Man behind 'The Great Escape' 'wasn't a fan' of the movie

London, Aug 7 : Legendary war film 'The Great Escape' might have been a huge hit, but the man who was the inspiration behind big screen adaptation was never a fan of the film.

Airman Eric "Digger" Dowling died in his nursing home last month - just one day shy of his 93rd birthday.

The Second World War veteran was shot down and incarcerated in Stalag Luft III in April 1942.

During the 1944 escape plan Eric Dowling dig out tunnels, forged documents and prepared maps for the real-life escape of the 250 soldiers

The Bristol-born soldier's son Peter revealed that his father 'wasn't a fan' of the Steve McQueen epic and thought the famous motorbike scene - which wasn't true to life - was "well over the top."

"He wasn't a fan of the Steve McQueen film," Daily Express quoted Peter, a retired NHS accountant, as saying.

"He wasn't the greatest admirer of Americans and it didn't go down too easily that one of them should be playing the starring role.

"Parts of it he acknowledged were quite realistic but then he felt it turned into something that was completely untrue. For someone who was actually there, that was upsetting.

"For instance, he thought the scene with the motorbike was well over the top. A lot of the reality of digging tunnels was left out too.

"It's a ridiculous question to ask who depicted my father, but Donald Pleasance, The Forger (Flight Lt Colin Blythe) I suppose comes closest."

"But really the film blends fiction and fact," he added.

ANI