Let's take a break from Hitchcock to honor the men and women who gave their lives in service to this country. For this 2010 Memorial Day (today), let's talk about WWII classic Stalag 17.
"Ja?"
"Then droppen Sie dead!"
The P.O.W.s in Germany's Stalag 17 have a problem. Two of their group were shot trying to escape via a tunnel in the barracks, but were shot by guards waiting at the other end of the tunnel. The remaining prisoners believe there is a spy in the barracks. The logical choice is Sefton (Holdren) who bets against all escape attempts, holds his own "horse races", has a distillery, and setup a pay per view telescope for when the female prisoners shower. And he is friendly with the guards.
"It's no use, Schulz, you might as well come clean. Why don't you just tell them it's me, because I'm really the illegitimate son of Hitler, and after the Germans win the war, you're going to make me the Gauleiter of Zinzinnati!"
But with no evidence, they continue to come up with ways to annoy the commandant , Colonel von Scherbach (Preminger), and the guards... while coming up with new escape plans and waiting for news about the war, via a secret radio, or notes from home.
Barracks chief Hoffy (Erdman) keeps order and is the brains behind all escape attempts... and keeps the men from killing each other. Price (Graves) is the security officer. Duke (Brand) is the hothead who would rather fight than talk. Cookie (Stratton) is the narrator and Sefton's stuttering assistant. And Animal (Strauss) and Harry (Lembeck) are best friends and the comic relief. Tensions arise when a new group of prisoners, including famous war hero Lieutenant Dunbar (Taylor), are brought to the barracks... and the Germans want to learn their secrets.
I love this film.... a great blend of action, suspense, and humor. This combination works well, and became the model for subsequent war films (like The Great Escape) and TV show Hogan Heroes (which borrowed the character Sergeant Schultz).
The most memorable sequences involve the banter between Animal and Harry. Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck (along with Robert Shawley as Blondie and William Pierson as Marko the Mailman) originated these characters in the Broadway production that inspired this film. Their interactions are funny and help breakup the heavy moments in the film. Their best scene is their attempt to visit the Russian women waiting in line for showers / delousing. I also love Animal's interaction with Marko (who has an awesome voice) everytime they get mail. Love it!
William Holden is great in his Oscar winning role as Sefton. Taking an unsympathetic character to a place where the audience actually wants to see him succeed. I even love the German soldiers, especially Schulz (Ruman), who also starred with the Marx Brothers in their later films (he will always be Gottlieb in A Night at the Opera to me).
A memorable classic... watch Chicken Run after you've seen it, and many of the jokes will be even funnier!
Stalag 17 (1953) 120 minutes
Director: Billy Wilder
Starring: William Holden as Sergent J.J. Sefton
Don Taylor as Lieutenant James Dunbar
Otto Preminger as Colonel von Scherbach
Robert Strauss as Stanislas "Animal" Kasava
Harvey Lembeck as Harry Shapiro
Richard Erdman as Sergeant "Hoffy" Hoffman
Peter Graves as Price
Neville Brand as Duke
Sig Ruman as Sergeant Johann Schulz
Gil Stratton as Cookie
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