Glenda Jackson’s final movie with Michael Caine is true story of D-Day veteran

It’s been 48 years since Sir Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson starred opposite each other in The Romantic Englishwoman.

And before she died today, the former Labour MP reunited with her fellow Oscar-winner in the upcoming The Great Escaper.

The new movie is based on the true story of Bernard Jordan, who in 2014 escaped his care home to attend the 70th anniversary of the D-Day Landings in France.

Sir Michael, 90, plays the real-life D-Day veteran with the late Jackson portraying his wife Irene.

The movie will be directed by An Ideal Husband’s Oliver Parker with a script penned by Made in Dagenham’s William Ivory.

READ MORE: Double Oscar-winning actress and former Labour MP Glenda Jackson dies

The Great Escaper’s synopsis reads: “It was a story that captured the imagination of the world – Bernie seemed to embody the defiant, ‘can-do’ spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing.

“But of course, it wasn’t the whole story. It was the story we all tell ourselves to make war and old age bearable. The bitter-sweet script explores the reality with wit and a very big heart.”

“Bernie’s adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Rene (Jackson) – the story celebrates their love without sentimentality and with an eye to the lessons we might all learn from the Greatest Generation.”

According to Radio Times, Parker previously said: “No one can resist a script that makes people both laugh and cry – I loved Billy’s writing and the story itself, so inspirational and so moving, seemed to speak to our times and our need for heroes on a human scale, whether people like Bernard Jordan or our doctors and nurses.

“And now to have Michael and Glenda – two iconic actors – agree to honour this story with their brilliance, it’s the cherry on the cake!”

The Great Escaper opens in UK cinemas this October.