| Release Date: | Jul 1963 |
|---|---|
| Genres: | Action / Adventure / Drama / History / War / Thriller |
| Awards: | Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations |
| Runtime: | 172 min |
| Cast: | Steve McQueen (Capt. Hilts ), James Garner (Flight Lt. Hendley ), Richard Attenborough (Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett ), James Donald (Group Capt. Ramsey ), Charles Bronson (Flight Lt. Danny Velinski ), Donald Pleasence (Flight Lt. Colin Blythe ) James Coburn (Flying Officer Louis Sedgwick ) Hannes Messemer (Col. von Luger) David McCallum (Lt. Cmdr. Eric Ashley-Pitt ) Gordon Jackson (Flight Lt. Sandy MacDonald...) John Leyton (Flight Lt. William Dickes ) Angus Lennie (Flying Officer Archibald Ives ) Nigel Stock (Flight Lt. Denys Cavendish ) Robert Graf (Werner 'The Ferret') Jud Taylor (Goff) |
Based on a true story, a group of allied escape artist type prisoners of war are all put in an 'escape proof' camp. Their leader decides to try to take out several hundred all at once. The first half of the film is played for comedy as the prisoners mostly outwit their jailers to dig the escape tunnel. The second half is high adventure as they use boats and trains and planes to get out of occupied Europe.
