|
The Great Escape (film)
''The Great Escape'' is a 1963 American war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ... adventure film starring Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough and featuring James Donald, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, Hannes Messemer, David McCallum, Karl-Otto Alberty, Gordon Jackson (actor), Gordon Jackson, John Leyton and Angus Lennie. It was filmed in Panavision, and its musical score was composed by Elmer Bernstein. The film is based on Paul Brickhill's 1950 non-fiction The Great Escape (book), book of the same name, a firsthand account of Stalag Luft III#The "Great Escape" (1944), the mass escape by British Commonwealth prisoners of war from German POW camp Stalag Luft III in Sagan (now Żagań, Poland), in the Nazi Germany province of Lower Sil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frank McCarthy (artist)
Frank McCarthy (March 30, 1924 – November 17, 2002) was an American artist and realist painter known for advertisements, magazine artwork, paperback covers, film posters, and paintings of the American West. Biography Born in New York City, he studied under George Bridgman and Reginald Marsh at the Art Students League of New York then attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Types of works McCarthy began his art career as a commercial illustrator, opening his own studio in 1948. He did illustrations for most of the paperback book publishers, magazines, including '' Colliers'', '' Argosy'', and ''True'', movie companies, and advertisements. Among McCarthy's film poster work were ''The Ten Commandments'', ''Hatari!'', '' Hero's Island'', '' The Great Escape'', and with Robert McGinnis, '' Thunderball'', '' You Only Live Twice'' and '' On Her Majesty's Secret Service''. McCarthy left the commercial art world in 1968 in order to concentrate on Western paintings. In 1975 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. Known for his "granite features and brawny physique," he gained international fame for his starring roles in action, Western, and war films; initially as a supporting player and later a leading man. A quintessential cinematic "tough-guy", Bronson was cast in various roles where the plot line hinged on the authenticity of the character's toughness and brawn. At the height of his fame in the early 1970s, he was the world's No. 1 box office attraction, commanding $1 million per film. Born to a Lithuanian-American coal mining family in rural Pennsylvania, Bronson served in the United States Army Air Forces as a bomber tail gunner during World War II. He worked several odd jobs before entering the film industry in the early 1950s, playing bit and supporting roles as henchmen, thugs, and other "heavies". After playing a villain in the Western film ''Drum Beat'', he was cast in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
German POW Camp
In Germany, stalag (; ) was a term used for prisoner-of-war camps. Stalag is a contraction of "Stammlager", itself short for ''Kriegsgefangenen-Mannschaftsstammlager'', a literal translation of which is "War-prisoner" (i.e. POW) "enlisted" "main camp". Therefore, technically "stalag" simply means "main camp". Legal definitions According to the Third Geneva Convention of 1929 and its predecessor, the Hague Convention of 1907, Section IV, Chapter 2, these camps were only for prisoners of war, not civilians. Stalags were operated in both World War I and World War II and were intended to be used for non-commissioned personnel (enlisted ranks in the US Army and other ranks in British Commonwealth forces). Officers were held in separate camps called ''Oflag''. During World War II, the ''Luftwaffe'' (German air force) operated ''Stalag Luft'' in which flying personnel, both officers and non-commissioned officers, were held. The ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) operated ''Marlag'' f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prisoners Of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war in custody for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons, such as isolating them from the enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and Repatriation, repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishing them, prosecuting them for war crimes, exploitation of labour, exploiting them for their labour, recruiting or even Conscription, conscripting them as their own combatants, collecting military and political intelligence from them, or Indoctrination, indoctrinating them in new political or religious beliefs. Ancient times For most of human history, depending on the culture of the victors, enemy fighters on the losing side in a battle who had surrendered and been taken as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations amongst member states. Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth dates back to the first half of the 20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was originally created as the British Commonwealth of Nations through the Balfour Declaration at the 1926 Imperial Conference, and formalised by the United Kingdom through the Statute of Westminster in 1931. The current Commonwealth of Nations was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which modernised the comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stalag Luft III
, partof = ''Luftwaffe'' , location = Sagan, Lower Silesia, Nazi Germany (now Żagań, Poland) , image = , caption = Model of the set used to film the movie ''The Great Escape.'' It depicts a smaller version of a single compound in ''Stalag Luft III''. The model is now at the museum near where the prison camp was located. , map_alt = Sagan, Germany (pre-war borders, 1937) , map_type = Poland#Germany 1937 , coordinates = , type = Prisoner-of-war camp , controlledby = , open_to_public = , condition = , built = , builder = , used = March 1942January 1945 , materials = , demolished = , battles = World War II , events = The "Great Escape" , past_commanders = ''Oberst'' Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau , garrison = , occupants = Allied air crews Stalag Luft III (german: Stammlager Luft III; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Panavision
Panavision is an American motion picture equipment company founded in 1953 specializing in cameras and lenses, based in Woodland Hills, California. Formed by Robert Gottschalk as a small partnership to create anamorphic projection lenses during the widescreen boom in the 1950s, Panavision expanded its product lines to meet the demands of modern filmmakers. The company introduced its first products in 1954. Originally a provider of CinemaScope accessories, the company's line of anamorphic widescreen lenses soon became the industry leader. In 1972, Panavision helped revolutionize filmmaking with the lightweight Panaflex 35 mm movie camera. The company has introduced other cameras such as the Millennium XL (1999) and the digital video Genesis (2004). Panavision operates exclusively as a rental facility—the company owns its entire inventory, unlike most of its competitors. Early history Robert Gottschalk founded Panavision in late 1953, in partnership with Richard Moore, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angus Lennie
Angus Wilson Lennie (18 April 1930 – 14 September 2014) was a Scottish film and theatre character actor with a 50-year career span. His numerous credits include the character of Flying Officer Archibald Ives in '' The Great Escape'', and ''Shughie McFee'' in the television soap opera '' Crossroads''. Early life Lennie was born and raised in Glasgow, receiving formal education there at Eastbank Academy. During his childhood he was a member of the ''94th Glasgow (1st Shettleston) Company'' of Scotland's Boys' Brigade. He started his career in show business at the age of 14 whilst engaged in an apprenticeship as a stockbroker's clerk, and appeared whilst still a teenager in song and dance acts at the Glasgow Metropole, his diminutive size at 5 ft 1" aiding his nimbleness in performance. After briefly trying stand-up comedy on Scotland's variety circuit post-World War II, and service with Her Majesty's Armed Forces as a National Serviceman, after a period performing in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Leyton
John Dudley Leyton (born 17 February 1936) is an English actor and singer. As a singer he is best known for his hit song "Johnny Remember Me" (written by Geoff Goddard and produced by Joe Meek), which reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in August 1961 despite being banned by the BBC for its death references. His follow-up single, "Wild Wind", reached number two in the charts. Alongside singing, Leyton's acting career saw him appearing in television and films throughout the 1960s. His films included '' The Great Escape'', ''Guns at Batasi'', ''Von Ryan's Express'' and ''Krakatoa, East of Java''. In 2009 he also had a small role in the film ''Telstar'', a biopic based on Joe Meek's life in which Leyton himself was portrayed by Callum Dixon. Career Leyton went to Highgate School and after completing his national service with the Royal Army Service Corps, he studied drama, paying his way through drama school with bit-part roles in films and on television. His first major a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Jackson (actor)
Gordon Cameron Jackson, (19 December 1923 – 15 January 1990) was a Scottish actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'' and as George Cowley, the head of CI5, in '' The Professionals''. He also portrayed Capt Jimmy Cairns in ''Tunes of Glory'', and Flt. Lt. Andrew MacDonald, "Intelligence", in '' The Great Escape''. Early life Gordon Jackson was born in Glasgow in 1923, the youngest of five children. He attended Hillhead High School, and in his youth he took part in BBC radio shows including '' Children's Hour''. He left school aged 15 and became a draughtsman for Rolls-Royce. Early career His film career began in 1942, when producers from Ealing Studios were looking for a young Scot to act in ''The Foreman Went to France'' and he was suggested for the part. After this, he returned to his job at Rolls-Royce, but he was soon asked to do more films, and he decided to make acting his career. Jackson soon appeared in other films, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karl-Otto Alberty
Karl-Otto Alberty (also Karl Otto Alberty, born 13 November 1933 in Berlin) is a German actor. He started out as an amateur boxer before discovering a talent for acting, making his début at the City Theatre in Konstanz in 1959. He then began to take supporting roles in films. He made his first appearance in English language films as an SD officer (who captures Richard Attenborough) in '' The Great Escape'' (1963). With his broad face, broken nose and distinctive white-blond hair, he would go on to play variations of the role of German officers in a series of films, notably ''Battle of the Bulge'' (1965), Andrew V. McLaglen's '' The Devil's Brigade'' (1968), Luchino Visconti's '' The Damned'' (1969), and as a Waffen-SS tank commander of a Tiger I tank from the 1st SS Panzer Division LSSAH in ''Kelly's Heroes'' (1970). He played a Luftwaffe general in ''Battle of Britain'' (1969). He also continued to work in both Germany and Italy in a wide variety of films from dramas and come ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David McCallum
David Keith McCallum Jr. (born 19 September 1933) is a Scottish actor and musician. He first gained recognition in the 1960s for playing secret agent Illya Kuryakin in the television series ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E''. In recent years, McCallum has gained renewed international recognition and popularity for his role as NCIS medical examiner Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard in the American television series '' NCIS''. With John Leyton and William Russell, he is one of the last living actors from the 1963 classic '' The Great Escape''. Early life McCallum was born 19 September 1933, in Maryhill, Glasgow, the second of two sons of orchestral violinist David McCallum Sr. and Dorothy (née Dorman), a cellist. When he was three, his family moved to London for his father to play as the leader of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Early in the Second World War, he was evacuated back to Scotland, where he lived with his mother at Gartocharn by Loch Lomond. McCallum won a scholarship ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
