THE GREAT ESCAPE - Filming Locations

THE GREAT ESCAPE - Filming Locations Then and Now

In 1963, Hollywood director John Sturges released The Great Escape, one of the most popular and suspenseful wartime movies.

Now, 60 years later, explore some of the film's filming locations with Wayfinder. From the fictional Stalag Luft III to the actual Great Escape escape site, find out how the movie was made and see what it looks like today!

The Great Escape - Filming Locations Then and Now 60th Anniversary Special is my tribute to this classic WW2 movie.

A firm favourite British Christmas movie, the legendary performances by Richard Attenborough, Donald Pleasence, James Garner, Charles Bronson, James Coburn and the one and only Steve McQueen never fail to bring a family together to enjoy this classic tale.

Most of the exterior scenes were filmed in and around the small Bavarian town of Füssen in the Allgäu region.

Covering 23 filming locations from The Great Escape, this will take you to all the famous locations used in the making of the film and show you what remains and what has changed in the 60 years since its release!

The Great Escape was loosely based upon the real escape attempt from Stalgluft III in Poland on the night of the 24th March 1944. It is to those who undertook this audacious escape attempt and all those Prisoners of War who suffered during WW2.

Locations (all via Google Maps):

Hilts At The First swiss border checkpoint:

Help support the work of Warbird Owners, restorers and Aviation Museums with great, fresh roasted coffee from The Warbird Coffee Company (only available in the UK)

Please consider supporting the channel at:

Follow WW2 Wayfinder On:

Social:

[WWWayfinder]

What’s your favourite scene in The Great Escape? Let me know in the comments below!

And just so you all know, mine has to be McQueen’s incredible ride across the fields to the ‘Swiss Border’, partly because he did a lot of the riding and didn’t hand it off to Bud Ekins, the stunt rider!

Thanks for watching!

[ncwoodworker]

Watched the movie again last night. Thanks for showing these locations. In 1963 when I was 7 yrs old The Great Escape was my first exposure to WW2.

[On-Our-Radar-News]

One of the greatest WWII movies, The Great Escape. Thanks for taking us to some of the most memorable filiming locations from the movie. I cant even count how many times Ive seen the Great Escape but the next time I watch it I will have a renewed appreciation for the movie thanks to you!

[ROCKINGMAN]

My dad was a big film fan and loved a good late afternoon or night film with his beer. I used to sneak down from bed and he would say 'Shhhh... be quiet and look at what happens next'. I became a film fan because of him. He loved, just like me, Steve McQueen, Clint Eastwood, Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis and many more. Mum too made me watch late night films with her. Great times, great films. Love The Great Escape, based loosley on a real event. Another Stalag 17, bloody hell...what a film! I have many hundreds of old films, including US, UK and French, they make fantastic films too. Thanks for showing this comparison then & now.

[ncwoodworker]

1963 when I was 7 years old this movie was my introduction to WW2.

[paulbfields]

This movie holds a special place since I first viewed it w my dad at the age of 7.. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen it since. You’ve provided a special visit for those of us that appreciate such an effort. You’ve done a super job in all aspects. So many favorite scenes and if course all of the motorcycle scenes but I really enjoyed the moment when each them taste test the moonshine.. makes me laugh every time.

[jorgeB-ER]

The Great Escape film has been one of my favorites ever since I first saw it in 1963 as a teenager and countless other times ever since. Now even my kids and grandkids also like watching this movie. I really enjoyed visiting those filming locations in your video. Thank you for your excellent work.

[Dontwlookatthis]

If you will remember in one of my earlier comments when you asked what my father did in the Army Air Corps, I said that he and his best friend went by bus to Memphis to enlist. His best friend was Jerome Talmadge Caffey. He sighed up to be an air gunner on bombers. That was the last time my dad saw him. In 1988, the B17G Sentimental Journey landed at Hawkins field in Jackson, Mississippi, which I saw in the air and found out they were offering free tours of the bomber. So I got my dad and my 4 year old and we went through it. At the end, on our way back to the car, my dad broke down crying and told me that his friend Talmadge had been shot down during the war and had died. A couple of years later we got internet and there were an untold number of websites about units which had fought in WW2, and others asking the viewer to honor the fallen with a comment. Since I didn't think Talmadge had any descendants I would comment to memorialize him, along with honoring my dad. Then one day I discovered a website about his bomber unit which had a photo of him and his crew, so I signed the guest book. Within hours I received an email from a woman who over the course of a short time became a good friend. It seems that she knew of Talmadge by the name Jerome. The reason for that is in the military, everyone had to go by their first name for everything.
He arrived in Minnesota where training took place and air crews were assembled. He became the best friend of my new friend's father who was a captain, but they were part of two different air crews. They went to England together. On the day that Jerome was to fly a bombing mission into Germany, his very first, his crew's plane was inoperable so they borrowed the plane that my new friend's father was assigned to. On the way, Jerome's plane flew over Caen and was shot down. Only one man jumped but was horribly burned as the B24 liberator was prone to do when hit.
The next day her father had to borrow another B24, they flew to Berlin and after dropping their bombs and making a turn to port in order to cross the North Sea at a different location, her father's plane was also hit and all but one bailed out. They were incarcerated in the Luftwaffe POW camp in the American sector, where the Great Escape took place.
In going through some of her father's belongings, she found an obituary for Jerome and in it she learned that Jerome married and had a son he never saw. She was able to find Jerry's (as the son was named) address and phone number. So I called him introducing myself as the son of your dad's best friend before they enlisted. We talked and I asked if he had anything of his from highvschool, but he did not, so I gathered everything I had of my dad's from high school, including year book and made copies of all of them and sent them to him. However, I never heard back from him, but I did hear from his half sister who said that he was thankful to have those photos but could not respond himself because talking to me just awoke all the sadness that he felt over never meeting his father.
When I found out all of this, my dad did not know what had happened to Jerome's body and had assumed it had never been found. He had also just been sent to the local VA Dementia unit with far more wrong with him than just dementia. So I decided not to tell him in order not to confuse him farther. Later, I went to the cemetery that my grandparents were buried in at Duck Hill, Mississippi, and was walking just across the cemetery lane and I found where Jerome's remains had been returned and buried with one of those flat laying memorial plaques which my dad had never noticed. His plaque was the only flat laying memorial in the entire cemetery.

[hollyfelly]

Absolutely loved watching this since I just finished the film. Great job, fun and so informative!

[danielguy]

Would like to see the hut fenced off as a tourist attraction to the great film. McQueen dressed in a German uniform and holding a Luger was a memorable scene.

[hafstrat]

Favourite scene: when Steve uses the wire to get the motorbike and rides off on it. Wonderful.

[billmoeller]

That was great. Big thanks for taking us to all those locations. That movie changed my life. After watching it, I just had to go to Europe & southern Germany. 30 years later (1994), went to Munich, rented a motorcycle & rode through Bavaria & the Alps. Have returned about 13 times since. Still so much to see. Thanks for bringing back some great memories.

[doogalloonni]

Loved this. I was stationed in Germany in 62-65. Been to Neuschwanstein as this movie was being shot, and saw the final in an Army theater in Gablingen. I spent my Honeymoon in Fussen, below the castles, and the scene of the row boat outside of the town always brings a tear or two...This is my Meca, Thank you.

[MGC]

enjoying the content of your videos. This is a very good movie with lots of good scenes, but my favorite scene is also McQueen's ride.

[marknovack]

Mcqueen never made that jump. His friend & stunt driver, Bud Ekins, made the actual jump seen on film.

[HerveAttia]

this movie location search was fantastic. Perhaps incorporating some merged or side-by-side "then and now" shots would have been more effective than verbal narration.

[simonmassey]

Many thanks for your superb video. I Thoroughly enjoyed travelling virtually with you to all of those locations of The Great Escape Film. It was also very interesting to see how close many of them were especially with the Attenborough scenes and to admire some of the beautiful scenery too.
It was a shame though that the bar is long gone in the James Coburn scene where the Resistance shot the Germans which is one of my many favourite scenes.

[JW-ylmb]

This is really cool! Really enjoyed looking at the map. Just so you know the location for 'Hilts At The First swiss border checkpoint' seems to be the same URL as that for 'Hilts's Barn'.

[BladeRunnerBear]

Love this. I can not get over how that railway station looks now. Such a stark contrast. Sad really.
Seeing these locations, its sad to say that modernisation has taken character away from these locations. Its a pity the weather wasn't sunny as it was in the movie...

[chrisstoddart]

Great and interesting video. Thankyou for posting. Really interesting