Posted on 03/26/2009 5:49:43 AM PDT by DFG
It was film night in Stalag Luft III and the dwindling band of surviving PoWs was marking the 65th anniversary of the daring breakout by watching The Great Escape. Even though this is Hollywood’s celebration of their story and ensured their enduring fame, it wasn’t the Nazis they booed — it was Steve McQueen and his motorbike.
“We were not impressed when that film came out,” said Reginald Cleaver, 86, a flight engineer who had been shot down over the Netherlands and who helped to make disguises for the escape. “The bits about the way the tunnel was dug and how things started was quite accurate, but the later bits were nonsense.
“The Americans played no part in the escape. To have Americans riding motorbikes was ridiculous.”
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
BUMP!
“The Americans played no part in the escape.”
Pal, the only reason ANY of you ‘escaped’ was due to America’s involvement. And by the way, we made the movie, so we’ll put Steve McQueen in there if we feel like it, and you can deal with it. You would have long since been dead in a Hitler camp.
The movie would never have had success without glameration and Hollywood big name actors, I just saw it awhile ago on TCM.
I saw a special on the making of the movie. It said that 98% of the movie was accurate and thet athe Steve McQueen movie scene was put in for one reason.
Steve was the hottest actor at the time and he loved motorcycles- that is how they got him to be in movie by writng that scene in for him
It was a Limey bike. WTF do they want ?
Pal, the only reason ANY of you ‘escaped’ was due to America’s involvement.
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LOL. And that has what to do with the accuracy of the movie?
But the Brits did such a great job escaping Hitler during the invasion of France.
Heck, I was late getting out of the house TODAY because I was watching it.
“It was a Limey bike. WTF do they want ?”
Actually it was a 50s era Limey bike disguised as a 60s era German bike disguised as a 40 era German bike.
Oh what a tangled web we weave when we practice to deceive.
Picking a fight with British airmen who risked their lives in WW2 and suffered in captivity ill becomes you.
The movie was Hollywood. By Hollywood standards, they kept fairly close to the facts. But they really wanted McQueen, and that completely bogus scene is how they got him.
“The Americans played no part in the escape. To have Americans riding motorbikes was ridiculous.”Bite me Limey.
ps bitter brit: Monty was a vacillating moron. His stupidity caused the war to last months longer than necessary. And is solely responsible for ten of thousands of American deaths.He was the worst Commanding General in all of history. So .. suck on that!
The statement is completely accurate in the broad sense. For any of them to in any way discount America’s involvement in that war is a disgrace, and I’m tired of us just allowing every negative statement to go unchallenged. The proper statement by this clown would have been something along the lines of, “Well, the motorcycle scene was a little much and didn’t happen, but on the whole, the movie was pretty accurate. And also, thank God the Americans were there, saving our weak, soft, soon-to-be defeated asses from certain defeat and takeover by Hitler’s army.”
The tone of this guy’s comment, to have any negative whatsoever towards America is more of the same crap that we hear all over this country. So screw them.
They escaped - no scare quotes - by their own efforts. America truly had nothing to do with it. You appear to be off your head.
And Great Britain ‘escaped’ the power of Nazi Germany by dint of the power of the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. Is it your contention that America conferred these upon Great Britain? If so, I have news for you - the British created them.
America didn’t join the war until long after Hitler had given up on Operation Seelowe - the invasion of Britain. Don’t like it? Tough, those are the facts.
And America didn’t join the war to save Britain, or even Poland. America joined the war after being attacked at Pearl Harbor. Don’t like it? Too bad: history is not on your side.
The motorcycle that McQueen rides is a modified Triumph TR6 Trophy and did not exist in WWII. McQueen attempted the jump across the border fence but crashed. Bud Ekins performed the barbed wire leap stunt and was a Triumph dealer. Triumph was McQueen’s favorite motorcycle. Bud Ekins later doubled for McQueen in “Bullitt” and did a lot of the motorcycle riding for “CHIPs”. McQueen’s motorcycle is the same model that Fonzie rode in “Happy Days”.
The British fought with great heroism for YEARS before America joined the fight. 1939. 1940. 1941. 3 years without America.
Only a flaming ass would describe them as “weak, soft, soon-to-be defeated”.
They are also with us in Afghanistan. Unlike the other Europeans, they FIGHT. Your comments are obscene.
If he was there and said the Americans played no part in the escape, so be it. I don't think he's denigrating America's part in the overall war, just this escape and Hollywood's portrayal.
Similar to John Wayne's larger-than-life characters and actions in WWII movies. It's Hollywood, it's entertainment.
Wow. Talk about revisionist history!
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