CINEMA RETRO COVERS DAVID MCCALLUM AT "THE GREAT ESCAPE" 50TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING, OMAHA

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David McCallum with event host Bruce Crawford. (Photo: Steve Gray)

By Jon Heitland

On any list of the best films based on World War II, The Great Escape, directed by John Sturges and based on the novel by Paul Brickhill, will always rank near the top. The compelling story of a group of British and American prisoners of war and how they outwitted their Nazi captors observes its 50th anniversary this year, and actor David McCallum, who plays Ashley-Pitt in the film, travelled to Omaha, Nebraska on November 9, 2013, to help celebrate the classic film. Proceeds went to the Nebraska Kidney Foundation, which was why McCallum took time from his busy television schedule to make an appearance. The evening event centered around a showing of the film at the large, concert-style theater at the prestigious Joslyn Museum, to an enthusiastic, full house crowd of 1000.

The Great Escape 50 year retrospective was another in a long running series of film tributes organized by Omaha film historian and documentary producer Bruce Crawford, who, since 1992, has produced similar events for other classic films, with major sponsorship from Jerry and Patti Gress. Crawford is a lifelong lover of cinema, and his retrospectives include appearances by the film’s stars or director to share their recollections with an appreciative audience. Crawford has also produced two radio documentaries on classic film composers, including Bernard Herrmann (Citizen Kane, Psycho, Taxi Driver, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Vertigo, North By Northwest, etc.) and Miklos Rozsa (El Cid, Quo-Vadis, Julius Caesar, King of Kings, and Ben-Hur).

His past film retrospectives have included a tribute to special effects legend, Ray Harryhausen, with screenings of Mysterious Island, and Jason and the Argonauts in 1992; a 35th anniversary screening of Ben-Hur with director William Wyler's family as special guests in 1993; and The Longest Day, with director Ken Annakin and the family of producer Darryl F. Zanuck in 1994. In subsequent years he honored Alfred Hitchcock with a showing of Psycho, with Janet Leigh and her daughter Kelly as honored guests; Gone With The Wind with Ann Rutherford; and Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, with Frank Capra, Jr.

For The Great Escape event, local World War II re-enactors appeared in uniform along with a local modeling club’s display of vintage model planes from the era, along with a model of a prisoner of war camp. Attendees particularly enjoyed a motorcycle identical to that ridden by Steve McQueen in the film when he tries to jump a barbed wire fence to elude German soldiers. A United States Postal Service commemorative envelope for the 50th anniversary of The Great Escape was also unveiled, featuring scenes from the film involving both McCallum and Steve McQueen.


McCallum and Cinema Retro's Jon Heitland in front of a display of Man From U.N.C.L.E. memorabilia. (Photo: Mike Beacom)

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