Stalag 17

In a German prisoner-of-war camp during World War II, the American airmen of Barracks 17 have settled into an uneasy routine of jokes, bets and small trades with their captors, while still scheming ways to get out. Two men are shot dead during an escape attempt, and the discovery that their tunnel was known to the guards convinces the others that someone among them has been passing information to the Germans. Suspicion falls on J.J. Sefton, a cynical sergeant who prospers by dealing with the camp staff, though not everyone is certain he is the guilty man.

Billy Wilder directed and produced the film, his seventh feature, between Ace in the Hole and Sabrina, and wrote the screenplay with Edwin Blum. William Holden plays Sefton, with Don Taylor, Otto Preminger as the camp commandant, Robert Strauss, Harvey Lembeck and Richard Erdman among the supporting cast. Made for about two million dollars, it took roughly ten million at the box office.

On TMDB it holds a rating of 7.7 out of 10 from 689 votes. The film mixes comedy and drama within its wartime setting across a two-hour running time, and has been released since May 1953.