The Great Escape

Plot hole: Roger's initial briefing at the beginning of the film states that 'Tom' goes out from 104 and 'Harry' from 105. Despite this the goons are said to be in 105 when they find the entrance to Tom.

Plot hole: The officers arrived in separate vehicles where they could view the countryside and the road leading to the camp, yet they later claimed to Hilts they knew nothing about the area.

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Suggested correction: Totally wrong. They were always in covered trucks for that very reason. One of the first scenes in the guards rolling up the tarps so that the prisoners could get out of the trucks.

stiiggy

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Mistakes

Factual error: Why is Hilts not wearing a uniform? A serving officer captured behind enemy lines in civilian clothing risked being shot as a spy. If a prisoner's uniform was too worn or damaged to wear, it was routine for the German authorities to replace it - a P.O.W. in civilian clothes is an obvious escape risk. He is wearing a pair of tan chinos, a cut off sloppy Joe sweatshirt, both ridiculously anachronistic - Sixties hipster fashions - and nowhere even close to a World War 2 uniform. He is also wearing Army Type III Service boots - something that would never have been issued to a fighter pilot.

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Suggested correction: Hilts was a POW for some years before being transferred to this camp. His current clothing likely changed from when he was originally captured in his uniform, so he would not be considered a spy. After multiple escape attempts, his uniform could have been ruined. The Geneva Convention required that POWs receive shelter, food, clothing, medical care, etc. The Red Cross delivered care packages to POW camps containing food, miscellaneous apparel, and other essentials. Sweatshirts have existed since the 1920s and changed little. Also, chino pants have been around since the late 19th century. Hilts was an American, and light-colored chino/khaki trousers were standard-issue uniform for some U.S. military branches, along with leather bomber jackets for U.S. Air Force pilots.

raywest ★

And none of them would have been available to a prisoner in a German POW camp in Poland in the mid 1940s. Not one single item of hipster fashion would have found its way into the camp. Even if it did, do you really think the German authorities would allow a prisoner to lounge about in civilian clothing? Talk about an escape risk.

Other than the sweatshirt, Hilts does appear to wear military clothing - a pilot's leather bomber jacket and U.S. Air Force khaki trousers. So not "hipster" '60s civilian clothing. The sweatshirt could be military appropriate and something Hilts had or acquired. It appears to be his only shirt. He and two other POWs are the only Americans and have different uniforms. The camp commandant, who apparently disdained Hitler and his Nazi minions, would decide what POWs were allowed to wear.

raywest ★

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Quotes

Col. Von Luger: Group Captain Ramsey, in the past four years the Reich has been forced to spend an enormous amount of time, energy, manpower and equipment hunting down prisoner of war officers.
Group Capt. Ramsey: At least it's rather nice to know you're wanted, isn't it?

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Trivia

Trivia: Paul Brickhill, who wrote the novel the film is based on, was a member of the X organization which planned the escape.

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Questions

Question: When Roger is explaining the escape plan, he says that Tom will run under the vorlager, the cooler, and the wire. The cooler and the wire are obvious, but what's the vorlager?

Cubs Fan ★

Chosen answer: Vorlage is German for "forward position," so this likely refers to either the main gate, or a machine gun nest.

Captain Defenestrator

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