Stalag 17 (1953)

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Director: Billy Wilder

Writers: Billy Wilder and Edwin Blum, based on the play by Donald Bevin and Edmund Trzcinki

Stars: William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Richard Erdman, Peter Graves, Neville Brand, Sig Ruman



An enterprising hustler (William Holden) draws the suspicion of his fellow POWs in a German WWII prison camp as they try to figure out which of them is a spy.

 


This is a very well-regarded film, but for my taste, it is a pretty uneven mix of gritty war drama and goofy vaudeville shtick.

 


The juvenile humor isn’t very funny and the suspense sequences aren’t very tense, but a good cast tries hard.


































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