Movie of the Week

I love TCM's 31 Days of Oscar. Tonight they featured two Oscar winning films by the great writer/director Billy Wilder. It was a toss up but I went with Stalag 17 for tonight's review.

This is such a complex film I almost feel guilty trying to cover it. Stalag 17 is not your prototypical WWII movie. It's literally all over the map plotwise. Coldblooded Nazi's, POW's and somebody is a collaborator. It jumps from dead serious drama to slapstick comedy and back again. Not an easy thing to do and make it work. Trust me, it works in this film.

William Holden plays the central character, anti-hero Sgt. J.J. Sefton. A smooth operator that runs the camp black market. You want to place a bet on the mouse races (Snicklefritz in the 1st is sure thing!), a shot of moonshine, a pack of smokes or maybe even a fresh egg... Sefton is your man. His black market dealings do nothing to endear him to his fellow POW's. Add to it that nobody has successfully escaped from Stalag 17 and that the Germans always seem to know just exactly what is going on inside the barracks and the group consensus for collaborator is Sefton. Everyone knows Sefton is the snitch, except for Sefton and the man who is.

I won't give any spoilers just in case you have not had the pleasure of seeing this film. Just suffice to say this is a timeless movie with a superb script and excellent ensemble cast featuring Holden, Otto Preminger, Neville Brand, Don Taylor and Peter Graves. Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck also give outstanding performances as the main comic relief.

Best Actor Oscar for Holden and nominations for Best Supporting Actor (Robert Strauss) and Best Director (Billy Wilder).

This is a must watch for any serious film coineseur.