Stalag 17
Directed by Billy Wilder. UK. 1953. NR. Running time: 120 min.
- Sun, Jun 8, 2:00 pm
In this, considered by many to be one of the two best WWII prison camp films (The Great Escape, of course, being the other), Billy Wilder created another masterpiece of cynicism and black humor. It stars William Holden, in a role that won him the Best Actor Oscar for the year, as a super-cynical opportunist in a Nazi prison camp who is suspected by his peers of collaborating with the enemy. Backed by a stellar cast that includes Otto Preminger and Sig Rumann (as Nazi prison staff), Peter Graves, Neville Brand, Harvey Lembeck, and Richard Strauss (Oscar nominated for his role as “Animal”), Stalag 17 esecutes an amazing balance of drama, satire, comedy, and pulse-pounding tension. If you’ve never seen it, or if you haven’t seen it in a long time, come remind yourself what great moviemaking is all about. (Note: Though the TV show “Hogan’s Heroes” copied many of the elements of this film, that exercise in silliness did not convey any of the inherent tension, threat or fear that this film exudes. So, don’t come expecting Corporal Klink.)