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Based on a True Story: The Great Escape
John Sturges began his career in Hollywood in 1932 as an editor. Then World War II began in 1939, and the United States' involvement grew after the bombing at Pearl Harbor in 1941. John's career strayed from Hollywood as he changed roles. Instead of editing, John directed many documentaries during the war for the Army Air Forces—the predecessor to today's United States Air Force.
After the war, John would end up directing one of the greatest World War II films of all time. I'm talking, of course, about 1963's The Great Escape. The movie was made for only $4 million in 1963, or about $31 million in today's dollars, and returned almost $12 million—or about $93 million today.
Needless to say, it was a smash hit. The Great Escape was the film that launched Steve McQueen into stardom and made Americans aware of a British star actor by the name of Richard Attenborough. Not to mention offering significant boosts to many of the film's other stars such as James Garner, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, and Charles Bronson, just to name a few. Despite having an all-star cast and being based on a true story, most of the characters in the film didn't actually exist. Instead, Hollywood opted to merge together multiple people into a single character to help push the story forward while not having to deal with an ensemble cast in the hundreds.
As I'm sure you can guess, this also forced them to change the story around from the way things really happened. Let's compare Hollywood with history to find out the real story behind The Great Escape.
After the war, John would end up directing one of the greatest World War II films of all time. I'm talking, of course, about 1963's The Great Escape. The movie was made for only $4 million in 1963, or about $31 million in today's dollars, and returned almost $12 million—or about $93 million today.
Needless to say, it was a smash hit. The Great Escape was the film that launched Steve McQueen into stardom and made Americans aware of a British star actor by the name of Richard Attenborough. Not to mention offering significant boosts to many of the film's other stars such as James Garner, Donald Pleasence, James Coburn, and Charles Bronson, just to name a few. Despite having an all-star cast and being based on a true story, most of the characters in the film didn't actually exist. Instead, Hollywood opted to merge together multiple people into a single character to help push the story forward while not having to deal with an ensemble cast in the hundreds.
As I'm sure you can guess, this also forced them to change the story around from the way things really happened. Let's compare Hollywood with history to find out the real story behind The Great Escape.
16 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 17, 2016
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About the author
Dan LeFebvre
45 booksDan LeFebvre was born in Ohio and has released over 25 online video tutorials on subjects ranging from productivity and development to 3D and VFX. His courses have reached students and professionals around the world through Digital-Tutors, Pluralsight, Skillshare and Udemy. He is currently living in Oklahoma and the host of the popular Based on a True Story podcast.
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