Gotham Variety

In this episode, we move on to our seventh-ranked film of 1963, "The Great Escape," which marked career turning points for Steve McQueen, James Garner, and James Coburn.  In this episode: - Background on director John Sturges [2:07] - Difficulties with Steve McQueen [5:58] - How Sturges helped viewers remember so many characters [8:31] - Where the filmmakers deviated from the facts of the 1944 escape [11:44] - Placing the film in the context of 1963 [15:15] - Scenes deleted from the final cut [18:38] - Facts on casting, storytelling structure, musical soundtrack [22:30] For an additional podcast on McQueen's role in this film and in two others, click here. Support this project on Patreon.