Stalag 17 (1953)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Donald Bevan (play) and
Edmund Trzcinski (play) ...

Release Date:

10 August 1953 (Brazil)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Tagline:

Hilarious, heart-tugging! You'll laugh...you'll cry...you'll cheer William Holden in his great Academy Award role! (from reissue print ad)

Plot:

When two escaping American World War II prisoners are killed, the German POW camp barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Escape | Pow | Barracks | Guard

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 4 nominations

Cast

William Holden	...	Sgt. J.J. Sefton
Don Taylor	...	Lt. James Dunbar
Otto Preminger	...	Col. von Scherbach
Robert Strauss	...	Stanislas Kasava
Harvey Lembeck	...	Harry Shapiro
Richard Erdman	...	Sgt. 'Hoffy' Hoffman
Peter Graves	...	Price
Neville Brand	...	Duke
Sig Ruman	...	Sgt. Johann Schulz
Michael Moore	...	Manfredi
Peter Baldwin	...	Johnson
Robinson Stone	...	Joey
Robert Shawley	...	'Blondie' Peterson
William Pierson	...	Marko the Mailman
Gil Stratton	...	Clarence Harvey 'Cookie' Cook (as Gil Stratton Jr.)

Runtime:

120 min | Germany:116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:G | South Korea:12 (2004) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:12 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #15866) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

John Show Ranch, Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

William Holden's acceptance speech for Best Actor was the shortest in Academy history. He said only two words: "Thank You."

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: As the last seconds the film begins to fade out, you see Cookie whistling "When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again", but the audio is not in sync.

Quotes:

Hoffy: They ought to be under the barbed wire soon.
Shapiro: Looks good outside.
Animal: I hope they hit the Danube before dawn.
Price: They've got a good chance. The longest night of the year.
Duke: I'll bet they make it to Friedrichshaven.
Animal: I bet they make it all the way to Switzerland.
Sefton: And I bet they don't get out of the forest.
Duke: Now what kind of crack is that?
Sefton: No crack. Two packs of cigarettes say they don't get out of the forest.
Hoffy: That's enough, Sefton. Crawl back in your sack.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ray (2004/I)

Soundtrack:

When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again

Suspenseful and Engaging

I'm a woman younger than 30.

Saw it for the first time in 2005- knew nothing about the director or the actors- and I couldn't turn away because I needed to know the answer to the mystery. The acting is superb, the dialogue quick, the plot unexpected. The film seems fresh and subtle compared to Hollywood films of now. Perhaps this is because the special effects are simple; the emphasis is on dialogue. We also watch for clues in the changing surroundings and the characters in the shadows.

I held my breath for the last few minutes. Even after the movie had ended, I wondered "What will happen now? Will the guards burst into the barrack? What will happen the next morning?" The last seconds of the film are peaceful, but the whistling at the end seems too hopeful...surely something will go still wrong!