

105 minutes
5/23/1962
The story serves as a companion piece to Renoir's 1937 film, Grand Illusion, once more bringing together men from across the broad social spectrum of French society to depict one man's Sisyphean efforts to escape captivity in a German POW camp.

Jean-Pierre Cassel
as Caporal

Claude Brasseur
as Papa

Claude Rich
as Ballochet

Jacques Jouanneau
as Émile, aka 'Penche-à-gauche', waiter

Mario David
as 'Caruso', amateur athlete, insurance agent

Jean Carmet
as Guillaume aka 'Le Fermier'

Philippe Castelli
as 'L'électricien'

Guy Bedos
as The stuttering prisoner

O.E. Hasse
as Drunk traveler on the train

Cornelia Froboess
as Erika Schmidt

Sacha Briquet
as Escapee disguised as an old woman

Raymond Jourdan
as Hippolyte Dupieu

Gérard Darrieu
as Cross-eyed man

Lucien Raimbourg
as Station employee

François Darbon
as Peasant
Helmut Janatsch
as Otto, Commander of the Stalag