Stalag 17
Short description
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.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film became one of the peaks of Billy Wilder's career, for which he expected to receive a substantial sum of money. However, the studio informed him that since his previous drama, 'Ace in the Hole' (1951), had been a loss, those losses would be covered by his earnings from this film. Shortly thereafter, Wilder ended his collaboration with Paramount Pictures.
- In that era, West Germany was considered a significant market for Hollywood productions. To capture this market, a high-ranking executive at Paramount Pictures suggested to Billy Wilder that the concentration camp guards be made Polish instead of German. Wilder's own mother and stepfather had perished in a concentration camp. He rejected the proposal with indignation and demanded an apology; when none was forthcoming, he decided not to renew his contract with the company.
- William Holden (1918-1981) did not like the role offered to him. He felt the character written in the script was too selfish. The actor repeatedly asked director Billy Wilder (1906-2002) to change the character's personality, but Wilder refused. Eventually, Holden simply refused to play J.J. Sefton, though he eventually gave in under pressure from Paramount Pictures.
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