Very good

Rating: 8/10 (27 November 2007)

Drama that takes place in a POW camp in Germany. The prisoners try and escape and also have a radio--but somehow the Germans always know ahead of time. The prisoners all suspect one of them is an informant and cynical Sefton (William Holden) is immediately suspected and beaten up. But is it really him? Well done drama by Billy Wilder. It's very well-written and directed. Never boring too. It isn't all grim and dreary--there's plenty of humor. I especially got a kick out of a Christmas Eve party the prisoners have--you see guys casually dancing with one another. The acting is good all around (with one exception). Holden won an Oscar for his role and Don Taylor, Peter Graves and Otto Preminger (having a whale of a time playing an evil German) are just great.
Still--I can only give this an 8. It makes living at a POW camp look like it's not that bad. I've never been at a POW camp but I don't think that was the case. I realize this (purportedly) was not the inspiration for the TV series "Hogan's Heroes" but I have my doubts. Also Robert Strauss goes WAY over the top playing Animal. I realize his character was supposed to be funny but I found him annoying. And there was another character who does a bunch of celebrity impersonations which are horrifically bad. Those elements lessened my enjoyment of this. Still I recommend it.