The Great Escape II: The Untold Story

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The Great Escape II: The Untold Story
The Great Escape II The Untold Story.jpg
Official poster
Written byWalter Halsey Davis
Directed byPaul Wendkos
Jud Taylor
StarringChristopher Reeve
Judd Hirsch
Donald Pleasence
Charles Haid
Ian McShane
Tony Denison
Andrew Bicknell
Music byJohnny Mandel
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
Production
Executive producer(s)Michael Jaffe
Producer(s)Jud Taylor
CinematographyDietrich Lohmann
Editor(s)Christopher Cooke
Paul LaMastra
Running time178 minutes
Production company(s)Michael Jaffe Films
DistributorNBC
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseNovember 6 – 7, 1988

The Great Escape II: The Untold Story is a 1988 American made-for-television action-adventure drama film and a sequel to The Great Escape (1963) starring Christopher Reeve, Judd Hirsch, Anthony Denison, Ian McShane, and Charles Haid. Donald Pleasence in a supporting role plays a member of the SS (in the 1963 original Pleasence had played Flight-Lieutenant Colin Blythe, 'The Forger'). The film was originally broadcast in two parts on NBC on November 6 and 7, 1988.

Plot[edit]

The Great Escape II is not a true sequel, as it dramatizes the escape itself just as the original film does, although mostly using the real names of the individuals involved (whereas the original film fictionalized them and used composite characters). The murder of the prisoners in this film is more accurate than in the 1963 original, with the POWs being shot individually or in pairs, but other portions of the film are fictional. It depicts the search for those responsible for the murder of the Allied officers, and the subsequent trials. The film features the exploits of Major Johnnie Dodge[1] (played by Christopher Reeve), an American-born British Army officer and cousin of Winston Churchill, and largely follows his journey to freedom after the escape. The second half of the film is based on the post-war investigation into the murders of fifty of the escapees by the Gestapo, conducted by Dodge and two fictional Americans (whereas in fact it was conducted by the Royal Air Force Special Investigation Branch).

Cast[edit]

Reception[edit]

Awards[edit]

The film was nominated for the Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special award at the Primetime Emmy Awards

References[edit]

  1. ^ Carroll, Tim (2013). The Dodger, The Extraordinary Story of Churchill's Cousin and the Great Escape. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-780-57606-0.

External links[edit]