Rating: 
Summary: William Holden's finest performance......
Review: Quite easily a front runner for the title of best POW movie ever made, "Stalag 17" is expertly directed by Billy Wilder to provide humour, drama, satire and sadness....and William Holden in his Oscar winning performance as the cynical suspect, Sefton, makes this movie a class act from start to finish !American POW's under the watchful eye of camp commander Von Scherbach (Otto Preminger at his best) are suspicious of a traitor in their ranks...escape plans are going horribly wrong...and the finger of guilt points to the crafty, opportunistic Sefton. William Holden was well deserving of the 1953 Best Actor Oscar as the luckless Sefton...at one time sitting high on the hog with his "racetrack", "moonshine" and "telescope"...but suddenly finding himself the victim of circumstance and his own cynical nature. Holden took on a particularly difficult role as Sefton is definitely not what you would call a likeable character...only looking out for his own welfare, negative of his fellow prisoners escape attempts and eager to pick up an extra dollar any way he can from other prisoners. Sefton is arguably one of the first anti-hero's of the drama genre. Fine support is lent in the film by the hilarious comic talents of Robert Strauss & Harvey Lembeck (Animal & Harry Shapiro)...love that Betty Grable dance sequence...plus the fine character actor, Sig Ruman as the chess playing, German guard, Schulz. A very youthful Peter Graves is "security officer" Price, Gil Stratton narrates the tale as the meek, Cookie...Sefton's sidekick and Richard Erdman & Neville Brand are solid as Hoffy & Duke, the two leaders of the POW barracks. "Stalag 17" is enjoyable on so many levels due to the fine balance of performances between the cast members and the equilibrium between tension and humour that Wilder maintains throughout this memorable movie.... I've noticed some reviewers have called this film a "time passer" or that it is "nothing spectacular"...are they sure we are discussing the same movie ??? "Stalag 17" is top class entertainment and it's release on DVD (albeit without any extra features) is long overdue and well received. A high calibre production that deserves a place in any true film fans movie collection !
Rating: 
Summary: It passes time.
Review: I originally watched this film because I had watched "Hogan's Heroes Triple Pack (1965)" ASIN: 630528217X and wanted to see if there was a resemblance. Only the names have not been changed. Maybe the play is better? However this is just a time passing movie. Nothing spectacular or unique. Some people seem to like this movie so I watched it twice. Yet it still seems like a time passer.
Rating:
Summary: No GREAT ESCAPE Here
Review: William Hoden is one of my all-time favorite actors but this film is not. This film seems a little insulting to WWII American POWs. This film can't make its mind up if it is going for drama or laughs. Being a POW in a German prisoner of war camp is no laughing matter. What was Billy Wilder thinking of?
Rating: 
Summary: If you like Kevin Spacey...
Review: After seeing Stalag 17 make AFI's list of greatest all-time comedies, we recently watched this again. We were struck by how much William Holden reminds us of some of the great Kevin Spacey roles, such as American Beauty or The Usual Suspects. I've never noticed Spacey's resemblance to Holden before, but it reminds me how Art tends to repeat itself, the new echoing off the old.
Rating:
Summary: Yeah, right up Joey's ocarina
Review: I have often been criticized for watching movies over and over again, but this is one I will never get tired of. Wrenching, funny, and still relevant even now, Stalag 17 is a classic film from a classic era of moviemaking. Not one of the performers gives a lackluster performance--they are all spectacular. (By the way, the funniest moment is when Harry and the Animal toss back two 'Flamethrowers' and Animal thinks he's blind--(How stupid can you get, Animal?))
Rating:
Summary: Great movie, boring DVD release
Review: The script, direction, and performances are superb, and it's one of those movies you can enjoy over and over again even after you know whether Sefton's a good guy or a bad guy. Unfortunately the DVD release is just as unremarkable as the remastered laserdisc was a few years ago: Zero extras. Couldn't we at least have had the theatrical trailer? I know it still exists, because I've seen it on AMC! If you already have this movie on tape I wouldn't bother with the DVD, especially since the monophonic sound of a 1953 movie will never be too spectacular in any format. Let's hope there's a "50th Anniversary" DVD release in 2003 that treats this movie like the cinema masterpiece that it is.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie for History Buffs
Review: No matter how many times I watch this movie, be it on AMC or on video, I always find myself captivated by the gripping story. If you're a history buff you'll love the sometimes subtle and sometimes blatant propoganda that fills the movie from beginning to end. The movie gives you a glimpse into the past through suberb acting and dialogue.
Rating:
Summary: Good stuff
Review: If you're like me and have purchased old war movies only to be disappointed by wooden acting and bad dialouge, this is the one for you. The dialouge and acting was WAY ahead of it's time. Not a whole lot of action(i.e. gunfire, explosions, etc) but a really good story with drama, suspense, and some good comedy for it's time. A cross between Kellys Heroes and Great Escape. I picked up a BRAND NEW copy at a USED video store for six bucks and could not be happier. Had I seen it before, I would have paid full price long ago. GO ANIMAL!
Rating:
Summary: Billy Wilder
Review: Otto Preminger did his buddy Billy Wilder a favor by acting as the Kommandant in this landmark film. From a stage play by Edmund Tryzinski,,this was a big hit. Holden gets his Oscar...but the cast is truly impeccable...Sig Rumann as Sgt. Schultz, Gil Starrton as Cookie, Neville Brand, Peter Graves and of course Harvey Lembeck and Robert Strauss ..are priceless. Harry: " I wonder why he did it" Animal:" Maybe he just wanted to steal our water cooler...evah think of that"
Rating:
Summary: On my Top Ten All-time Best List
Review: In the old days (and I'm only 28) you could discover great movies like Stalag 17 on the independent local stations on weeknights. They would have WWII week or something and show classics like this, or Great Escape, or The Longest Day. It's a shame that so many youngsters are unaware of truly memorable films like Stalag 17--it's been one of my all time favorites since I first saw it at age 10. It's amazing how much "action" can take place in a film that's basically dialogue. The characters are finely drawn, and the story builds beautifully to a great ending and an unforgettable closing line. Entire cast is great with Holden at his Best!
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