A Decent Watch

Rating: 7/10 (19 August 2012)

William Holden won an Oscar as JJ Sefton, the amoral prison-camp spiv who hustles his fellow internees out of their food parcels and cigarettes in order to trade with the Germans for better privileges. His success at both makes him an unpopular character. So; when a traitor is suspected, he is number one on the list.
Of course; we all know that's far too obvious. Sefton may be a heal but he's no rat.
Wilder's work is one of a number of wartime comedies, but perhaps because of its vintage it hasn't aged quite so well. Some of the comedy comes too close to farce and seems at odds with the Germans' readiness to shoot escapees. Most of the gags are in the first half, after that it drifts towards a who-dunnit. Sefton sets out to discover the spy after he is beaten-up and his possessions indiscriminately plundered.
There's no great shakes. Almost all of the characters are stereotypic. Some of the conflicts appear contrived. I really enjoyed it when I first saw it as a kid half a century ago, now I'm less inclined. And I'm no longer a fan of ongoing narrative in a movie. It's okay for an intro, but after that the characters and plot should speak for themselves. The viewer shouldn't need additional prompts.
Still well worth a watch if you get the chance and haven't seen it before, but it's certainly no classic. Holden is very good, yet it's hard to believe that his performance was the best of the movies for 1953.