It's a comedy, folks! Also -- a great ending.

Rating: 9/10 (8 August 2001)

When thinking about this fine film, one should consider that its lack of "realism" is intentional. Movies are not reality, and should not necessarily be judged against the grittiness or logics of real life. Of course German guards weren't this buffoonish in real life -- but they weren't very funny either! Sure barracks weren't filled with identifiable ethnic and class "types," but that's one way to create comic possibilities. Movies are deliberate distortions of life, and that's why they're fun and entertaining. Stalag 17 was considered to be edgy comedy for its time, along the lines of M*A*S*H later on. The very idea of Americans at odds with each other over supposed traitors in the ranks is at once a challenge to the gung-ho images presented in more jingoistic war films, and an idea that would have resonated with paranoid McCarthy-era Americans. By offsetting those serious issues with broad comedy, courtesy of Strauss and Lembeck, the drama is heightened rather than obscured. And sure, Hogan's Heroes was inspired by this movie, but you can't blame the movie for that. But I wonder why more people don't note Stalag 17's influence on other films, notably The Great Escape, Dr. Strangelove, M*A*S*H, and even Good Morning Vietnam.
Now, the ending. First, the original ending was much more caustic -- Sefton was to deliver the "Let's just pretend we never met" line and duck out with a scowl. The studio wouldn't go for it, and made Wilder put in Sefton's little reappearance and grin/salute to the guys. Boy, would it have been dark the other way! Also, this movie has a great cynical closing line, like many Wilder movies, this one mouthed by Animal (I think): "Hey, maybe he just wanted to steal our wire cutters. Ever think of that?"