With extreme heart and teamwork the men take upon the task of making a?massive?escape. Led by Richard Attenbourough, Steve McQueen, James Garner, and Charles Bronson to name a few, they begi... Read full article

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Quotes from

No Quote for this film.

Facts about

The newspaper that Ashley-Pitt ('David McCallum') reads on the train is the 'Völkischer Beobachter', a real newspaper produced for 25 years by the National Socialist German Workers Party. It served as a propaganda sheet for the Nazis and helped bring Hitler to power. At its height, it had a circulation of approximately 1.4 million. The headline for the issue seen in the film translates roughly to "Day after day, the Soviets have high, bloody losses." Given that the escape in the film occurs in the summer of 1944, this too can be viewed as propaganda. The Nazis had transferred hundreds of thousands of troops to Normandy to stop the Allied advances after D-Day, allowing for the Soviet's to launch Operation Bagration on 22 June, which pushed the Nazis back into Poland by the beginning of 13 July and sparked the Warsaw uprising. In all, the Soviet advance caused German losses of approximately 670,000 dead, missing, wounded and sick, including 160,000 captured. Although the date of the escape is unclear, given the green pastures around the Alps that the escapees encounter, one can easily surmise that the newspaper was putting a positive spin on the battles in the east.
During production, Charles Bronson met and fell in love with David McCallum's wife, Jill Ireland, and he jokingly told McCallum he was going to steal her away from him. In 1967, Ireland and McCallum divorced, and she married Bronson.
Several cast members were actual P.O.W.s during World War II. Donald Pleasence was held in a German camp, Hannes Messemer in a Russian camp and Til Kiwe and Hans Reiser were prisoners of the Americans.
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Best Film Editing Oscar 1963
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Also directed by John Sturges

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Year: 1947
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Best Man Wins

Year: 1948
Director (Credited)
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Bad Day at Black Rock

Year: 1955
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Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Film Adaptation, Mystery
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Also produced by James Clavell

To Sir, with Love

Year: 1967
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The Last Valley

Year: 1971
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Also released in 1963

Tom Jones

Director(s): Tony Richardson
Genre(s): Adventure, Comedy, Romance

Charade

Director(s): Stanley Donen
Genre(s): Comedy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller/Suspense

Lilies of the Field

Director(s): Ralph Nelson
Genre(s): Comedy, Drama, Film Adaptation
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More "World War II" films

Guadalcanal Diary

Director(s): Lewis Seiler
Year Release: 1943

G-Men vs The Black Dragon

Director(s): William Witney, Spencer Gordon Bennet
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