The Someday Cinema Series will screen the classic World War II film The Great Escape (1963), starring Steve McQueen, at Newtown’s historic Edmond Town Hall, 45 Main Street, on Sunday, March 10, at 1 and 7 pm.

Tickets are $3, and the matinee will be captioned for the hearing impaired.

Based on the book by Paul Brickhill, The Great Escape tells the true story of the most defiant Allied prisoners of war locked up together in a new maximum-security Nazi detention camp designed especially for them.

Their leader, “Big X” (Richard Attenborough), plans for hundreds of them to escape by tunneling their way out, hoping to draw enemy forces away from the front lines. James Garner plays “The Scrounger,” who finds needed materials; James Coburn plays “The Manufacturer,” who makes the tools; and Charles Bronson is the “Tunnel King.” Each prisoner has their job, even USAAF Captain Virgil Hilts, the “Cooler King,” who keeps the guards on their toes with his incessant escape attempts.

Getting out is one thing, but getting away proves even more challenging. McQueen’s motorcycle stunts through Nazi territory and past enemy gunfire are perhaps the most memorable and exciting moments in the film.

Director John Sturges reunites three of his cast members from The Magnificent Seven — McQueen, Bronson, and Coburn — and strengthens the ensemble with such British mainstays as Richard Attenborough and Donald Pleasance, among others.

Many of the film’s cast members were actual POWs during World War II, and because of this, the set was true to life. Wally Floody, the real life “Tunnel King,” served as full-time consultant for the filmmakers for almost a year.

The next film in this series, presented by Newtown Cultural Arts Commission, will be Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, on Sunday, April 7, with three screenings at 1, 4, and 7 pm. Visit tiny.cc/2019somedaycinema for schedule updates.

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