Stalag 17

Genre: war movie (in black and white)

With: William Holden (Sefton), Don Taylor (Dunbar), Otto Preminger (von Scherbach), Robert Strauss (“Animal” Kuzawa), Harvey Lembeck (Shapiro), Richard Erdman (“Hoffy” Hoffman), Peter Graves (Price), Neville Brand (Duke), Sig Ruman (Sgt. Schulz). Michael Moore (Manfredi), Peter Baldwin (Johnson)

Director: Billy Wilder

Screenplay: Billy Wilder and Edwin Blum (based on a play by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski)

Release: 1953

Studio: Paramount Pictures

Rating: PG

MBiS score: 8.0/10





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Story-line: in December 1944, when two American POWs escaping Stalag 17 are caught and killed in a matter of minutes, prisoners inside the camp realize that someone in their midst has tipped off the Nazis. But who could this traitor be?

Pluses: a fine cast energized by William Holden’s Oscar-winning turn as the pesky, enterprising Sefton, a screenplay built around well-drawn characters and sensible dialogues, faultless direction by one of Hollywood’s most celebrated helmers, realistic sets and solid production values.

Minuses: more often than not, the comic interludes – especially one ludicrous intrusion into the Russian compound – undermine the more interesting elements of the story.  

Comments: after an uneven first half mixing drama and humour with middling results (imagine a wobbly cross between THE GREAT ESCAPE and the television series HOGAN’S HEROES), STALAG 17 gets down to business and delivers both genuine suspense and a very satisfying climax. Overall, Billy Wilder’s film is quite watchable but, even with its deserving characters and William Holden’s contribution, I'd rather recommend THE GREAT ESCAPE for its powerful action or Jean Renoir’s gentlemanly classic LA GRANDE ILLUSION to any movie buff who can’t see more than one POW movie.





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