STALAG 17 - William Holden (1953 American war film)

LIAM DALE - WAR STORIES
LIAM DALE - WAR STORIES
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Published 2024-08-04
In a German prisoner-of-war camp named Stalag 17, one of its compounds holds 630 American airmen (all of whom are sergeants), and is overseen by camp warden Oberst von Scherbach.

In December 1944, the men of Barracks 4—led by appointed barracks chief "Hoffy" Hoffman, and security officer Frank Price—arrange for the escape of fellow airmen Manfredi and Johnson. The pair are shot dead in the attempt, and the men believe they were betrayed by an informant. Suspicion falls on J. J. Sefton, an enterprising cynic who barters openly with the German guards for various luxuries. He also creates profitable ventures that distract from the mundanity of camp life: from organizing rat races for gambling, to an improvised distillery for brewing alcohol, to a makeshift telescope to spy on the Russian women from a neighboring compound. Clarence "Cookie" Cook, who narrates the story, serves as Sefton's naive and loyal aide.
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All Comments (14)
  • @bitcoinlockjaw4761
    " 2 packs of cigarettes Dunbar never makes it". This is a classic film. Holden rightly deserved his Oscar.
  • @joeyjojo5986
    This is my favorite Bill Holden movie. It's so watchable. I can drop in at any time of the movie and just sit and enjoy it. I love all the actors, even in the smaller parts.
  • @danieldravot341
    My father was there from April, 1944 to May, 1945, when the Russians were approaching from the east . . .
  • @shaneobrien2257
    Couple of Bilko characters in this. Rocco Barbella. And Animal played a gangster type in one episode.
  • @Charles-t7z
    You can watch and enjoy the heart of this movie in about 5 scenes that takes up about 15 minutes of the movie. The rest is filler, especially the goof Animal and his little friend.
  • @angloaust1575
    Holden himself admitted he found the character too Cynical ...maybe did it just for the money and fame In real life holden was convicted on a drunk death Charge with his automobile!
  • @jivanvasant
    WW2 Comedy. Hogan's Heroes. The Three Stooges. Pratfalls and slapstick. Purely entertainment.
  • @stevemartin6144
    Great entertainment but it's pretty clear that the producers of this knew very little about POW camps and escapes. There are so many glaring errors of every respect that this is a farce at best and an insult to the REAL POWs.
  • @PlanTonto
    I never liked this movie very much. No offense to the poster, I gave you a thumbs up anyway for your efforts as I know quite a few people like this movie. For me, the character Animal is annoying and his script is way too long and is the reason I ultimately stop watching this. What I do like is thar. It touched off one Mt favorite shows that I grew up with, Hogan's Heroes. Of course as a kid, I didn't know about the real history of that show in that it featured quite a few Holocaust survivors or families who were murdered and that the actor who portrayed Colonel Klink, Wilhelm agreed to do the show only if Hogan won at the end and never lost any efforts escaping other prisoner's and that he got away with every sabotage. Of course both the movie and the show were unrealistic portrayals of real Stalags of that era as they were not treated nearly as nice nor did they receive the comforts shown. But I like how the show ridicules the intelligence of the Nazis evert show in some way especially Colonel Klink. One comes away with the thought that the "Master Race" was not do superior after all. Anyway my two cents bur thanks for posting. As usual I turned it off when Animal was going crazy over the one guy having an egg fir breakfast. His monolog turned me and the movie right off. And yes, I have watched to the end before and was glad the Peter Graves character got his just do.