Steve McQueen stars in this classic war drama based on the book by Paul Brickhill. During World War II, a collection of hardened Allied prisoners were kept in an escape-proof German camp. Led by Big X (Richard Attenborough), the men formulate a plan for a mass breakout, digging three tunnels named Tom, Dick and Harry. The team behind the escape includes near-blind forger of passports Colin Blythe (Donald Pleasence), claustrophobic Danny Velinski (Charles Bronson) and the independent American 'Cooler King' (McQueen).
The Great Escape image of Steve McQueen (as "The Cooler King") astride his motorcycle has entered silver-screen iconography, alongside Brando on his bike from The Wild One. Based on a true story about a group of POWs who mount a daring breakout from a supposedly inescapable Nazi prison camp, this rousing and suspenseful World War II epic features an all-star cast, including James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, and David McCallum. --Jim Emerson