Classic Second World War comedy-drama from Billy Wilder

Rating: 10/10 (15 July 2015)

Billy Wilder was a truly great director, whose best work was up there with the best films ever made (i.e. Sunset Boulevard) and even lesser films like The Emperor Waltz were still worth watching. Stalag 17 is not quite one of my favourites from Wilder but that doesn't stop it from being a classic.
As always with Wilder's films, Stalag 17 visually is a very well-made film, and German PoW camp life is very effectively and accurately depicted as claustrophobic. It's beautifully photographed and atmospherically lit, still managing to look aesthetically pleasing while still making the claustrophobic setting as evocative as possible and never looking too flashy or static. As always, there is nothing really to fault Wilder's direction, his visual and writing always shines and he doesn't fail to make the story or characters interesting. Franz Waxman's score is another winner from him, stirring, luscious and haunting while always being appropriate to the film's mood and not being too syrupy.
Stalag 17 has a very compelling story, with a good mix of the hilarious, the poignant and the foreboding, emotions are never forced, the pacing is both controlled and exciting, for me the comedy didn't get too much or too goofy and the suspense and tension reach nail-biting heights. The script superbly balances comedy, drama and even satire, what the film tried to be and do not once coming into question. The comedy, a lot of it deliciously dark, is genuinely funny and quite endearing, it may be too much or too goofy for some viewers (depending on whether the antics of Animal and Harry are to your tastes or not) but it appealed to me just fine, and Animal and Harry's antics were appropriately light-hearted and gave the film its heart. The drama doesn't fall into clichés and doesn't slow the film at all, also avoiding the mistake of some comedy-dramas seen of jarring with the comedy to the extent the film feels like two different ones. It's also very charming and poignant. The satire is sharp and biting without falling into attacking or bitterness, never does it feel like it's too much.
The performances are spot-on from a top notch, and they are advantaged by the fact that the characters are interesting and their situation relatable without falling into stereotypes (even when more stylised that's even including the Germans). William Holden got a well-deserved Oscar for his powerful performance in a somewhat unsympathetic role, while Robert Strauss is funny and moving as Animal, the character that can be seen as the heart of the story, and Otto Preminger (in a surprise piece of casting, considering I know him better as a director) mesmerises as a particularly nasty character, looking like he was having a whale of a time. Harvey Lembeck, like Strauss, was part of the original Broadway run, and it's easy to see why in a fine performance that endears far more than it annoys. Sig Ruman gives a character that could have easily been a buffoonish caricature some welcome subtlety and genuine menace while clearly having a ball.
Overall, another Billy Wilder classic. 10/10 Bethany Cox