The Great Escape was based upon a book written by Australian World War II veteran Paul Brickhill; his first-person account told of his experiences as a prisoner of war in Stalag Luft III, a prison camp in Poland where the Germans kept British and Commonwealth prisoners until liberation came. In the real-life camp, there were no American prisoners, but this was changed when the book was adapted into a screenplay, because it was felt that including a couple of American characters would make the film more marketable. This turned out to be a wise decision; the characters remained the same as the ones in the book, but their nationality was changed for the screen. Another deviation from history was the almost total omission of Canadian soldiers from the story, although in real life they had played a pivotal role in the success of the escape.
The movie tells the story of the mass escape of prisoners from the camp, an escape which was of course run with military precision and also demonstrated how much the arrogant German captors underestimated the strategic planning and the stealth of their prisoners. A huge success at the time of its release in 1963, the movie is now considered a classic, thanks in large part to the iconic motorcycle chase and escape scene, with Steve McQueen at the helm. It was a signature role for McQueen who won a Best Actor Award at the Moscow Film Festival for his portrayal of maverick airman Captain Virgil Hilts whose constant escape attempts make him the most unpopular prisoner in the camp amongst the guards. Virgil was based on a three different people, and McQueen was considered the stand-out star in a stellar cast of very recognizable actors. Although it was impossible to insure McQueen to take on the more dangerous of the chase scenes himself, he did do many of his own stunts, although he played this down when interviewed, crediting his stunt double Bud Ekins with the more daring performances.
Production was an ironic affair, because filming took place in one of the small German towns that had historically turned a blind eye to all that was happening around them under Nazi rule; this was particularly true of the scenes filmed in the Bavarian forest, an area renowned for its undying support of Hitler's brand of fascism. The town's railway station, which had decades earlier been a staging point for the trains taking Jewish citizens to camps such as Auschwitz and Birkenau, was also used as part of the set.
Despite the enormous popularity of the film, and the fact that it was the most successful and highest grossing film of the year, it was relatively poorly represented when it came to the major awards and accolades. It is also one of that rare breed of movies that gains momentum with every year that passes. Nostalgia or just a love of good old-fashioned acts of daring, nobody really knows; what is certain is that the film is now beloved far beyond its genre. It has also received that rarest of compliments - it has been parodied by both Monty Python's Flying Circus, and by Ripping Yarns, thanks in large part to Michael Palin, who stars in both, and his lifelong obsession with both the film, and the men who heroically escaped their captors.
