There was never any question that 89-year-old Bernard Jordan would take part in the 70th anniversary D-Day commemorations in June 2014. The British veteran, who had been a navy officer during the Second World War, had lost many of his friends in its bloody battles, and he planned to pay his respects.
What was more unexpected, was that Jordan decided to attend the D-Day celebrations in France. And given that he lived in a nursing home in England, which he had to cunningly break out of to make the trip, it made his ambitions all the more surprising. But of course the ex-Mayor and town councillor succeeded, popping up in Normandy a couple of days after disappearing from his Hove care home.
Now this touching story has been turned into a film starring Michael Caine as Jordan and Glenda Jackson as his wife Rene, and by the looks of the film’s trailer, which was released this morning, The Great Escaper is going to be an absolute tear-jerker.
The film, which has been named after the nickname given to Jordan after his adventure, runs along two timelines. In the present day, octogenarians Bernard and Rene Jordan live together in a home and sometimes find themselves feeling disjointed from modern society. And the film flashes back to when they were young: it depicts their love story, as well as Jordan’s memories – or perhaps imagined memories – of his friends in peril on the beaches during the Normandy landings.
The film follows Jordan’s 2014 journey, as he eludes his carers, takes an overnight ferry, and ends up meeting other veterans who are also in France commemorating their friends’ bravery; and it follows Rene, who is dying and organising her affairs, and who supports her husband’s trip.
The moving film is also Jackson’s last performance: the Oscar-winning actor died in June, aged 87. Caine and Jackson had previously worked together on the 1975 drama, The Romantic Englishwoman, where they also played a husband and wife.
Speaking to The Guardian, the film’s director Oliver Parker (St Trinian’s, Johnny English Reborn) spoke about Jackson and Caine working together nearly five decades later: “On one level, she and Michael were quite different souls... But actually it was fabulous. The connections were stronger than the differences, and the differences were exciting. They’re both working class heroes, symbols of a spirit of modernity.”
The film has been written by William Ivory, whose credits include ITV’s Torvill & Dean (2018) and Prime Video’s Isolation Stories (2020).
Jordan’s own story had a happy ending: in January 2015, now aged 90, he died peacefully at his care home. After his adventure – which had made the international news – he had received more than 2,500 cards wishing him a happy birthday.
