"Guy" movie?

Rating: 9/10 (31 July 1999)

I've heard the term "Guy Movie" many times in my life. The other day someone I know told me that Stalag 17 was a total "Guy Movie." Now, I really like this film alot, I like it for it's male camaraderie and I like it for it's storytelling. The thing I like most about Stalag 17 is William Holden, who has to be the most under-rated actor of the golden age of Hollywood. Holden is dead on in this film, never once letting you think he could be the informant or not. There is an awful lot of comedy in this film, most at the expense of Shapiro and the Animal, alot of it aimed at the Russian camp across the compound where they hold the female prisoners. My biggest complaint isn't the comedy from the prisoners, it's the buffoonish way the German guards are portrayed. Maybe this is a "Guy Movie." Either way, I really enjoyed the film. But does anybody really think the Germans were that goofy?