Stalag 17 (1953)
Stalag 17, like lots of other movies who have won veteran actors an Oscar, is a completely forgettable movie that would be looked at as mediocre at best if not for the simple fact that it won a veteran actor an Oscar. Would Butterfield 8 be famous if Elizabeth Taylor didn’t win an Oscar? How about Lilies of the Field? Probably not, and neither would Stalag 17.
In a prisoner-of-war camp, William Holden, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Richard Erdman, Peter Graves and others are stuck together, none of them outranking each other, and each suspecting the other of cooperating with the enemy. Their German captors are getting leaked information about planned escapes; who is the mole? You’ll have to rent this one to find out, and also to find out if they wind up with a successful escape plan.
There are so many things wrong with this movie, and since it was based off a Broadway play, you’d think the filmmakers could have improved upon the original. They must have loved the Broadway production, for not only was the movie stylized like a play, but they brought in Robert Strauss with his back-row camp to reprise his role. The biggest problem with the movie (and it’s huge) is that it doesn’t appear to be a POW camp. None of the men look like they’ve suffered, missed meals, been beaten, or feel escape is their only option. Peter Graves’s hair looks freshly quaffed in every scene, as if he’s just come out of the barber shop. Everyone, save Robert Strauss, is clean shaven. Strauss is overfed. Holden is cavalier. Otto Preminger, head of the camp, is as kind as can be, and Sig Ruman, one of the guards, is practically friends with the Americans. They’re allowed to criticize, disobey orders, request perks and better treatment, and repeatedly attempt to escape. What is the consequence? This movie should have been titled Club Med-17.
Since this isn’t the best escape-from-prison flick, nor is it the best POW camp flick, nor is it the best William Holden flick, try something else. This isn’t even his movie. It’s an ensemble piece, and it doesn’t make much sense why William Holden was placed in the leading category at the Oscars, when he had equal screen time with everyone else.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More William Holden movies here!
In a prisoner-of-war camp, William Holden, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck, Richard Erdman, Peter Graves and others are stuck together, none of them outranking each other, and each suspecting the other of cooperating with the enemy. Their German captors are getting leaked information about planned escapes; who is the mole? You’ll have to rent this one to find out, and also to find out if they wind up with a successful escape plan.
There are so many things wrong with this movie, and since it was based off a Broadway play, you’d think the filmmakers could have improved upon the original. They must have loved the Broadway production, for not only was the movie stylized like a play, but they brought in Robert Strauss with his back-row camp to reprise his role. The biggest problem with the movie (and it’s huge) is that it doesn’t appear to be a POW camp. None of the men look like they’ve suffered, missed meals, been beaten, or feel escape is their only option. Peter Graves’s hair looks freshly quaffed in every scene, as if he’s just come out of the barber shop. Everyone, save Robert Strauss, is clean shaven. Strauss is overfed. Holden is cavalier. Otto Preminger, head of the camp, is as kind as can be, and Sig Ruman, one of the guards, is practically friends with the Americans. They’re allowed to criticize, disobey orders, request perks and better treatment, and repeatedly attempt to escape. What is the consequence? This movie should have been titled Club Med-17.
Since this isn’t the best escape-from-prison flick, nor is it the best POW camp flick, nor is it the best William Holden flick, try something else. This isn’t even his movie. It’s an ensemble piece, and it doesn’t make much sense why William Holden was placed in the leading category at the Oscars, when he had equal screen time with everyone else.
Want to watch it? Click here to see it on ok.ru and thanks "Classic Cinema Central Seleus B" for posting!
More William Holden movies here!