The Great Escape is a rousing action
film. Some might argue that it’s nothing more than that. Its portrayal of a
real WWII prison camp escape is less than perfect, with several alterations to
draw in and entertain American audiences. And appeal to audiences it did. There
were a lot of good movies competing at the box office when it was released, and
yet The Great Escape managed to be
one of the top-grossing films that year. One of the reasons it did so well was
its large international cast. There was no single hero, but a collection of
highly talented actors doing their best to capture the camaraderie and
inventiveness of true prisoners of war. In fact, several members of the cast
had been actual prisoners of war. There’s no doubt that Steve McQueen, who was a
fast-rising star, did his best to stand out. His role in The Great Escape cemented his position as a superstar. His insistence
on a motorcycle chase in the movie proved to have helped build the excitement
of the escape. But Steve McQueen was only one of several actors who received
great exposure; there were also James Garner, Charles Bronson, Donald
Pleasense, James Coburn and Richard Attenborough. Many of these actors were
already known by audiences; The Great
Escape just gave them even more screen time. While The Great Escape was nominated for a number of awards, it didn’t
walk away with very many. It did receive a Top Ten Films award from the
National Board of Review. It was a small acknowledgement of
a film that was well received by the public and which had the legs to continue on
to become a movie classic. You just can’t go wrong viewing this movie.
