Rating: 
Summary: Quasi-realism and burlesque: a comedic drama
Review: There was surprisingly enough a lot of humor in the American attitude toward the Nazis and the Germans during World War II. Life goes on even under the conditions of being prisoners of war, and people need to laugh. In such circumstances, they especially need to laugh. We can see that in some of the songs from that time and in this play from Donald Bevant and Edmund Trzcinski that Billy Wilder made into an unusually good movie. It should be realized that the full extent of the horror that the Nazis had visited upon Europe was not known until after the war was over and we saw the films of the concentration camps.William Holden stars as Sgt J.J. Sefton whose amoral cynicism and gift for the cheap hustle allow him to feather his nest even while a prisoner of war. He's the guy who always had a storehouse of cigarettes, booze, silk stockings, candy, etc. under his bunk, the guy who always won at cards, whose proposition bets always gave him the edge. We had a guy like that when I was in the army. We called him "Slick." But William Holden's Sefton is more than Slick. He is outrageously cynical and uncommonly brave. He takes chances because he doesn't have the same kind of fear that others have. Most people would feel self-conscious (and nervous) eating a fried egg while everybody else in the barracks had watery-thin potato soup. Others might feel uncomfortable with bribing German guards for bottles of Riesling or tins of sardines. Not Sefton. He flaunts his store of goodies. Perhaps that is overdone. Perhaps the real hardships that prisoners went through are glossed over in this comedic drama--a comedy, incidentally, that plays very much like a Broadway musical without the music. Perhaps it is the case that from the distance of 1953 the deprivations of Stalag 17 have faded from memory and it is the "good times" that are recalled. At any rate, I think it is this kind of psychology that accounts for the success of this unusual blend of quasi-realism and burlesque. Certainly Stalag 17 has been widely imitated, most familiarly in the TV sit-com "Hogan's Heroes" and to some extent on Rowan and Martin's "Laugh-In." Roberto Benigni's Life Is Beautiful, on the other hand, which also finds humor in the horrific, is of a different genre. Like Ionesco's Rhinoceros, Benigni's movie is from the theater of the absurd, not the Broadway stage. Holden won an Oscar for his performance and Robert Strauss who played Animal was nominated in a supporting role. Otto Preminger, the legendary director and producer, was excellent as the two-faced Col Von Scherbach, the ex-calvary commander and camp commandant who can only take a phone call from the high command with his boots on so he can click his heels. I also liked Sig Rumann as Sgt Johann Sebastian Schulz ("always making with the jokes, you Americans") whose previous career as a wrestler in the US accounts for his English-language skills. Gil Stratton, who for years did the sports for CBS Channel 2 in Los Angeles, is interesting as Sefton's sidekick and funky. Indeed, what is responsible for the success of this movie as much as anything is this fine cast playing well-defined character roles. By the way, Strauss and Harvey Lembeck ("Sugar Lips" Shapiro) were reprising their roles from Broadway. Important is the fine plot line in which Sefton is accused of being a spy for the Nazis while the real spy is exposed step by step. At first we don't know who it is, and then we do, and then the prisoners find out. This should be compared with Sunset Boulevard (1950). While very different movies they have similar elements which reveal part of the psyche and methods of director Billy Wilder. First there is the anti-hero as the protagonist, in both cases played by William Holden. Then there is a lot of the old Hollywood crowd appearing in both films including directors appearing as actors, Erich von Stroheim (not to mention Cecil B. DeMille in his memorable cameo as himself) in Sunset Boulevard, and Otto Preminger here. Sig Rumann has over a 100 credits going back to at least the early thirties. Finally there is the discordant mix of comedic and dramatic elements, a mix that works on our psyches because life is to some very real extent filled with tragedy in close congruence with the laughable. But see this for William Holden who was the kind of actor who was best playing a compromised character as here and as the failed writer/reluctant gigolo in Sunset Boulevard, an actor who drank too much and tended to undistinguished, but when carefully directed could rise above his intentions and give a sterling performance.
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Summary: Classic WWII POW adventure/drama
Review: Stalag 17 is an excellent war movie that belongs with The Great Escape and Bridge over the River Kwai as one of the best POW movies ever made. It tells the story of Stalag 17, a POW camp full of downed pilots. When two prisoners from Barracks 4 are gunned down while trying to escape, the men in the barracks begin to think there is a stoolie in the hut who is selling information to the Germans. Problems arise when an important prisoner arrives who the Germans desperately need information from. The suspected stoolie, JJ Sefton, must try and prove that he is not the right guy. This is a great movie with plenty of drama and comedy for everyone. There are many great characters who are revealed through some very funny vignettes. For a very enjoyable movie, check out Stalag 17. William Holden is fantastic as Sergeant JJ Sefton, the cynical prisoner who tries to make life as comfortable as possible for himself in the prison camp. It is this cynicism that makes the others think he is a stoolie. Don Taylor is also good as Lt. Dunbar, the prisoner the Germans are trying to get their hands on. Otto Preminger is excellent as Colonel von Scherbach, the commandant of the prison camp. The excellent supporting cast includes Robert Strauss as the Animal, Harvey Lembeck as Harry Shapiro, Peter Graves as Price, Richard Erdman as Hoffy, Gil Stratton as Cookie, and Neville Brand as Duke. Its too bad more couldn't have been done with this DVD since absolutely no extras are offered. The film looks great, but couldn't a trailer or something have been added. For a great POW classic, check out Stalag 17!
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Summary: A great escape
Review: The perfect blend of comedy, drama and mystery. The horrors of war are protrayed in the eyes of a group of US Sgts. in a POW camp who have a traitor in their midst. The mystery of course if who is the guy and the comedy is too good to give away here. Our lead character played by Holden is one of the most dislikable heroes you will ever see. You hate to root for him but are forced to do so. Buy it.
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Summary: A Memorable Comedy-Drama Comes To DVD
Review: Although the play by Edmund Trzcinski and Donald Bevan had been a smash hit on Broadway, most insiders did not expect STALAG 17 to succeed as a film. The story concerned WWII American POWs held in a Nazi camp--but it combined serious drama with broad farce and offered one of the first anti-heroes in American film in the leading role. And with the war still very fresh in every one's mind, the combination seemed more likely to offend than appeal. Every one concerned held their breath when the film debuted: would audiences get it? They did indeed, and STALAG 17 became one of the most critically-lauded and commercially popular films of the early 1950s, picking up an Academy Award nomination for director Billy Wilder and a Best Actor Oscar for William Holden in the process. The story concerns American prisoners of war held in the German "Stalag 17" in 1944, and it begins grimly: after much planning, the Americans have devised an escape for two of their number, but the next morning the bullet-riddled bodies of the two men are dragged into camp and dumped in the mud. But the escape plan should have worked. It was perfect. How did the Germans know? Suspicion begins to settle on J.J. Sefton (Holden), a bitter cynic and hardbitten opportunist who spends his time running various scams designed to strip his fellow prisoners of what little they have. While this might have worked as drama pure and simple, the film counterbalances its darkness with streaks of a sort of "boys will be boys" broad farce played out in the most over-the-top way imaginable. And strange to say, even given the overplaying typical of the early 1950s, the balance works: for every dramatic twist there is a stroke of comedy, and for every stroke of comedy there is a dramatic twist. In Wilder's hands the ensemble cast, which includes the likes of Otto Preminger and Peter Graves, performs some of the most remarkable juggling of the decade. But the glue here is William Holden. Interestingly, according to most sources Holden hated the play and hated the character and did the project under duress. Whatever the case, he gives a truly remarkable performance: Sefton is not a likable man by any stretch of the imagination, but even so he has certain self-integrity that you cannot help but admire. While Holden is now probably best remembered for his performances in SUNSET BLVD and NETWORK, his work here is likely the finest of his entire career. There has been some complaint that STALAG 17 is disrespectful to WWII prisoners of war, for it paints their Nazi captors as buffoons and camp conditions as not so much horrific as merely unpleasant--and it is true that the film makes no serious portray the extreme difficulties most POWs encountered. But to say that it is disrespectful to POWs is akin to saying that 42nd STREET is disrespectful to chorus girls: we know, just as 1953 audiences knew, that this is not an attempt to portray reality; it is instead a story told via our willing suspension of disbelief--and a very entertaining story it is indeed. The DVD is truly a "no frills" product, but the print is crisp. And if you are expecting a realistic examination of men at war you may be disappointed. But still, this is a memorable film, directed with great skill, performed by an exceptional cast, and with a sharp story and clever script. It bears repeat viewing extremely well--which is a great deal more than one can say for most films made. Recommended. --GFT (Amazon Reviewer)--
Rating: 
Summary: smart scenario, great cast...
Review: I watched that movie on tv and i think it is great! The cast is great, they play perfect. Scenario is great, it is simple and smartly written. This movie is about an escape from a nazi camp of american soldiers. But nothing is exaggerated here. Everything is logical and smartly played. You dont want to miss any scene. It is black and white as it is 50 years old but still stunning. do not miss that movie!
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Summary: Intelligent POW drama!
Review: Stalag 17 is a prison camp during World War II in Nazi-Germany. This story takes place during the weeks close to Christmas where the Allied prisoners seem to have an informer among them that discloses all the secrets among the soldiers in the prison camp to German camp officers. The main suspect is the resourceful Sergeant J.J. Sefton who has arranged many different ways of making profit within the camp using both the prisoners and the guards. When Lieutenant Dunbar arrives at the camp and is accused of sabotage by the Germans, the Allied soldiers can no longer hold back their resentment towards the suspicious Sefton. Stalag 17 is an excellent film that provides humor and suspense for the audience as well as a reason for reflection.
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Summary: 3 packs of cigarettes say they never get out of the woods!
Review: I grew up with this movie & have seen it countless times, so my opinion on it may be a little biased at this point. Nonetheless, there seems to be an issue with this film that can't be easily ignored. It is precisely the same issue that dogged "Hogan's Heroes" (which, along with "Great Escape," was loosely based on this): how can you make fun of war, especially the Nazis? Does making fun of them, or the situation, diminish its historical importance somehow?
First off, there are a number of well-respected people (philosopher & Holocaust survivor, Vicktor Frankl and even Mel Brooks come to mind) that believe that humor has the power to turn the greatest villians of this world in to the utter fools they are. Not to mention, humor is very theraputic and there are plenty of examples of people utilizing its value through the most horrendeous of circumstances (wartime being one of them). "Hogan's Heroes" was perhaps irresponsible because it didn't really portray the true villiany of the Nazis, and the motivations of the POW escapes are extremely questionable (Hogan would causually leave to attend a Nazi ball with a hot date & inexplicably, willingly return to the camp! What happened to duy?). Apart from showcasing perhaps Holden's finest performance, "Stalag 17" IS responsible for its depiction of Nazi terror (at least relative to its own, contained story about a Nazi mole amongst American prisoners). Watching this as a child, I never thought the POWs had it easy. Their living conditions are cramped, dirty, cold, uncomfortable & deprived (remember that this came out not too long after the war ended, and more than one veteran I've had the opportunity to meet was impressed by the accuracy of the conditions, uniforms & lingo. By the way, many of these actors had served themselves, such as the highly decorated Neville Brand). There are no showers, mattresses are stuffed only with straw, and the food is of the watered-down stew and bread variety. I could only hope to have a Harry & the Animal around to help me cope with such a situation! The commandant (Preminger) is somewhat cartoony, but never shown as anything but cruel (he leaves the two bodies of escapees laying on display in the mud for all of the soldiers to look at; he continually punishes the men by depriving them of luxaries such as a stove - their only source for heat - in the wintertime; he lies and manipulates Geneva representatives and has escapees killed on sight). For the type of movie this is, these details have always been enough to establish the underlying hardship for me without sacrificing the tone of the plot. This is a truly great film that functions well as a comedy, a mystery-thriller-actioner and drama. Highly recommended!
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Summary: Lighten up viewer from Israel
Review: Viewr from isreal u need to lighten up a bit Must u jews hijack every WW2 discussion?
we know u suffered horror beyond belief but u werent the only ones in WW2 This is just what it was like in german prison camps
bored out of their brains, living on crap food of course the prisoners baited the german soldiers 5 stars for this movie
Rating:
Summary: An excellent blend of humor and drama...
Review: Stalag 17 is one of the best war movies ever, and it is probably the second best film ever made about prisoners of war (The Great Escape would be the best). Directed and co-written by the great Billy Wilder, Stalag 17 features an exciting plot, great performances, especially from William Holden, and many humorous moments. All in all - very entertaining! Essentially, as Cookie, the narrator, explains, the movie is about what happened in a certain barrack in Stalag 17, a German prisioners of war camp. Because of several failed escape attempts and their horrible luck in concealing secrets for the Germans, the inhabitants of the barrack conclude that there must be a traitor in their midst. Their suspicions turn towards the character played by William Holden, who is an extremely cynical loner who spends his time trading with the Germans and running projects to earn money from his fellow prisioners. In addition to the exciting plot about the traitor, Stalag 17 paints an accurate and often humorous, sometimes serious, portrait of the men in the camp and how they deal with their situation through joking around. Anyhow, Stalag 17 is a classic war movie and is very entertaining - highly recommended!
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Summary: Stalag 17 plus 17 plus 17...
Review: I saw Stalag 17 when it first came out, and have seen in countless times since. When I am channel surfing and I come upon it, I will sit and watch until the end if I have the time. I rate it as my third favorite movie of all time, just below the Godfather trilogy and West Side Story. I was about 10 years old when it came out. I think I responded to the comedy of tragedy and comedy. I may have gotten an unrealistically positive feeling of life in a POW camp. Of course, once you see something like this, you know the outcome and there is no surprise when you watch it again and again. But each time I watch now, I look for early hints as to what the outcome is going to be. I learned less than 20 years ago that the two top Nazis were played by Jews, not just regular ethnic Germans. Otto Preminger as Camp Commandant von Scherbach, Sig Ruman as Feldwebel (Sergeant) Schultz. Now I can appreciate how much they must have relished parodying Nazi officers. This film was inspiration for Hogan's Heroes, but it stands head and shoulders above the TV series. Somehow, it is easier to suspend disbelief with the film itself. True, there are episodes that are implausible. There are breaches of security in the camp that probably could not really have happened. But the whole thing is an enjoyable experience regardless. Hope I get to see it done on stage someday.
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