A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
prison
escape
prison escape
jungle
solitary confinement
based on memoir or autobiography
remote island
leper colony
labor camp
corrupt official
french colonialism
devil's island
prison brutality
guyana
1930s
Rank
#20 in 1973·#1925 overall
Trailer
IMDB
N/A
Letterboxd
4.0 / 5
Where to Watch
Cast
Steve McQueen
Henri "Papillon" Charriere
Dustin Hoffman
Louis Dega
Victor Jory
Indian Chief
Don Gordon
Julot
Anthony Zerbe
Toussaint
Robert Deman
Maturette
Woodrow Parfrey
Clusiot
Bill Mumy
Lariot
George Coulouris
Dr. Chatal
Ratna Assan
Zoraima
William Smithers
Warden Barrot
Val Avery
Pascal
Crew
Franklin J. Schaffner
Director
Dalton Trumbo
Screenplay
Lorenzo Semple Jr.
Screenplay
Jerry Goldsmith
Original Music Composer
Fred J. Koenekamp
Director of Photography
Ted Richmond
Executive Producer
Robert Dorfmann
Producer
Franklin J. Schaffner
Producer
Gordon Daniel
Sound Editor
Anthony Masters
Production Design
Anthony Powell
Costume Design
Loren Janes
Stunt Double
Popular Reviews
148 reviews
Max
9.0★ · 02/09/26
One of the greatest prison escape movies ever steve mcqueen was amazing
One of the greatest prison escape movies ever steve mcqueen was amazing
VIII_george_XVI
9.0★ · 01/31/26
What’s with Steve McQueen and getting locked in solitary confinement every movie
What’s with Steve McQueen and getting locked in solitary confinement every movie
Micah
10.0★ · 01/24/26
“I was born skinny”
I could only find the dvd at a good price. So it’s not the best quality but I don’t really care that much. This is pg? Pretty dark for a pg movie. Definitely Steve McQueen’s best performance.
“I was born skinny”
I could only find the dvd at a good price. So it’s not the best quality but I don’t really care that much. This is pg? Pretty dark for a pg movie. Definitely Steve McQueen’s best performance.
MintyGoblin
8.0★ · 01/07/26
Dustin Hoffman and his big glasses is so adorable, how am I supposed to look at that man and not say awww every second.
Dustin Hoffman and his big glasses is so adorable, how am I supposed to look at that man and not say awww every second.
faràh
8.0★ · 11/15/25
secondo film dove dustin hoffman è zoppo absolute cinema..
secondo film dove dustin hoffman è zoppo absolute cinema..
