They get to put on a drag show, Gabin gets a glimpse of solitary, and then it is on to the third prison camp, one established for repeated escape offenders. The last segment of the film is almost bucolic as Mar chal and Rosenthal find a peace between the bullets and Mar chal even finds love. The granddaddy of prison camp movies, you can see the conventions established in Grand Illusion in many of the terrific classics that followed in its footsteps. Sequences in The Great Escape are reminiscent of Grand Illusion , and the relationships in Stalag 17 recall the banter between the French prisoners and the Germans in Renoir's film. Renoir's command of the camera is wonderful.
Pans open up the screen into a bigger picture.
But, the drama focuses on the individuals within the framework of war and change. Renoir was lucky to have Jean Gabin star as Lt. Gabin commands the screen with supreme ease. The other characters revolve around the amazing presence of Gabin. Eric Von Stroheim is terrific as the aristocratic German career officer who finds himself in the uncomfortable position of commander of a prisoner of war camp.