Billy Wilder Just Keeps Pumping Out the Hits

Rating: 8/10 (11 March 2010)

Prisoners Manfredi and Johnson try to escape through a tunnel the inmates have dug under the barbed wire. They are immediately shot by waiting prison guards when they emerge outside the fence. The other prisoners conclude that one of their own must have informed the Germans of the escape attempt, and suspicion falls on Sefton (William Holden), a cynical and somewhat antisocial prisoner who barters openly with the German guards for eggs, silk stockings, blankets and other luxuries.
"Look at all that meat -- ain't she the bitter end?" Robert Strauss, who plays Animal, is the real heart of this film. Sure, William Holden is great, but Strauss is the comic relief and a lovable guy. Without his antics, the film wouldn't have been the success that it was and is.
The antics are great. There's gambling with cigarettes, using mice as horses to simulate horse races, including one named Seabiscuit who loses to Snickelfritz. There's the repeated attempts to get to the other side of the camp in order to see the Russian women.
The gist of the film reminded me of the television show "Hogan's Heroes", and apparently I'm not alone. Allegedly the creators of "Heroes" got sued and had to pay a large out-of-court settlement for ripping off the general premise.
And that's all I want to say about that. Director Billy Wilder, with William Holden and some funny Nazi guards (but not really funny, that would be wrong). It's a grand film, with everything going for it. So, quite simply, I have to say this is one you must see.