Overview
The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.
Trailer
Crew
DirectorJohn Sturges
WriterJames Clavell, W.R. Burnett
Cast
Steve McQueen
Hilts 'The Cooler King'
James Garner
Hendley 'The Scrounger'
Richard Attenborough
Bartlett 'Big X'
James Donald
Ramsey 'The SBO'
Charles Bronson
Danny 'Tunnel King'
Donald Pleasence
Blythe 'The Forger'
James Coburn
Sedgwick 'Manufacturer'
Hannes Messemer
Von Luger 'The Kommandant'
David McCallum
Ashley-Pitt 'Dispersal'
Gordon Jackson
MacDonald 'Intelligence'
John Leyton
Willie 'Tunnel King'
Angus Lennie
Ives 'The Mole'
Nigel Stock
Cavendish 'The Surveyor'
Robert Graf
Werner 'The Ferret'
Jud Taylor
Goff
Hans Reiser
Herr Kuhn
Harry Riebauer
Stratwitch
William Russell
Sorren
Robert Freitag
Capt. Posen
Ulrich Beiger
Preissen
Part of The Great Escape Collection
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Keywords
prisonuniformswastikaprisonerbased on novel or booknaziescapeoptimismfreedommachinegunswitzerlandshowerdystopiabaseballworld war iiprisoner of warclaustrophobiaattempt to escapebarbed wirebased on true story
Details
Budget
$4M
Revenue
$12M
TMDb Votes
2,829
Added May 14, 2026Updated Jun 3, 2026