'Stalag 17" really shouldn't be funny. It's set in a World War II POW camp, where impromptu torture sessions are at the whim of sadistic guards and instant death is a sniper shot away.
American officers huddle in Barracks 4 of Stalag 17 under tight Nazi supervision. Privacy and decorum, even food, are fleeting privileges. The Geneva Conventions are nothing more than a whisper.
Yet, you watch "Stalag 17" and surprise yourself at how often Billy Wilder's film cracks you up. It also has you leaning forward in your seat, engulfed in the despair of a war prison drama on par with "The Great Escape."
As with many of Wilder's films, you tend to forget just how funny it is — the way the master director cuts tension with incisive wit and barely controlled silliness. "Stalag 17" has so many sight gags and punch lines it's practically a comedy.
People are also reading…
Adapted from a Broadway play, "Stalag 17" plays out in tiny comic strokes and quaking conflict. Presiding with a bitter cool in the center of the storm is Sefton (William Holden), an ice-hearted introvert who is hardly the hero of your standard 1950s war film. Sefton keeps others at a distance with his sarcasm and lives simply day to day, with no real hope of escape or a life after capture. To Sefton, the prospect of breaking out of the Nazi clutches is hardly worthwhile, because if he escapes he'll only be plunged back into dangerous missions.
Sefton focuses on improving his daily life as much as possible, exchanging contraband with guards for creature comforts and privileges.
The morale in the stalag is gloomy and stale because the German officers have managed to sniff out every escape attempt. When a new party makes a run, Sefton offers to take bets on their killing or capture.
The Germans snuff out the attempt just as they have all the others, and the men in the stalag assume there's an inside man — "a stoolie." Because of all his interaction with the guards, Sefton is the primary suspect and is forced to ferret out the true rat to save his own hide. It doesn't matter at all to Sefton that by fingering the true spy he'll be helping the other men out and thus the American cause as a whole.
"There are two people in this barracks who know I didn't do it," Sefton grumbles. "Me and the guy that did do it."
Sefton is the definition of the reluctant hero, and Holden's stoicism appeared to have been more than just an act. When Holden accepted his best-actor Oscar, he delivered the shortest speech in Academy history: "Thank you."
Holden, who gives a performance that would impress Humphrey Bogart or Cary Grant, is joined by an equally capable cast. Otto Preminger is the self-important warden, and Richard Erdman plays Hoffy, who is quick to judgment and anger. Harry Lembeck and Robert Strauss play smart-aleck pals, providing much comic relief, and Don Taylor plays a wide-eyed newcomer. Peter Graves hangs in the background as Price. Cookie (Gil Stratton) is our narrator, calling the film a tribute to POWs.
The subject matter held special importance to Wilder, whose mother and stepfather died in concentration camps. The director resisted studio urges to change the ethnicity of the guards from German to Polish.
Wilder shot the film in sequence, not revealing the entire plot to the cast so they would be better prepared to make their characters suspicious of one another and be genuinely surprised when it came time to shoot the big reveal. The script and direction make a point that there is more vitriol among the captives than there is between the men and the guards.
The Americans bust one another's chops — the insult "bug-wit" is tossed around — exchange hopes and dreams and try to make sense of their situation. The experience of watching the film feels like hanging out with the guys.
The lasting influence of "Stalag 17" is seen all over and not just in military-prison movies like "The Last Castle" and "Hart's War." Wilder's film is even spoofed in the animated family film "Chicken Run" (2000).
In studying the plight of the imprisoned soldier, "Stalag 17" sets free the human spirit — and with a sense of humor to boot.
● Stalag 17 (1953)
Not rated. Starring William Holden. Directed by Billy Wilder. 120 minutes. Available on DVD. For links to other reviews in the series, go to www.azstarnet.com/sn/review
