The Great Escape

This star-laden real-life tale of teamwork and derring-do is a trifle flabby at nearly three hours, but there is no denying that this is one of the best loved of all Second World War films.

For all its missteps, when it comes to escapism, intrigue, and indulgence, you could do a whole lot worse than The Great Escape. Just watch it with an open eye.

This is a Boys' Own Tale, and, as boys, we wanted it, cleansed of horrors, for ourselves.

Steve McQueen turns his movie-star glint to maximum as the swaggering American Cooler King...