Way to much campy comedy

Rating: 7/10 (24 June 2007)

The casting of Holden is just spot on as the cynical Sefton. Premminger is equally well cast as the vain Kommandant. The sets are accurate and authentic in appearance. The story is very good and has many interesting characters. The problem is just that there is way too much campy comedy from the Animal character and his sidekick. It really begins to get old as the movie progresses to the point of obscuring the excellent dramatic work by Holden and others.Perhaps at the time audiences needed some comic relief after having endured WW2 and then the nightmare of Korea. But the slapstick shenanigans of the two morons dulls the dramatic edge of the situation and the plot. It is not a film that is easily viewed more than once due to the endless heavy-handed comedic inanity of Animal and his sidekick. It is , all in all , a very good film, due above all to William Holden's stunning portrayal of a selfish, cynical Sefton with a tarnished sense of patriotism and duty that shines brightly when put to the final test. It could have been a classic, but falls short due to the silly camp.