10/10/09 - Stalag 17

Stalag 17 (1953, 120 min)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359/

This was another film I watched for my film class. We had seen the first 15 or so minutes one day in class and it really intrigued me so I settled on it as one of the films I would watch for the mid-term class. It was also directed by famed star Billy Wilder and starred William Holden who I had really liked in Sunset Blvd (also Billy Wilder).

The film stars the aforementioned William Holden as the prisoner Sgt. J.J. Sefton. He, like his other United States comrades are held in Stalag 17 - a German prison camp. The whole film is narrated (sometimes, but no all the frequently) by Clarence Harvey "Cookie" Cook (Gil Stratton) but his role is overall pretty minor. Also in the same camp as Sefton are the comedy duo of Stanislas "Animal" Kasava (Robert Strauss) and Harry Shapiro (Harvey Lembeck). For the Germans we have the head of the prisoner camps in Col. von Scherbach (Otto Preminger) and the spy Price (Peter Graves). Acting as the character which allows for Sefton's "redemption" is Lt. James Dunbar (Don Taylor).

The absolutely best thing about this movie was the atmosphere and feel. I could see this exact same movie made today with little to no change in cuts or scene changes. This is, in my opinion, remarkable for a movie made in 1953. There is an amazing blend of comedy by the comedy duo I mentioned and seriousness. "Animal" and Shapiro are perfectly played by Strauss and Shapiro, adding just the right amount of change from the overall serious nature of the film to make it even more enjoyable. And besides that, most of the comedy that they do is still funny now - another thing I find remarkable for a film made in 1953. To add to this, the acting overall is just outstanding. Holden as Sefton is a perfect fit. His smugness, his calmness, his ability to overcome the odds and prove everyone wrong is just great. Most of the other cast is equally well-cast but Holden is the star.

Wilder manages to create great tension throughout the whole movie. The opening is incredible and the final scenes made me practically be on the edge of my seat. And there's no slouching in the middle, either. As I mentioned above, pretty much every scene is great in this film and perfectly paced. It's really quite remarkable.

One flaw the film has is the significant lack of a great score. The music is pretty lacking throughout not really pushing this movie to masterpiece status. Further, some characters such as the commandant von Scherbach are too over-the-top for the rest of the movie. Though this might have been the "way to do things" back in the 1950s so it's hard to criticize this aspect too much.

Overall, I gave this film a 9/10. I was amazed from start to finish at how great it was. It's a gem of a movie from 1953 and easily stands as one of the best I've seen in quite some time.