| | | "The acclaimed World War II drama of spies and sabotage, honor and bravery."
Features: DVD, Collector's Edition
During World War II, a group of G.I.'s are thrown together in the notorious German prison camp Stalag 17. For the most part, they spend their time scheming ways to help each other escape. But when two prisoners are killed in an escape attempt, it becomes obvious that there is a spy among them. William Holden was awarded an Oscar for his performance as a cynical, sharp-tongued soldier who spends his time scheming up rackets and trading with the Germans for special privileges.
"Granddaddy of all WW2 POW films." Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"One of the very best American movies of the 1950s." VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever
Editor's Note
Billy Wilder's adaptation of the Broadway hit stars William Holden as the cynical Sefton. Set in the eponymous German prison camp during WWII, the director's broad, black comedy focuses on a group of decidedly unheroic prisoners. While they spend most of their time trying to entertain each other with comedy routines and pin-ups, they also occasionally entertain thoughts of escape. But escape is the last thing on the mind of the hard, calculating Sefton, a wheeler-dealer who's salted away a stash of creature comforts which are the envy of the barracks. When a couple of prisoners are killed while attempting to escape, Sefton collects the money he won by betting against their success, and many believe that it was he who informed the Germans. After a new prisoner, Lt. Dunbar (Don Taylor) talks openly about having bombed a German ammo train, he's immediately subjected to a harsh interrogation by sadistic commandant Oberst von Scherbach (Otto Preminger). Their suspicions confirmed, the prisoners take revenge against Sefton. A film whose depiction of American G.I.s as ordinary, even selfish, people probably seemed seemed edgier in the 1950s than it does now, it remains a durable entertainment, with incisive performances by Holden and Preminger.
| Features | Audio: English Dolby Digital Mono | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Paramount |
| Release Date: 3/21/2006 |
| Running Time: 120 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1953 | | Catalog ID: 041204 | | UPC: 00097360412048 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: B&W |
Aspect Ratio | | Standard 1.33:1 [4:3] |
| Cast & Crew | Don Taylor | | Otto Preminger | | Robert Strauss | | William Holden | | Billy Wilder - Director | | Billy Wilder - Screenplay | | Billy Wilder - Producer | | Donald Bevan - Based On Play By | | Edmund Trzcinski - Based On Play By | | Edwin Blum - Screenplay | | Ernest Laszlo - Cinematographer | | Franz Waxman - Original Music By | | George Tomasini - Editor | | Leonid Raab - Original Music By | | William Schorr - Producer |
| Awards |
Oscar (1954) | | | Billy Wilder, Nominee, Best Director | | | Robert Strauss, Nominee, Best Actor in a Supporting Role |  | William Holden, Winner, Best Actor in a Leading Role |
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| | Professional Reviews | The Motion Picture Guide 9 of 10
Holden, under the skillful hand of his "good luck" director Wilder, gives an unforgettable bravura performance in one of the best films produced during the 1950s.
Epinions.com 8 of 10
Billy Wilder produced, directed and co-wrote the screenplay for "Stalag 17", a drama and comedy based on a World War II prisoner of war camp in Germany. The characters of Duke, Dunbar, and Joey are sometimes overly dramatic, and the comic relief of Animal is sometimes overdone (this idiot made sergeant?). Still, Holden and Preminger give fine performances, and one has to admit that Strauss is often funny. - Brian Koller
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5
