While many “guys” would probably be willing to belabor the point, it’s easy enough to concede that The Great Escape is a landmark action movie and war epic based on any number of reasons. We witnessed a sprawling cast of international talent that filled the frames compellingly in a story held aloft by heroism in the face of adversity. The score provided by Elmer Bernstein is the stuff of legend with its instantly recognizable opening prelude somehow evoking army barracks and parading POWs. Meanwhile, the indelible imagery of Steve McQueen riding on his motorcycle is forever etched on the hippocampus of anyone who has witnessed the picture. It’s surely a definitive moment in not just “The King of Cool’s” career but action cinema in general.
These points in the defense of the film as the “coolest guy movie” are not hard and fast, though they may be asserted easily enough. In fact, The Coolest Guy Movie Ever simply accepts that these maxims and others like them already hold true in the hearts and minds of the audience. This is not a documentary to try and persuade you of The Great Escape’s merits. That’s not its purpose at all. It already assumes that you hold it in such regard, and certainly that you’ve at least seen it – hopefully multiple times.
If, in fact, you’ve never seen the film, then there’s hardly a point to it, and if it’s been a good many years, then a refresher is in order to make it feel relevant again. Because for what it’s worth, this proves an unassuming little doc meant for a narrow slice of the viewing public who find such an excavation and return to historical roots personally fascinating. It reaches back into their childhood memories and resurrects one of their favorite classics.
The most obvious intended audience, then, are baby boomers who were bred on The King of Cool, Maverick’s syndication on television, and of course, all-star ensemble epics like The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), and The Dirty Dozen (1967), just to name a few. My father’s favorite movie has always been The Magnificent Seven, and so by a single degree of separation, it’s very much a forerunner of director John Sturges’s later picture.
In that regard, I feel like I can at least relate to the generation that grew up with this movie over 50 years ago. But I doubt it is imbued with the same amount of resonance. It simply cannot be. Because memories are so powerful especially when we receive them like old friends coming on a visitation from the past.
Following in the Footsteps
Lawrence Montaigne (1931-2017) accompanies the imagery with some opening narration which subsequently disappears at some point. Though he does later recount a few tales about how his own career flourished based on the minor part he played in The Great Escape, leading to appearances in Star Trek and a small bit in Ice Station Zebra years later (also by Sturges).
Moving at a leisurely pace as it does, there’s nothing cinematic in the investigation to match the film’s harrowing beats. However, it would serve as a fine companion piece in a DVD/Blu-Ray repackaging even if it provides a relatively slight examination of the picture on the whole.
An eclectic band of international Great Escape enthusiasts all take part in the pilgrimage to follow the movie’s shooting schedule. We briefly see some of the super fans, though it does seem a shame we never build any type of rapport with them. They’re just simply there.
Their journey leads to the Bavarian town of Fussen, where they use footage from the film to try and locate various prominent exterior locations. Though the camp itself was replicated on a film stage and subsequently bulldozed after production, they’re able to pinpoint the approximate location. Subsequently, they are able to track down the near exact spot James Coburn escapes on a bicycle using still standing local landmarks as reference.
Then, they discover the curve where McQueen initially trips up a German officer and rides off with his motorcycle. Some of the locals proudly show them around the town, including the “modern” home where many of the principal cast stayed during the shooting, with script readings held in the family room. Another pit stop happens at a local barbershop where the man who inherited the post from his father relates his childhood memories of Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson dropping by on multiple occasions for a shave.
One of the most enjoyable revelations comes to bear acknowledging McQueen’s real-life prowess as a stunt driver, riding motorcycles and everything else he could lay his hands on. The legendary stuntman Bud Ekins, James Coburn, and Jim Garner all have their input on the conversation, talking about McQueen’s recklessness in some sense but also how much he loved all the toys. In some sequences throughout the film, if you look closely he is actually chasing himself. Sturges had him put on a German uniform and perform the pursuit scenes because no one could keep up with his tremendous speed – except himself.
In another humorous anecdote, Garner nearly taxied a plane down a runway, though he had been assured that the vehicle was out of commission. Thankfully, he had enough background in mechanics and the film crew was far enough away that no serious injuries were incurred.
Of course, the pinnacle of the film, and therefore the documentary as well, is the recounting of the famed jump over the barb-wired fence. The cut that remained in the picture was actually landed by Bud Ekins, who recounted it as a supremely surreal moment where he was soaring through the air for a seemingly exorbitant amount of time. McQueen and a New Zealand motocross racer were also on hand and also landed the jump in other takes that were not used in the final picture.
The Coolest Guy Movie Ever: Reflections
I realize that for myself, The Coolest Guy Movie Ever is marginally less interesting because it is simply tracking real places in a fictional story. Whereas such investigations trying to document the real historical events have an even more hallowed and engaging quality for me. To some extent, we still get the feeling that we are walking in the footsteps of living history, but there’s not much that makes us want to care deeply for the journey aside for an unwavering affection for The Great Escape itself. And for some of us who didn’t grow up with the movie, it does not maintain that same personal nature, even if the overall aura remains.
Though this love letter modestly increased my appreciation for the film, it did make me even more interested in the real-life account detailed in Paul Brickhill’s original nonfiction novel about the daring escape from Stalag Luft III in 1944. I would be interested to hear about those everyday heroes glossed over and forgotten with the passing of the years. However, that’s applicable for another discussion entirely.
If the picture does arrive at a summation of sorts it is that The Great Escape remains relevant and meaningful to audiences even after all these years, because even in its moments of tragedy, it is indicative of the “indomitable spirit” of humanity. Some would wager it was that same quality that allowed the U.S. to ultimately claim victory with the Allied powers during WWII. Many might point out we could use more of that “indomitable spirit,” whatever that might look like, right about now in our country.
What other movies deserve to be considered in the same breath as The Great Escape? What makes audiences so drawn to this type of cinematic history even all these years later?
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