It can be a little confusing to rationally explain why a WWII film like “The Great Escape” (1963) is a Christmas favourite for a British male audience of a certain age, but the moment the opening butter-biscuit landscapes roll up, I almost wish it was a rainy day to complete this very warm, fuzzy feeling as I settle down to watch it (again). I should also say that with every rewatch, I’m struck anew by the stark, tragic shock of the escape – you feel it was no very great success as the men become numbered fugitives in occupied Europe. But I guess one of the overwhelming reasons it’s so easy to come back to this film can be compared to Elmer Bernstein’s whistling theme: the confident belief of these allied/Allied men who try for victory – that is the great escape. No matter the Americanizing, artistic license, there’s so much to enjoy in this film (motorcycles aside!).
John Sturges’ direction patiently paints a picture of the men’s imprisonment late in the war, ominous watchtowers and all (plus a nice little touch when the Kommandant seemingly forgets to deliver the ‘heil’ greeting). The movie is also very funny, with great good-natured moments infused in otherwise tense scenes, with a boy-scout excitement in watching the ‘X’ organization build up their ambitious mass escape plan, masterminded by Richard Attenborough’s driven Roger Bartlett. The entire cast is amazing, too: Hannes Messemer and James Donald play their senior officers with marvellous restraint, and you very quickly come to love Steve McQueen’s rogue flyer, James Garner’s charming scrounger, ‘Tunnel Kings’ played by Charles Bronson and John Leyton, David McCallum, James Coburn, and Donald Pleasance in an unusually very likeable role (Star Trek’s Lawrence Montaigne also has a supporting role). Daniel L. Fapp’s distant, moving photography also drives home the bonds of male friendship and the ‘ensemble’ feeling of the film as momentum climbs and your heart calls out for these persistent heroes to make it Xo
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