IMDb > The Great Escape (1963)
The Great Escape
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The Great Escape (1963) More at IMDbPro »

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The Great Escape (1963) -- ZuGuide.com - Trailer (Flash)
The Great Escape (1963) -- Virgin.net Movies - Trailer (WMP)
The Great Escape (1963) -- MattTrailer.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
John Sturges
Writers:
Paul Brickhill (book)
James Clavell (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Great Escape on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
4 July 1963 (USA) more
Tagline:
put a fence in front of these men...and they'll climb it... more
Plot:
Allied POWs plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(44 articles)
Poor start for Pamela Anderson series
 (From digitalspy. 3 November 2009, 2:41 AM, PST)

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 (From Screen Rant. 27 October 2009, 7:47 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Absolutely Awesome!!! more (244 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Directed by
John Sturges 
 
Writing credits
Paul Brickhill (book)

James Clavell (screenplay) and
W.R. Burnett (screenplay)

Produced by
John Sturges .... producer
James Clavell .... producer (uncredited)
 
Original Music by
Elmer Bernstein 
 
Cinematography by
Daniel L. Fapp (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Ferris Webster 
 
Art Direction by
Fernando Carrere 
 
Set Decoration by
Kurt Ripberger 
 
Makeup Department
Emile LaVigne .... makeup artist (as Emile La Vigne)
Jay Sebring .... hair designer: Steve McQueen, James Garner (uncredited)
 
Production Management
Allen K. Wood .... production supervisor
Hubert Fröhlich .... production manager (uncredited)
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jack N. Reddish .... assistant director
John Flynn .... assistant director (uncredited)
 
Art Department
Frank Agnone .... property
 
Sound Department
Wayne Fury .... sound effects editor
 
Special Effects by
A. Paul Pollard .... special effects (as Paul Pollard)
 
Stunts
Bud Ekins .... stunt double: Steve McQueen, motorcycle jump (uncredited)
Tim Gibbs .... stunts (uncredited)
Chuck Hayward .... stunts (uncredited)
Roy Jenson .... stunts (uncredited)
Robert E. Relyea .... stunt pilot (uncredited)
Roy N. Sickner .... stunts (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Bert Henrikson .... wardrobe
 
Editorial Department
Don Tomlinson .... assistant film editor
 
Music Department
Richard Carruth .... music editor
Jack Hayes .... orchestrator (uncredited)
Leo Shuken .... orchestrator (uncredited)
 
Other crew
John Franco .... script supervisor
Robert E. Relyea .... assistant to producer
Wally Floody .... technical advisor (uncredited)
Mike Hyatt .... film restoration (uncredited)
 
Crew verified as complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies

Additional Details

Runtime:
172 min
Country:
USA
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Paul Brickhill, who wrote the book from which the film is based, was piloting a Spitfire aircraft that was shot down over Tunisia in March 1943. He was taken to Stalag Luft III in Germany, where he assisted in the escape preparations. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Hendley's stolen plane crashes the wings are clearly ripped completely off the fuselage. When the plane is next seen on fire the wings are still attached. more
Quotes:
[gathering wood to shore up the tunnels, Hilts removes the wooden slats from bunk beds in the sleeping area of the prisoner barracks, holding a stack of them, and walks carefully out into the hallway]
Flight Lt. Denys Cavendish "The Surveyor": [passes Hilts in the hallway on his way to his bunk bed] Five gold rings. Four calling birds - bloody singing, I've never worked so hard in all my life. Hi, Hilts!
Hilts: [turns and tries to warn him] Say, Cavendish...
Flight Lt. Denys Cavendish "The Surveyor": Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a pear - Alley-oop!
[Cavendish climbs to the top bunk, and vaults onto the unsupported mattress, which collapses under his weight through the bed frame, as well as the two beneath it. Hilts approaches the doorway and sees Cavendish on the floor]
[...]
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Chicken Run (2000) more

FAQ

A Note Regarding Spoilers
Is this a true story?
Any recommendations for movies similar to "The Great Escape"?
more
64 out of 94 people found the following comment useful.
Absolutely Awesome!!!, 28 September 2004
10/10
Author: aquaman-7 from Northern Ontario Canada

The Great Escape is a classic war movie with plenty happening in it. It just so happens that it is my all time favourite having seen it 60 times since it first was released. Steve McQueen , as Hilts, was the driving force behind this movie. He seemed to tie everything together between the American and British prisoners especially in the scene where they were celebrating the 4th of July with the drums and good ole fashioned American moonshine. The Great Escape contains one of the most famous movie scenes of all times when McQueen has half of the German army chasing after him while riding his motorcycle trying to jump the barb wire fence to get to Switzerland. All in all, The Great Escape had a cast of actors that was so strong that it was a wonder they got this movie made in the first place with all of the egos involved. James Garner, Charles Bronson, Angus Lennie, James Coburn, etc.were absolutely awesome.

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