The Coolest Guy Movie Ever: Return to the Scene of The Great Escape (2018) - full transcript

[Narrator]
This is Bavaria, Germany today.

The green meadows,

the magnificent castles
and rolling planes

of Germany's largest region
haven't changed much

in the last 50 plus years.

It was here
in the summer of 1962,

that American film director,
John Sturges

brought together a classic cast

for one of the most
popular films of all time,

The Great Escape.

Based on Australian Author,



Paul Brickhill's
1950 bestseller,

about a mass Allied escape
from a POW camp in Germany.

This mammoth United Artists production from the Mirisch brothers

cast such actors
as Steve McQueen,

James Garner,
Richard Attenborough,

Charles Bronson, James Coburn,

Donald Pleasence,
David McCallum,

and many other fine thespians,
British, American, and German.

What they accomplished in few months
of filming time that summer of 1962

has become a benchmark

against which all other ensemble war action movies are measured.

If it's not the greatest
guy movie of all time,

tell me what is?

I was there that summer.



John Sturges cast yours truly,
Lawrence Montaigne,

as comedian
flight officer Haynes

who happened to be
a member in good standing

of Roger Bartlett's
X Organization.

With Nimmo,
I was in charge of Diversions.

And the first time
you really see me,

I get into a fight
with James Coburn.

‐Yeah. Knuckles will be fine.
‐Give him the coat.

What are you doing
with my coat, mate?

What are you talking about?
It's mine!

[Narrator] Since this movie
has become such an icon,

with memorable location
shot all over Bavaria,

a group of film historians,
film makers,

and pure unadulterated fans,

decided to retrace
the filmmaking steps

of John Sturges.

And see those locations
and how they look

50 years later.

The Great Escape's principle location was the prison camp itself.

Built on the backlot of Geiselgasteig Studios in Munich, Germany.

Well, unfortunately,

the location was bulldozed almost
immediately after the film was finished.

And the forest that was ripped out to accommodate the production

has grown back considerably.

[Payne] This is four and five.

So, this is the sound studio

where they filmed the interior
of The Great Escape.

We think that the camp is to the north of this football pitch,

which is now being dug up.

And if we look at the map,

we can see studio four
and five, six and seven,

the football pitch,

some buildings are here,

but your marker is this mass.

And here you can see
a rectangular square,

which apparently was
where the camp was based.

[Man speaking German]

[Robert E. Relyea]
To build the prison camp

the most logical thing would be

build it right outside
the studio.

Except, there's
a black forest there.

So we brought the minister of the interior out.

Very elderly gentleman.
We put him on the chapman crane

we brought him up in the air,

we let him look down, and said,

you know, uh,

"Mr.
Minister, what we'd like to do is tear out 400 trees

in order to make
the prison camp.

The reason for it,

besides the fact that we're
right next to the studio...

The real reason for it is

we want the prison camp
to look like

it's enclosed by another prison,
the trees.

Now, explaining our reason

we'll now tell you
what we would do in return.

We'll plant two for one.

Any place you tell us
to plant trees.

I understand it's gonna take
a long time for us to get even,

but then,
you'll be double ahead."

And he sat on the chapman crane
and looked through the lens,

and he said, "I understand."

And we started
bulldozing trees.

[Payne] We are North
of the Bavaria studios.

And we're looking for the camp.

There were many ideas
where this camp was.

Some people say,

the camp is to the west
of the Bavaria studios.

Some say,
it's to the north‐east.

But, we have evidence
to prove that

it was north of the studios.

In particular,

sound studio four and five.

At the moment,
we're searching for

some sort of even landscape

to surmise that is where
the camp actually was.

But we feel
we are in the rough vicinity.

And you can see
from the trees over...

Over the 50 years,
the trees would be this height.

[Man 1] There we go.
You gotta see this.

[Man 2] Is that a natural gap there?
Is that a gap there?

[Payne] We know
we're close, uh,

from what we've seen
of the aerial photograph.

We know it is in this area.

It's very quiet.

Very spiritual.

So, use your imagination

and come
to the Bavaria studios.

And search where the mast is,

and you will then find roughly,

where they filmed the camp
in The Great Escape.

[Narrator] While
the camp is gone

most of the iconic locations
of this film are intact.

Much of the picture was filmed

inside and outside
the Bavarian town of Fussen,

which is about one hour
south‐west of Munich.

In The Great Escape,
actor James Coburn

played Australian
Louis Sedgwick.

His nick name
was "The Manufacturer."

Because he builds things,

including trap doors,
air pumps,

trolley cars and tools.

Unlike many of
the other prisoners,

he had the perfect escape.

His principle conveyance
was a stolen bicycle.

[Payne] The first location
is Markt Schwaben,

which is where
James Coburn steals a bike.

[Coburn]
When designing the character,

I mean, John was just saying,

"Well, now you get on the bicycle and you ride down the thing."

Well, rather than getting
on the bicycle and uh...

I steal the bicycle
in the first place, right?

So, instead of rushing,
everything was...

I was very slow
and very deliberate

and very cautious, you know,
like, and very cool about it.

You know, rather being in a hurry,
or playing the paranoia.

I just wanted to be
the other way around,

just like, going through it
like it was,

you know, I've been doing this
all my life.

So, that was a choice I made.

[Man] Now, this building
to my left has been dynamited.

And this is a new building.

[Man 2] So,
what's this building called now then?

That's the Oberoi.

‐ [Man 2] Is that still called that?
‐Yep.

[Man 2] And it's closed.

[Payne] It was here,

where James Coburn
stole the bicycle,

and cycled away
in that direction.

Why we know it's this location,

is because that Church
with the dome,

the same restaurant is there

as it was 50 years ago.

[Soft instrumental music
playing]

But you can see
from this picture,

if we super impose it,
on what we see today

the Church is still here

and this building
is still here.

And it's still a restaurant.

And Coburn is stealing
the bike to escape

around about here.

[Soft instrumental music
continues]

[narrator] Not everyone was fortunate enough to steal a bicycle.

In the movie,
trains were critical.

And many prisoners
crawled out of that tunnel,

and wound up in the train station near the camp.

Instead of Zagan,
it was called Neustadt in the film.

[Payne] We're going to where James Garner,
and Donald Pleasence escaped.

And Richard Attenborough,
Gordon Jackson.

And it's supposed to be
the Neustadt station.

The Neustadt railway station,
Neustadt.

And we're going to see
a derelict part.

And we have to sort of
try and guess

where the platform was.

It's an interesting location.

James Garner and Donald Pleasence came up from the side

and crossed over
the railway crossing

in front of this
derelict building.

It was a very tensed part
of the movie

because they had just escaped.

And, so you're wondering...

And they were late.
Everything was running late.

And so they get here,

and they're waiting
for the train,

and they've already
missed a bunch of trains.

So, Donald Pleasence, of course
says to James Garner,

"So, what d we do?"

And James Garner says,
"We wait for the train."

And 50 years later you look at the film,
it's not old looking.

It's true. It's all truly
very well crafted film.

[Narrator] Any forensic look
at The Great Escape

would have to focus in

on Steve McQueen
and his motorcycle.

Although it was invented
for the movie,

the concept of taking out a German
dispatch rider and stealing his motorcycle,

has historical validity.

And it was popular
with the French Resistance.

In The Great Escape,

Steve's character,
Captain Virgil Hilts

is identified
early in the story

as an experienced
motorcycle racer.

And it seems simply natural
for him to steal a bike.

That sequence,

and the hair‐raising
stunt work that followed,

much of which was done
by McQueen himself,

has become one of the most
popular action sequences

ever featured in a film.

And one of the factors
that launched McQueen's career

as an international superstar.

[Payne] We are in Hopfensee,

looking for the tripwire.

[Gay] Well,
we're at the apex of the curve where Steve McQueen

comes across the road,

and ties a wire off
between the fence posts,

uh, between the sign posts.

You know, objective being

to trip up the next Wehrmacht soldier that comes up the road.

‐ [Christian Hawkridge] And the road itself was here?
‐ [Man] Yeah.

‐So now it's, um‐‐
‐ [man] It's not the‐‐

[Hawkridge]
First of all the road is wider

and then the bicycle track
as well.

‐So, the whole thing is wider,
so it has to be steeper. ‐Yeah.

They would set up the posts
where they have to be.

‐So you can't really‐‐
‐ [man 2] Yeah.

[Hawkridge]
You can't really say

‐where the post is exactly.
‐ [Man 2] That was the post.

[Tires screeching]

And so Sturges
had this idea of,

string the wire at about forty‐five degree across the road,

you come along with the bike,
hit the wire,

and it will put you off
into the ditch.

And I said,

"It's really
physically impossible to do,

but let me fake it.

See what I can do.

So I'd come down and make a real quick turn and it read phony,

you know, and...

I just, "Well,
maybe Tim can do it."

Let Tim try it.

And so, Tim, he's gonna
really give it a good go.

So, Tim comes down now,
really hard and fast,

and gonna fake this
hitting the wire,

and he fell off.

He crashed,
right there in the street.

And really,
though it was second unit.

And really, he says,
"That's great! That's great."

I think there's a good chance

that this shot is...

Those trees right there.
Those things are trees.

So, if you mounted
a camera here,

on a slightly longer lens,
lower down,

you'd get the composition with that marker post which I think,

‐that one, is that one,
I would say. ‐ [Man] Yeah.

Camera was here I would say.

[Narrator] When the cast wasn't digging tunnels

or running all over Germany,

they were sequestered
in a beautiful local hotel

not far from Munich.

We're going now to the house

where the whole crew,
or most of the crew lived.

Attenborough,

Steve McQueen,

James Coburn, Charles Bronson,

and on the one night,
James Garner.

My parents made breakfast
for them.

And also in the evening,

special things, fish and so on.

And they were all sitting
in our living room.

They had a very cozy atmosphere,
I would say.

And they liked it.

Down here,
we have also the hotel list of Pergola Am Hopfensee.

This was the place
where John Sturges,

Steve McQueen,
Richard Attenborough, James Coburn,

or Gordon Jackson,

were in their apartments.

Charles Bronson was there,
John Leyton was there.

‐Hello, follow me, please.
‐ [Riml] Thank you.

This here, is where
Steve McQueen lived.

This is where the director John Sturges,
with his wife lived,

for almost six weeks.

Here lived
Sir Richard Attenborough,

On the right side,
I think, in this roof's suite

was Charles Bronson.

And here,

James Coburn.

There's a separate bathroom,

separate toilet,

and a big room
with a nice view also.

To the cast,
it's of a Neuschwanstein.

All the actors have been
here in this house.

The company took
the whole house.

They had been here
for almost six weeks,

and making this movie.

Everybody had his own room.

And at that time
it was very modern

because in each room
we had a toilet

and a bathroom and a shower.

And I think this was the reason

that the film company took
the whole house.

And my parents
took care of them.

We had also two servants
in the house.

They got breakfast
each morning.

Sometimes in the evening,

a special dinner,
which was cooked by my father.

And, well, during the day time
they were outside

on different spots.

And they were very friendly.

And it was a family atmosphere,
I would say.

They met in the lounge,
discussed the script for the next morning.

I come to visit my parents

and then I went back
for my studies in Munich.

So, I was not always
around them,

but, I saw the cars outside.

James Coburn had a Porsche.

And I think Steve McQueen had
a Jaguar.

Yes, and for me, this was
also very interesting [laughs]

to see these sports cars.

Each evening or each afternoon,
there was a helicopter here

who took the film material
to Munich,

to the Bavaria Studios,

to the copy company.

[Payne] And what was
Steve McQueen like?

Well, he was
what he'd always been.

He was, uh...

Well, he had
an atmosphere around him,

and very strong
and a little macho, yes.

And, uh, well,
he was very kind and nice to everybody.

He was not the type,
the husband of Elizabeth Taylor.

He was nearby here once,
in a hotel,

and they had to fix up
the room again, huh.

No, this was...
They were very good educated people.

[Payne] This is where
James Coburn leaves

the town of Schleiden
to escape on a bicycle.

And he cycles off
into the distance.

[Narrator] Actor Nigel Stock who played Cavendish "The Surveyor,"

found that his escape route included a short‐lived truck ride.

[Payne] We are going to see

where Nigel Stock
gets captured.

This scene starts,

um, the fountain is there,

the truck comes along here.

And around the corner,
there's a group of soldiers.

And Nigel Stock is captured.

This is the right location.

And you can see,

he gets picked up in a truck,

and he turns that corner.

There's the fountain.

And he turns the corner,

and in front of them
there's a line of soldiers.

[Soft instrumental music
playing]

‐Chris, you notice that the building was yellow.
‐Yes.

And the yellow paint
is underneath all this lot.

[Narrator] Seemingly cornered,

Hilts takes up position against the wall of a German cabin

that is still very much there.

[Payne] Steve McQueen arrives
in this part of the movie.

[Ekins] That was Steve, I mean,
he threw this off, didn't he?

I mean, he was excited himself,
he loved it, you know,

and he loved what he was doing
and he knew what he was doing.

When he was son a motorcycle,
he was home.

I remember there was one scene

and he pulls up and he stops,

he takes the gas cap off and he looks down there and shakes the tank.

Because that's what
you would do, you know.

He's worried.

How much gas has this thing got,
am I gonna make it.

And, you know, to add to this,

back on and vroom,
off he goes again.

[Payne] And as you can see,
over to right,

the mountains of the Alps.

The road where
we are walking down

is the road possibly used
in this film.

And to the left,

is the modern day
road that exists

and moves into Hopfen am See.

Great bunch of people,
all with same interests.

Love the scenery.

And walking in the footsteps of Steve
McQueen is just a dream come true.

[Payne] We are in Visbek,
which is a busy junction.

But in the film, Steve McQueen
is asked for his papers.

Come on here.

[Payne] Because he didn't have any papers on him,

he kicked the German
in the stomach.

[Soldier] Hey!

Hey! Where are you going?

And behind, you can see there,
this building,

and he rides away
down the road and away.

And just up the road
a hairdresser lived.

The barber was 14 year‐old‐boy
called Jackie who saw the film.

And remembered Steve McQueen
coming into the barber shop,

to have a wet shave.

And Charles Bronson,

who was a very serious man,
and didn't say hello to Jackie.

But Steve McQueen was a very friendly man and said hello to Jackie.

Hello, Chris.

[Speaking German]

[Payne] He turned here,
he crashed through, didn't he?

They cut it here,
and then they filmed it over there.

They came back here again
and shot up there.

[Gunshots]

So, we're coming up
to the gate.

The gate was here.

There's the bridge there.

So, Steven McQueen kicks
the soldier in the stomach

and drives off
into the distance.

And he winds round

and comes along
to the small bridge.

And there's a single vehicle.

He goes up and over the bridge,

whilst the cycle
with the sidecar

crashes into the gate.

[Ekins] The one sidecar
that crashed, was me,

with Chuck Hayward
in the sidecar,

who went
to the hospital afterwards.

And the other one was a BMW with a sidecar that a German was riding.

And the solo bike
was Tim Gibbs, the Australian.

And I believe
he was on a Triumph...

He was on that Bonneville,
that we were discussing,

the Bonneville Triumph.

[Soft instrumental music
playing]

[Gay] McQueen is being chased
by the Wehrmacht, here.

And, of course,
he's on his bike.

He's coming up against...
He's gotta hide somewhere.

[Intense music playing]

So, he's coming up against this and he's looking.

You know,
and he's got his pistol.

[Motorcycle engine revving]

And he's looking,
and he's looking this way and everything like that.

And of course,
he sees he's in big danger.

This is the only thing he had.

I mean, it's open field,
so he's got to find something

to get behind and to get some shelter and get out of sight.

And of course, we know
what happened after that.

But, yeah, this is the original place,
it's a big, big thing.

[Intense music playing]

[Payne] If you look closely,
you can see the grain in the wood.

And if you match it to,

this part of the hut,
you can see the grain.

And the features
would be roughly there.

[Intense music continues]

Well, it wasn't too funny
for the people

‐who owned the barn.
‐ [Man] No, I bet not.

Um, I hear rumor
that they even were sued

‐all because of that.
‐ [Gasps] Oh, my god!

And so
the whole barn down there,

they tried to wash it off
three or four times

‐and it wouldn't go away.
‐Oh, jeez. [Laughing]

It came back again.

[Payne] This is the road,

that Steve McQueen
is riding along,

escaping from
the Germans behind.

Closely behind.

He's coming to...

towards Pfronten‐Berg,

which is in the distance.

With St. Nikolaus church.

And on the bend here,

is where the,
the poster is situated.

And over here,

here's the cross
which was put up,

in 1960.

And, um, with the film
made in 1962,

we know
that this is the location.

So here, with Pfronten‐Berg

St. Nikolaus Church
in the background,

is the place
where one of the most iconic,

uh, scenes was filmed.

And then, he escapes up, uh,

through the hills and beyond.

This is the crossing

and the Pfronten railway station is over there.

This building proves,

that this is the location

where James Coburn
was on his bike.

He looks around
and then cycles off.

The frame there
goes in between,

[door squeaking]

and he gets on the train,
there.

[Soft instrumental music
playing]

So, Steve McQueen is
escaping from the Germans,

and he goes up over the hills,

the brow of the hills,

and past the hut
which is no longer here.

But, we know it's
the right location,

because
of the St. Nikolaus Church,

which in the distance,
in Pfronten‐Berg.

And then, they cut away,

and finished with McQueen,

in, uh...

Riding of in this direction.

[Payne] That direction.

And then, they cut back again,

and McQueen is in front
of the big mountain

that we can see
in the distance.

[Motorcycle engine revving]

[narrator] Of course,
your average movie goer

didn't realize
that Steve McQueen

actually put on
a German motorcyclist uniform

at one point,

and chased himself.

This was necessitated
by the fact that

the German stunt riders
were simply not fast enough.

To keep up
with very fleet Steve McQueen.

He was like a kid
who had all these toys,

who liked to drive fast
in cars and motorcycles

And, you know,
that was his trip.

And he destroyed a car
when we were, uh, [laughs]

when we were in Redding,

shooting Hell is for Heroes.

He crashed more than one car.

Uh, he crashed a couple.

He had a gull‐wing Mercedes,

that he stuck out
into the woods somewhere.

He had this, uh, desire to,
like man against machine.

And if the machine was strong enough he had respect for it.

If it wasn't, he didn't.

Relyea, he started to say,
"Talk to him,"

said, "He'll be good,
he'll be good," you know.

Came to work one day,
started off.

And he was living
just out of Geiselgasteig

you know, a little town,
just uh, you know,

I don't know,
I guess just north of Geiselgasteig.

And, there was
a farming community out there.

And he comes over the ridge.

He was going
about 90 miles an hour.

You know, standing on it.

He was always late, of course.

And, here were
the two tractors,

so off into the forest he went,

boom, boom, boom,
boom, boom, bang, poof.

And, [laughs] one of the trees went crash right down,
and destroyed this...

Man, it was, it was just, uh,

it was just, [laughing]

It was just mashed
by this tree.

When he'd go to lunch
he'd drive a German motorcycle

with the sidecar on it.

And it's got, well, Swastikas
all over it

and flags and everything else.

And people are yelling at him
in the street,

you know in German,
"Get that thing off the street." [Chuckles]

He had no respect
for anyone, McQueen.

Strange guy.
He was a strange guy.

But I liked him a lot.
He was uh...

We had
a lot of good times together.

He and Jim Garner and myself.

Steve's ability
on a motorcycle was enormous.

You and I have talked
about the fact

that we look real closely,

a lot of the Germans
chasing Steve, are Steve.

[Ekins] Frohlich,
who was production manager,

German production manager, uh,

was telling us
that he's got two greatest

motorcycle riders in Bavaria,

who are gonna come
and chase Steve.

Steve heard this too,
and, "Hmm.

Boy are we gonna have fun."
[Laughing]

We would just do
the old Western trick

of having Steve
take over the hill,

jump the hill,
run down the gully.

And then he'd run
and change uniforms

and put on goggles
and a helmet,

and he would be the German
chasing him.

So, Steve takes off
and zip, zip, zip,

and it was kind of
"one, two, three,"

with his German rider.
[Laughing]

Pretty soon, here they come,

and, they couldn't use it,
you know.

And, so, obviously,
what Sturges is gonna say,

"Steve, slow down."

I mean, it's gonna
ruin everything, isn't it?

Sometimes he's two
of the Germans chasing him.

Because he could handle
bikes that well.

[Ekins] Then he puts
a German uniform on,

then he chases himself
through the scene,

and so then,
you had equal speeds, didn't you?

And in the same scene,
it was first Steve,

uh, and then it was myself
and Chuck Hayward

with a sidecar outfit
following him,

through that same corner.

[Narrator] Here we see
the roundabout,

where the German truck convoy

turns during the final tragic sequence in The Great Escape.

[Payne] The roundabout was used
in the scene right at the end,

where the trucks
lead off different ways.

And in the film
you could see a cross.

So you know that is the roundabout which was used

in the location
where the prisoners were taken.

And sadly,
50 of them were shot.

Just round the corner
from the roundabout.

But we know,

this is the right location,
because of the cross.

[Narrator] Two of the audience's favorites in The Great Escape,

were Danny and Willie,
the "Tunnel Kings,"

portrayed by Charles Bronson
and British actor, John Leyton.

They're the ones
who find a row boat,

and start paddling down
the river to Holland.

That sequence was also filmed
right outside Fussen.

[Payne] In the distance,
you can see old Fussen.

And behind it,
you can see the bridge,

which is where
they rowed towards.

A very iconic picture.

[Purdey]
And the large building there,

that one with the little
triangulated bit

on top of the roof,

that is, that there,

which we can see just out there

with that tower
just at the left of it.

[Narrator]
Actor David McCallum,

portrayed Eric Ashley‐Pitt
in the movie,

the officer
in charge of dirt disposal.

His moment of truth occurs
in the train station,

when he confronts
a deadly Gestapo agent.

That was also shot in Fussen.

[Payne] David McCallum was running away from the Germans,

having just killed
a Gestapo officer.

And he arrives round about,

here.

[Gun fires]

And he gets shot in the back.

He stumbles over to the tracks,

and in between the two tracks

he collapses and dies.

[Narrator] The Great Escape
was orchestrated

by squadron leader
Roger Bushell,

whose name was changed
to Bartlett in the movie,

and played
by Richard Attenborough.

After a nail‐biting sequence
on the train,

it looks like Bartlett and his closest friend Sandy McDonald,

played by Scotsman,
Gordon Jackson,

are close to escaping.

But something goes wrong.

And suddenly, they're running
all over Fussen,

trying to find a hiding place.

The door is about here.

[Payne] Roger Bartlett
runs away with McDonald,

up this road.

We now have three windows.

But in the film,

there's three brown doors.

He turns the corner,

and you could see that the big building in the distance...

So, you know this is the part
of the location.

This is in old Fussen,

and Richard Attenborough

is escaping from the Germans.

And he's coming across
the rooftops.

We know this is the location,

because of the shapes
of the mountains,

in the background.

[Narrator] At one point,

McDonald slams into
a bicyclist,

who turns out to be
of all things

the father of one
of the German guys

leading our forensic team
around Fussen.

That could be the cyclist.

Here was a big tower,
uh, for the camera.

[Payne] The bike comes out,

but the bike could,
would be there.

Hey, it's my father.

[Tires screeching]

[Payne] Green garage!

[Payne] Richard Attenborough's
running away from the Germans,

and he grabs a newspaper
over there,

and he thinks he's safe.

He makes his way
around the corner,

and he goes
and leans against this corner,

which is now Mary's Boutique

and says, "I've escaped."

But all of a sudden,
a German comes up to him,

and asked him his name.

"Herr Bartlett."

[German officer] Herr Bartlett,
you're German is good.

And I here also your French.

Your arms.

Up!

[Narrator] Louis Sedgwick rode his bicycle all the way to France,

where he ends up
in a curbside cafe,

run by the French Resistance.

In reality, that cafe
is nowhere near France.

It's right next to the river
in Fussen.

[Payne] James Coburn
is having coffee

at this location.

And there are two waiters.

He's reading a newspaper.

Over the bridge,
comes the Resistance.

[Gun firing]

[car revving]

[narrator] It is James Garner
and Donald Pleasence

portraying Hendley and Blythe,

who steal a German
training plane

to make they're escape
to Switzerland.

What happens
if the thing starts?

They said, "It hasn't started,

and, you know,
we can't get it started."

I said, "Well, what happens
if it does?"

So, the guy told me,
"Because I'm not a pilot."

Told me about the brakes
and the throttle

and this, that and the other.

And so we got Donald out there,
and I told him to crank it.

And when I, you know,
once he got it cranked,

you know, I had to get out
and help him,

and get him in
because he couldn't see.

And then I got into it.

And, uh,

darn, if he didn't crank it
and it started,

'cause we're never
gonna do all that in cuts.

We got a camera crew out there,
not too far away,

not too much further
than you are.

And, uh, it started.

So, I got throttled back,

and set the brake a little bit,

and eased off on the brake,
I saw it wasn't going anywhere.

I got out and got him up there,
got him in the seat,

and then I sat down

and I revved up
the throttle a little bit

and eased off the brake,
and it started moving forward.

You never saw a crew move
so fast in all your life.

They were safe enough,

because I do know a little about mechanics and whatever, so.

But it did, uh...

I almost started
taxing that thing off.

[Narrator]
They run out of fuel.

And crash‐land in the forest.

A sequence that was
amazingly shot for real.

With John Sturges' assistant,
Robert Relyea

piloting the doomed plane.

What I will always fondly remember about that aircraft was

we were shooting this scene

where you see the plane
head towards that lovely tower,

that castle near Fussen.

And as I made
a very majestic turn up there,

the engine died.

And I thought, "Oh,
I'm gonna go right into this castle."

We actually circled
the castle with no power.

And then we came back,

another gentleman
in the co‐pilot seat,

and we were looking for
any place to get into

and I couldn't find anything
except a farmer's field.

And we rolled up
in this farmer's field,

and here came
this little house,

And I was trying
to brake the plane

but I couldn't get it
to slow down.

We rolled right up to his porch

and he was sitting there
with his feet up.

No shoes, no nothing.

And he was dumbstruck,
of course.

I don't have a German license,

I have an American license.

The plane is illegally painted
with Swastikas.

Um, he was having a fit.

Unfortunately,
he was the equivalent

of our FAA commissioner,

at his summer home.

So, he was having a conniption.

The gentleman who was with me
spoke German,

and when I was trying to lay
on the grass and relax

from not going to his house,

he kept yelling at me.

He's telling us
that we're under arrest,

don't move
until he gets into town

and he can get a policeman.

But, John Sturges, came
and bailed me out.

[Payne] We're in the nice
Miesbach area.

Frauenried,
the Hamlet of Frauenried.

And we have found
the St. Mary's Church,

which is the still the same
as it was, 50 years ago.

It's now painted yellow.

But in the film it was white.

And you can see that
they now have grown some trees

to obscure the church.

We know this is the area,

because if we look at the trees
behind us,

there's a bow.

It's a funny shaped tree
that matches up with the film.

Somewhere on that line
would be the camera position

depending on the lens
they were using,

and how much space they needed.

I think the camera
would be set quite far back,

on a longer lens for safety.

And that's how I think
would explain this location

because it would be difficult,

I would have thought
to get permission

to film this sort
of stunt sequence, anywhere,

because they genuinely
flew the plane in,

towards those trees.

It was pulled on a cable
or whatever

from what we saw there.

So they'd have to fly in low
over these trees,

and have a stunt pilot,

touch the wheels down
just on this ridge.

And then the plane
would travel through,

through there.

We are sure that the camera
was up there.

We are sure that this is where
the plane crashed.

And we're sure
from what we've seen

that the port wing struck
this tree with a kink in it,

and the starboard wing
struck that tree there.

And who knows
if their intention

was actually
to go through this gap

between these trees.

But, what happened is that,

the port wing
definitely struck this tree.

[Payne] And you can see
the kink in this tree,

is the same as the kink
in the tree in front of us.

The Germans, uh...

Several cars drove up
this pathway,

came out of their vehicles,

as Donald Pleasence
goes toward the church.

And so the German,
who will be standing in the film,

to the left of the church

takes aim
and shoots Donald dead.

And he falls to the ground
where I'm standing.

[Narrator] One of the most memorable moments in The Great Escape,

is when Steve McQueen
rides up to the fence

that separates him
from Switzerland and freedom.

The resulting motorcycle jump

then became
one of the most iconic moments

in action film history.

[Payne] This is the area
of Rossmoos, Benken,

which is where they filmed
"the fence scene,"

which Steve McQueen
is jumping over.

And apparently,

the stool that we see
in front of us,

is where McQueen sat

while they were waiting
to set up the film.

And, the farmer
showed Steve McQueen,

how to roll a German cigarette.

And he smokes
a German cigarette

while the scene was being set.

And there were hundreds
of people involved.

[Engine revving]

[reporter speaking German]

[speaking English] Those wonderful stunts you were just doing,

do they have any part in the film you're just shooting?

‐Yes, they do.
‐Uh‐huh.

Yes, we've worked it
into the escape,

that's probably
the end of the movie.

John Sturges and myself
and my stuntman Bud Ekins.

Come time to do it,

and my adrenaline
started going,

and I'd hit it about

50 miles an hour
the day before.

And the adrenaline got going
and I hit about

60 miles an hour.

And it really went up
in the air.

And I could remember
being in the air,

and there was dead silence.

I mean, there were
a few hundred people there,

and all the extras
and everything.

And when I was in the air,
it seemed like I was up there forever,

and there was dead silence.

Nothing.

Just going through the wind.

And boom it hit the ground
and it shook,

and almost fell off
and come back.

And, boy, I got a big applause
and everybody was...

Actually, with the dead silence

just towards the last,
you heard, "Huh!"

Like that. [Laughing]

Maybe it was me, I don't know.

But, anyway, I was the hero
for the day.

[Speaking German]

‐ [Purdey] Those trees there?
‐ [Man] Yeah.

[Continues speaking German]

[Riml] Here is
where the jump is?

And the ditch used to be
all around here.

So he jumped here and landed in the fence just over there.

John shot the jump
over the barbwire,

which was shot three times.

Once with Bud Ekins,
once with Steve

and once with a New Zealander,
Tim Gibbs.

So, it was done once
by Steve McQueen,

once by Bud Ekins,
and once by Tim Gibbs,

a New Zealander who used to do European Motocross

with Bud Ekins and Steve.

The one in the picture
is Bud Ekins.

But all three of them
jumped it.

[Speaking German]

[speaking German]

The most happening,
I just remember,

was when we went in uniform
through the downtown.

And I just remember going to
the main street in Fussen.

I just, I mention it before.

And, um,
I just see the two elder women just like yesterday,

say, "Oh, my goodness,
Mr. Hitler's here again,

Hitler's here again."
[Chuckles]

Because it was not allowed
to go in his uniform.

‐You understand my English?
‐ [Man] Yeah, sure.

So, we said, "No, no.
We're just students."

[Laughing] "Oh, Hitler again."

I never get to see, you know.

And it was a good,
a nice, nice time.

'Cause it is so impressive,

the story itself

that people want to survive,

that people want to go
back home.

Yeah.

‐In, in the war.
‐Yeah.

That was very touching for me.

Because wars are still today,
all over the world.

Mm‐hm.

And, people are killing
each other

for reasons that are silly.

Only political maybe, but...

That's the deeper sense
for me in this film,

that freedom...

‐And peace.
‐And peace,

is something
that we have to keep.

For me,
it was an accomplishment.

It was a tremendous
accomplishment.

And I never minimized it.

Uh, when I came back,

to the States from Europe,

and, uh, and I got in touch
with Betty Atkinson,

who was John Sturges secretary.

And Betty said, "Get out here,
John wants to see."

John gave me a one‐day bit

on Ice Station Zebra.
[Laughing]

You know, because I had
walked on the set

and he says, "Are you working?"
"No."

"Go. Well, working now."

You know, and that was John.

So, all these little things,
these, uh...

There was no Star Trek
without The Great Escape.

There was no career
without The Great Escape.

If I walked into an office
and said,

"I was in Captain Sindbad."

They'd say, "Oh, really?
Oh, that's nice."

But when I walked into
an office with my agent,

and my agent said,
"Lawrence was a featured player

in The Great Escape,"

The door went, toom! [Laughing]

I mean,
there was no doubt about it.

I got a reading.

If I didn't get the part
at least I got the reading.

But I always got a reading.

And, it wasn't one studio
or two studios.

I'm talking about
10, 15 studios.

Paramount, Warner Brothers,
Columbia, you name it, MGM.

Every door was open to me.

Not because of Star Trek.

The Great Escape.

[Narrator] A lot of movies
had been produced

since The Great Escape
made its debut

in theaters
in the summer of 1963.

And many of them
have become classics.

But year after year,

the fans returned
to the green meadows of Bavaria

to see a story
that always ends the same way,

with Steve McQueen
bouncing his baseball

against the brick wall
of the cooler.

And the German guard
pausing to listen

to that immortal sound.

Director John Sturges,
once explained

that the story
of The Great Escape

was all about the indomitable spirit of mankind,

and its desire
to seek freedom at any cost.

As far as Sturges
was concerned,

it was reason the Allies
won World War II.

Perhaps, we all need to be inspired by such thoughts.

At the very end
when Steve goes in

and bounces the baseball,
once more,

you hear this sound,

and the guard stops
for a second

and looks back
over his shoulder

and then you go to end titles.

That guard is

the second assistant director
in the picture.

German gentleman.

Unlike on all pictures
like this,

where you run out of actors,

so, you throw everybody,
a uniform on everybody

and you all get to act.

But, here's a guy
who understood.

And John took it
very slow and easy

‐and said you know,
"When you hear that, ‐ [lock clicks]

that means you didn't win."

[Ball bouncing]

He's locked up, but you lost.

[Ball bouncing]

And that's what, I think,
makes that moment so good.

[Narrator] And don't forget,

that return to The Great Escape
each year,

does leave you humming

that brilliant
Elmer Bernstein score,

and wondering,
just when will Virgil Hilts

see Berlin from the ground
or the air.

[Soft instrumental music
playing]