THE GREAT ESCAPE

The Real Escape

The 1963 Film of "The Great Escape"

The feature film of the Great Escape was made by the Mirish Company and released in 1963. The director, John Sturges, had bought the rights to Paul Brickhill's book and was well known for films such as Gunfight At The OK Corrall, Bad Day at Black Rock, and The Magnificent Seven. Filming on The Great Escape began in the summer of 1962.

The screenwriter was James Clavell (of SHOGUN and KING RAT fame) who was himself a PoW of the Japanese during WW2.

The prisoner-of-war camp was renamed Stalag Luft Nord and was built amongst pine forests near Munich in Bavaria, with interiors shot at local studios. One of the technical advisors was former F/Lt Wally Floody, a Canadian mining engineer and wartime Spitfire pilot, who had been responsible for the tunnel traps and their camouflage.

Nearly all of the incidences, both serious and humorous, which are shown in the film are completely true, although there is some inevitable telescoping of events, and many characters are rolled into one. In particular, the method of "stooging" (keeping watch for German guards and ferrets) is well demonstrated, and the method of constructing the tunnels is extremely accurate.

There was indeed Christmas Carol singing taking place to mask the sound of "manufacturing" and "building" whilst escape materials, air piping, and compasses were made, and concrete plinths pierced. (The Germans did not seem to notice that, at the time, it was nowhere near Christmas.) The trap for "Dick" in the wash-room floor is particularly well shown - the Germans never found it, because 'Dick' had a perfect disguise. In the film, whilst the escape takes place through the tunnel called 'Harry' the trap is portrayed as being in the wash-room floor, and is definitely that of 'Dick' in real life.

The camouflage of the traps used for 'Tom' and 'Harry' is again extremely accurate and reflect the advice given by Wally Floody. Manners of the guards and ferrets, and even the way some of them were suborned, is again quite true to life. "S/Ldr Roger Bartlett" gives a good impression of the driving power behind Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, but his sister said that Dickie Attenborough, who played the part, looked nothing like him. Dickie even had the facial scar of Bushell, incurred in a prewar-skiing accident (he was an Olympic skier) which often caused him discomfort.

"Group Captain Ramsey", the SBO or Senior British Officer, has the severe leg injury suffered by his real counterpart, G/C Herbert Massey, who in real life was repatriated shortly after the escape, and who was instrumental in bringing the atrocity to the attention of H.M. Government.

The sequence where several prisoners hide in an outgoing lorry loaded with cut tree branches actually happened, almost exactly as shown; also, the piece where Bronson and Coburn try to escape masquerading as Russian prisoners is remarkably close to an actual escape attempt. True, too, is the scene where McQueen, having removed numerous bedboards, watches helplessly as a fellow prisoner crashes through his fatally weakened bunk and lands on the man below.

I have obtained the following cast list from Microsoft's excellent Cinemania CD-ROM database and offer the following comparisons of the real and the imagined:-

Steve McQueen (Hilts, the Cooler King). Likely to be an amalgamation of several characters, he has no direct counterpart, although one likely candidate is Jerry Sage. The sequence where McQueen sees a blind spot in the guards' coverage of the perimeter wire is true; this escape was by Toft and Nichols, who cut through the wire but were soon recaptured. The motorcycle sequences are pure Hollywood and were put in at McQueen's request; he did nearly all the stunt riding himself, as the long shots show. The single motorcycle was in fact a pair of 1961 British 650cc Triumphs, mocked up in German colours; the final leap is believed to have been done by the American rider Bud Elkins, as it proved impossible for the film company to obtain insurance cover for McQueen to do it himself. For the final leap, there is obviously a ramp just out of camera frame, over which the rider launches the motorcycle to get the necessary height for the jump over the barbed wire fence.

There was indeed a group of prisoners (headed by Jerry Sage and Davey Jones) who manufactured raisin wine and distilled raw liquor from vegetables and virtually any ingredient. The party on the 4th July actually happened, although 'Tom' was not discovered on this particular day. 

My Internet correspondent Tom Cleaver offers the opinion that the Steve McQueen character was based on F/Lt Barry Mahon of 121 Squadron RAF -the second Eagle Squadron. Mahon was shot down on Operation Jubilee in August 1942 (where he had just become the 4th Eagle Squadron ace) and sent to Stalag Luft III where he became 'the cooler king' for his many escape attempts. He was brought in from his most recent escape just before "The Great Escape" and actually received first place to go through the tunnel, but decided against accepting, thereby saving his life. Barry later became part of the movie business and was active with United Artists, who made "The Great Escape," and served as a technical advisor on the film. McQueen took a liking to him and had Barry's facts written into his character; Barry allegedly fought like hell to get the movie as real as he could, as his own way of paying respects to the dead. 

McQueen's character, and that of Angus Lennie, are representative of two prisoners 'Shag' Rees and 'Red' Noble who enjoyed baiting the ferrets; consequently both spent a fair time in the cooler.

Steve McQueen died in November 1980.

James Garner (Hendley, the Scrounger). Again, no direct counterpart, although there is some similarity with a fluent German-speaking prisoner who insisted on being known as Axel Zillesen, his "cover" name. (He reckoned that if he was used to being called this, he wouldn't be caught out by checkpoint guards.) He suborned one of the most dangerous ferrets, by carefully chipping away at his morale, and bribing him with chocolate and cigarettes, which were plentifully supplied by the Red Cross.  His real name was Airman Marcel Zillessen, born in Yorkshire in 1917 to a German father and Irish mother. He spent his early life in Bradford, working in the family textile business. He was captured by the Germans in 1943, after being shot down while on top-secret low-level "tankbusting" missions against General Rommel's troops in the north African desert.

Zillessen's education at Berlin University helped him carry out his most famous exploits. Having built up an excellent command of elegant high society Berlinese, he wrote love letters on behalf of the camp's German officers to woo their frauleins. This enabled him to get the necessary supplies of paper and ink to forge the documents needed for the prisoner's escape equipment.

Unfortuantely, or perhaps fortunately in light of the tragic executions on Hitler's order, Mr Zillessen was one of the last out of the tunnel that the prisoners had dug, and he was arrested by prison guards.

Richard Attenborough (Roger Bartlett, Big X). Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, correctly breveted and ranked, with Bushell's eye injury, fluent German, and driving determination.

James Donald (the SBO). Group Captain Herbert M. Massey, age correct (Massey was a First World War career officer) correctly breveted and ranked and with Massey's badly wounded leg.

Charles Bronson (Danny Velinski, Tunnel King). An amalgamation of F/Lt Wally Floody, F/Lt Ernst Valenta and F/O Danny Krol who were all tunnel specialists. Also very representative of F/O Wlodzimierz Adam Kolanowski, the architect of the tunnel traps. Kolanowski, Krol and Valenta were all shot by the Gestapo, but Floody was transferred to Belaria shortly before the escape. Bronson's character (along with that of John Leyton) reaches safety, and the two who escaped in this way were really Per Bergsland (aka Rocky Rockland) and Jens Muller. Bronson's part thus encompasses no less than five real people. Certainly several prisoners were claustrophobic, including W/C Harry Day, who never once let on about it despite frequent inspections of the tunnel and its workings. It is documented that some prisoners were refused places on the tunnelling team, due to known claustrophobia, and had to be found other escape activities to occupy them.

Donald Pleasance (Colin Blythe, the Forger). An amalgamation of Desmond Plunkett, the map maker, and F/Lt Gilbert "Tim" Walenn, the real forger. Pleasance had been a real-life member of wartime aircrew; he had flown as a wireless-operator with No 166 Squadron, flying Lancasters from Kirmington, being shot down on a Agenville operation on 31-Aug/1-Sep-44, Lancaster NE112 AS:M; he died in France on 2-Feb-95 . Walenn was murdered; Plunkett survived.

James Coburn (Sedgewick, the Manufacturer). An amalgamation of Al Hake, compass maker, and Johnny Travis, the real manufacturer. Coburn also reaches safety, and this, the third successful escaper, was in real life Bob van der Stok, who escaped into Holland and Belgium, then over the Pyrenees into Spain and Gibraltar. The scene where Sedgewick produces a large suitcase which has to go down the tunnel is true, but the real escaper in this case was Tim Walenn, the real-life forger. Hake and Walenn were murdered; Travis did not escape.

David McCallum (Ashley-Pitt, Dispersal). A very close match to Peter "Hornblower" Fanshawe, a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot who was the real sand dispersal specialist. The method of sand disposal shown in the film is an exact match for the real events. Fanshawe was transferred to Belaria shortly before the escape, but Ashley-Pitt was one of the victims.

Gordon Jackson (MacDonald, Security). This is a compilation of George Harsh and Tim Kirby-Green (both security) and Bernard Scheidhauer (Bushell's escaping companion). Harsh was one of those transferred to Belaria just before the escape, but Scheidhauer, a Frenchman, partnered Bushell. It was Scheidhauer, used to speaking English in the camp, who inadvertently answered a Gestapo agent in English, a mistake which led to he and Bushell being caught. This is shown very clearly in the film. Scheidhauer, Kirby-Green and Bushell were amongst the 50 victims. Gordon Jackson died in the early 1990s.

John Leyton (Willie, tunneller). No particular representation amongst the tunnellers, but one of the two (Per Bergsland and Jens Muller) who together reached Sweden. John, until the film, was better known for his magnificent singing voice ("Johnny Remember Me") used in several pop songs of the early 60s.

Angus Lennie (Ives, The Mole). Again no direct representation; but he is referred to by Gordon Jackson as "Piglet" at one point in the film, just before Tom is discovered. This can be no other than F/L H W "Piglet" Lamond, a tunneller and escapee who survived the massacre of the 50 victims. As far as Lennie's character is concerned, some prisoners certainly did go 'round the bend' and tried ill-conceived or absurd escapes, sometimes with fatal consequences.

Nigel Stock (Cavendish). During the film interrogation of this character, the dialogue represents that between the Gestapo and one of the victims, who before his being taken away by the Gestapo, recounted his interrogation to a fellow escaper, who survived the murders.

Robert Desmond (Griff, the Tailor). Obviously Tommy Guest, who was a prewar tailor and whose team made the civilian clothes from bits of blanket and uniforms. Guest did not escape.

Hannes Messemer (von Luger, the Kommandant). Oberst Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau, an excellent representation of an honourable career Luftwaffe senior officer who was a humane, and where possible, kindly man, respected by the prisoners. Arrested immediately after the escape, he developed heart trouble. He and his two immediate subordinates (Broili and Pieber) were sentenced to one year's fortress arrest. (von Lindeiner was interrogated by the RAF SIB at the London Cage, and proved extremely pro-British and very helpful.) The Kommandant at the time of the announcement of the murders was Oberst Braune and his demeanour at the time - one of shock, disbelief and horror - is well represented.

The Gestapo man in the leather coat who is so nasty to Bartlett ("If you escape again and be recaptured, you will be shot") at the start of the film and so delighted at the capture of most of the escapers ("Ah - Herr Bartlett! You are going to be sorry you put us to so much trouble") has no direct counterpart in real life. However, if the bounds of credibility, artistic licence and real information may be stretched, he may be interpreted being Sturmbannfuhrer Johannes Post, deputy Gestapo chief at Kiel and together with his subordinate Lux, responsible for the murders of over twenty-five of the escapers. Post and his cohorts were hanged. This film character could also be interpreted as being either Dr Wilhelm Scharpwinkel, or Dr Leopold Spann. Any of these three Gestapo men would readily fit the bill. Dr Gunther Absalon is another candidate. More details of these men are on the main page.

The actual murders were not en masse, but the captured prisoners were taken in small groups and killed whilst in transit. Details of this are on the main page.

Content Copyright 1998 Rob Davis

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