The Great Escape insprided many generations of riders, but is really a war movie. The reason it is seen as a motorcycle movie, by some, is the stunt. This movie contains, “the greatest motorcycle stunt of all time”. This stunt is a stunt man jumps his motorcycle over a barbed wire fence.
Here is some motorcycle histroy for you younger cats, and some of you older cats might not know some of it. The man in the pictures below, that is Steve McQueen. Before there was an “Easy Rider”, there was “The Great Escape”. This is the movie that inspired your Great Grandfather to ride.
The Great Escape is one of the best movies that you will ever watch, and it is true, somewhat. Roger Bushell was a Royal Airforce pilot. He would plan the great escape of 200 men that had crashed with him, or ended up in his camp. He is also not the main character of the movie.
Some of these same men would return home to their countries only to find a hard life. They would go looking for their brothers of war, new brothers, a new life, and speed. The veterans would find motorcycles, and a new lifestyle. In California, they would find those brothers, in the form of motorcycle clubs.
They would find bikers that had taken the nickname of the American 303 squadron. The Hell’s Angel MC, is where they would find a place. It is also a myth that these pilots started the Hell’s Angels MC.
During the war, they never rode a motorcycle. The writers added this because of McQueen’s ability to ride. It worked. The movie brought in $11,000,000!
Through epic story telling, and Steve McQueen’s ability to ride, it is one of the best Techni Color movies ever made. McQueen was such a skilled rider, almost everytime you see a person on a bike, it is him. He played almost every part of every motorcycle scene. He would have played them all, but couldn’t play two nazis at the same time, and was not allowed to jump the fence.
Even though the movie is full of fiction, give it a view. McQueen is worth checking out, and so is Bushell. I would recommend “The Great Escape” to anyone. If you love bikes, you will love this movie.
That’s it for now! Thanks for reading, and keep your knees in the breeze!!!!
A Biker's Life For Me! 