We had thought to go see something new in the theaters this weekend but between the ever higher ticket prices and the ever lower quality (friends and reviewers have warned us away from such anticipated flicks as Troy, Van Helsing and even Shrek 2) that we just said screw it.
So I found myself watching Stalag 17, a 50 year old classic instead; like any true classic, one can watch this film time and again and find new bits to enjoy, and this was far from my first viewing. Written for the screen and directed by Billy Wilder, I would rank this as possibly the best comedy made about the Second World War and one of the Top 10 in both the WWII and war comedy categories overall. If you want to know where all the stereotype personas of that era come from, watch this film.
William Holden plays the lead, a scrounger of the first order, who no one likes (except his sidekick, of course) and who everyone suspects of collaborating with the Nazis. Otto Preminger, usually found in the director’s chair on a movie set, here plays the camp commandant. There is even a Sergeant Schultz, played well by Sig Ruman. Peter Graves, Harvey Lembeck, Robert Strauss and Richard Erdman played the other memorable POWs.
Wilder throws in nearly equal amounts of tension and whimsy, at times in the same scene, but the audience is never allowed to forget precisely where these men are and how serious the consequences of a bad decision can be. But if you’re wondering, yes, this has to be the direct inspiration for the ’60s sitcom Hogan’s Heroes.
definitely recommended
BillSaysThis 