An entertainer with serious questions

Rating: Null/10 (15 November 1999)

'Stalag 17' is one of the best movies I have seen. It is uproariously funny, it is immensely suspenseful & it has characters you will root for (though not necessarily William Holden - the designated hero!). At times the camarederie between the concentration camp inmates is like boys in a college hostel. One of them is the teacher's pet & feeds him with confidential information. Some lust after the girls in the hostel across the road. Another one runs illegal gambling & bootlegging operations. The story is that of the coming of age of the last named, William Holden.
In between the fun & sweat, some important issues crop up. To whom is a person ultimately responsible - himself or his country. Both are causes worth fighting for & Wilder makes convincing cases for each. Class conflict in a strictly disciplined body is also tackled, as is the gay subtext in a prison camp. The last theme has been an issue in many POW movies - Great Escape, Bridge on the River Kwai, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence. In the interplay of the Shapiro & Animal characters in 'S17' with the latter's Betty Grable obsession, we see enough evidences of this. The film's most magical moment to me is when the inmates of Stalag 17 sing & dance to the old confed. song Johnny Comes Marching Home Again'. It is sure to give you goosebumps!
This is a great movie, & should be seen over & over again.