Stalag 17 (film)
"Stalag 17" is a 1953 American comedy-drama directed by Billy Wilder, set in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II. The film revolves around a group of American sergeants who suspect one of their own, Sefton, of being a traitor after two men attempt to escape and are subsequently killed. As tensions rise, Sefton, portrayed by William Holden, seeks to prove his innocence and uncover the real informant among the prisoners. The film is noted for its dark humor, which is enhanced by performances from actors such as Harvey Lembeck and Robert Strauss. Initially a box office success, "Stalag 17" received critical acclaim, earning Holden an Academy Award for Best Actor and nominations for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor. The film's unique cinematography captures the close confinement of the barracks and contributes to its tense atmosphere. Although banned in Germany upon its release, it gained popularity and was eventually shown there seven years later. The film's influence extended to future works about POWs and inspired the comedic television series "Hogan's Heroes."
Stalag 17 (film)
- Release Date: 1953
- Director(s): Billy Wilder
- Writer(s): Edwin Blum; Billy Wilder
- Principal Actors and Roles: William Holden (Sgt. J. J. Sefton); Peter Graves (Sgt. Frank Price); Harvey Lembeck (Sgt. Harry Shapiro); Otto Preminger (Oberst von Scherbach); Robert Strauss (Sgt. Stanislaus "Animal" Kuzawa); Don Taylor (Lt. James Dunbar)
Stalag 17 is an American comedy-drama about prisoners in a World War II German prisoner of war camp who believe they have a traitor in their midst. The black-and-white film was a box office hit in the United States and Europe, as well as achieving success with critics. Although it was initially banned in Germany, it was successfully released there seven years later.
The film was based on a successful Broadway play and some of the same actors appeared in the film, notably Harvey Lembeck and Robert Strauss. Their performances added much of the dark humor of the film. William Holden was not in the play and he did not want to play Sefton in the movie, saying the character was too unsympathetic. However, this role gained Holden a best actor Oscar, launched him to stardom, and led to a career that placed him on the American Film Institute’s list of America’s Greatest Film Legends.
Director Billy Wilder cast Otto Preminger, another famous director, as the ruthless German commandant. Preminger was said to be acting true to type, since he had a reputation of being cruel to actors on his sets. Critics praised his brilliant performance.
Filming took place in a Hollywood studio and in Calabasas, California, where a prison set was built for the exterior shots. The weather during filming was gloomy and rainy, which contributed nicely to the dreary, muddy prison camp setting.
Plot
During World War II, a group of American sergeants is imprisoned in Stalag 17, a German prisoner of war camp. When two men escape through a tunnel they are shot and their bodies are displayed at roll call the next morning. The other prisoners conclude they have a traitor in their midst and suspect Sefton, a cynical wheeler-dealer who barters with the German guards for luxuries like soap and eggs.
Their German guard, Sergeant Schultz, shares jokes with the men even as he carries out his commandant’s orders. Whenever he sees the light cord tied in a knot, he sends everyone out of the barracks and opens the chess piece that holds messages from the traitor. In this way, the Germans know to confiscate a telescope the men are using to watch the Russian women prisoners, as well as a radio used to listen for news from the front.
A new prisoner, Dunbar, confides that he blew up a German ammunition train, although the Germans do not know that he is the one who did it. Soon Dunbar is accused of blowing up the train and kept in the Commandant’s office for questioning. The men decide Sefton’s visit to the women’s barracks was his reward for informing on Dunbar. Everyone attacks him, leaving him badly beaten and bruised. He protests his innocence and becomes determined to find the real traitor. He manages to overhear the barracks security officer, Price, tell Schultz the method Dunbar used to blow up the train.
The men use a smoke bomb to rescue Dunbar and hide him in the water tower above the latrine. Price volunteers to sneak him out of camp but Sefton confronts him, asking when Pearl Harbor happened. Price answers with the correct day but says he was eating dinner, which is the wrong answer for someone supposedly from Ohio. The men throw Price out of the barracks, where the guards shoot him while Sefton helps Dunbar escape.
Significance
The National Board of Review nominated Stalag 17 for a best picture award. The film earned William Holden an Academy Award for best actor for his role as Sefton, as well as nominations for Robert Strauss for best supporting actor, and Billy Wilder for best director. The Directors Guild of America also nominated Wilder as best director.
The budget for the film was approximately $1,315,000 and Wilder only exceeded that by about $300,000. Within six months after its release, the film had already earned ten million dollars. Wilder’s previous film Ace in the Hole was a flop, but the success of Stalag 17 more than made up for it.
The film takes place entirely within the prison camp, mostly within the barracks, but also in the muddy yard and in the commandant’s office. Wilder wanted to emphasize the close confinement of the prisoners, often shooting between the cramped bunks of the barracks. The creative camera work helps to enforce clues, build tension, and create atmosphere. Each scene was filmed sequentially, allowing the actors to build and deepen their characters.
The American film censor, whose job it was to make sure films adhered to the moral guidelines of the Motion Picture Production Code, objected to the crude language in Stalag 17, and to the fact that two men danced together. The movie studio also objected to the men wearing dirty long johns. Wilder changed very little in response to the objections.
Wilder told composer Franz Waxman to use music only when the titles were being shown at the beginning and at the end of the film, and to only use drums in between. Waxman also included dance music for the party scene, but the ominous background music for most of the film comes from the use of percussion instruments.
The success of Stalag 17 is said to have paved the way for later prisoner of war movies, such as The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and The Great Escape (1963). The television show Hogan’s Heroes had many similarities to Stalag 17, including the basic concept of American prisoners in a German stalag, a main character who is a cynical opportunist, a sergeant named Schultz, and a pilot episode about uncovering a traitor in their midst. However, when the writers of the Broadway play sued the producers of Hogan’s Heroes, a federal judge ruled against them, saying that the tone of the television show was very different.
Awards and nominations
Won
- Academy Award (1953) Best Actor: William Holden
Nominated
- Academy Award (1953) Best Director: Billy Wilder
- Academy Award (1953) Best Supporting Actor: Robert Strauss
Bibliography
Broderick, Suzanne. Real War vs. Reel War: Veterans, Hollywood, and WWII. Lanham: Rowman, 2015. Print.
Gonthier, David. American Prison Film Since 1930: From The Big House to The Shawshank Redemption. Lewiston: Mellen, 2006. Print.
Maltin, Leonard. Leonard Maltin’s Classic Movie Guide: From the Silent Era through 1965. 2nd ed. London: Penguin, 2011. Print.
Mayo, Mike. VideoHound’s War Movies: Classic Conflict on Film. Detroit: Visible Ink, 1999. Print.
Phillips, Gene D. Some Like It Wilder: The Life and Controversial Films of Billy Wilder. Lexington: U of Kentucky, 2010. Print.
Wilder, Billy. Stalag 17. Berkeley: U of California, 1999. Print.