The Great Escape (book) a live drama adaptation as an episode of "The Philco Television Playhouse", starring E.G. Marshall, Everett Sloane, Horace Braham, and Kurt Katch. The live broadcast was praised for engineering an ingenious set design for the live broadcast, including creating the illusion of underground tunnels. In 1963, the Mirisch brothers worked with United Artists to adapt the book to produce the film "The Great Escape" starring Steve McQueen, James Garner and Richard Attenborough. The film itself was also an inspiration for the film "Chicken Run". In 1986, Ocean Software released the first "Great Escape" video game for the Commodore 64, ZX
The Great Escape (film) POW who was the mastermind of the real Great Escape. This was the film that first brought Attenborough to common notice in the United States. During the Second World War, Attenborough served in the Royal Air Force. He volunteered to fly with the Film Unit and after further training, where he sustained permanent ear damage, qualified as a sergeant, flying on several missions over Europe filming from the rear gunner's position to record the outcome of Bomber Command sorties. (Richard Harris was originally announced for the role.) Group Captain Ramsey RAF (the "SBO") was based on Group Captain Herbert Massey,