The Great Escape II: The Untold Story
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). It stars Christopher Reeve, Judd Hirsch, Anthony Denison, Ian McShane, Charles Haid and Donald Pleasence in a supporting role (in the 1963 original Pleasence had played Flight-Lieutenant Colin Blythe, "The Forger"). The film was directed by Jud Taylor (in the 1963 original Taylor had played 2nd Lt. Goff). The Great Escape II premiered in two parts on NBC on November 6 and 7, 1988.
| The Great Escape II: The Untold Story | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Written by | Walter Halsey Davis |
| Directed by | Paul Wendkos Jud Taylor |
| Starring | Christopher Reeve Judd Hirsch Anthony Denison Ian McShane Charles Haid Donald Pleasence |
| Music by | Johnny Mandel |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Michael Jaffe |
| Producer | Jud Taylor |
| Production location | Yugoslavia |
| Cinematography | Dietrich Lohmann |
| Editors | Christopher Cooke Paul LaMastra |
| Running time | 178 minutes |
| Production company | Michael Jaffe Films |
| Distributor | NBC |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | Color |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | November 6 – November 7, 1988 |
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).
Plot
A former POW leads a special task force to hunt down the culprits responsible for carrying out the orders to murder 50 of the 76 escapees from Stalag Luft III.
Cast
- Christopher Reeve – Major John Dodge
- Judd Hirsch – Captain David Matthews
- Anthony Denison – Lieutenant Mike Corery
- Ian McShane – Roger Bushell
- Charles Haid – Sergeant MacKenzie
- Donald Pleasence – Dr. Absalon
- Michael Nader – Burchardt
- Derek de Lint – Dr. Thost
- Andrew Bicknell – Wings Day
- Karlheinz Lemken – Herr Schmidt
- Ron Donachie – Al Hake
- Peter Dennis – Group Captain Herbert Massey
- Geoffrey Beevers – Jim Kitteridge
- Christopher Neame – Kiowski
- Dominic Gould – Jules
- Brian Pettifer – Kirby-Green
- Ian Redford – Willie
- Bill Wallis – Schatz
- Ludwig Haas – Adolf Hitler
Reception
The film was nominated for the Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Special award at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
Release
When released on VHS, nearly an hour and a half of footage was cut out of the film.[2]
References
- Carroll, Tim (2013). The Dodger, The Extraordinary Story of Churchill's Cousin and the Great Escape. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 978-1-780-57606-0.
- christophernguyen726 (2019-08-07). "The Great Escape II: The Untold Story: VHS Vs. Network TV Version". Bootleg Comparisons. Retrieved 2019-08-07.