CS Weekly Archive > DVD of the Day > 04/21/06

POW: Prisoners of Wilder

by jason davis

Legendary writer-director Billy Wilder brings the prisoner of war drama Stalag 17 from stage to screen, adding yet another definitive genre film to his resume while carefully juggling equal measures of comedy and drama in a venue that might seem antithetical to the former.

Stalag 17 (Special Collector's Edition)

Billy Wilder and Edwin Blum
Based on the play by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski

Opening with an illustration of the supposedly impregnable Stalag 17's security measures, the film finds two would-be escapees (Michael Moore & Peter Baldwin) brutally dispatched by German guards, setting up the witch-hunt for the Nazi informer that becomes the focus of the story's action. While the first act offers up a series of comic vignettes interspersed with moments of paranoia as the POWs speculate on the identity of their betrayer, the narrative gains speed and urgency with the arrival of Lieutenant Dunbar (Don Taylor). Believing the officer responsible for acts of sabotage, camp commandant Colonel von Scherbach (Otto Preminger) plans to turn Dunbar over to the SS if the POWs can't find away to smuggle him out of the camp.

Characters are key in Wilder and co-writer Edwin Blum's screenplay. While the narrative is tightly plotted, the writers offer substantial latitude to the ample cast, allowing for comic shenanigans to relieve the pressures of the main story. Despite the memorable population of the Stalag, the disagreeable Sergeant Sefton (William Holden) carries most of the film's dramatic weight. An anti-hero clearly established to be out for his own benefit, Sefton is forced to act on his bunkmates' behalf when their suspicions fall on him, and he must prove that he's not the traitor amongst them by catching the real enemy agent. In this regard, the film is almost an examination of the benefits of being an outsider, a notion at odds with the teamwork that pervades the relationships of the other characters. This dichotomy is emblematic of the whole work, with contradictions like comedy and drama existing side-by-side or anti-heroic characters performing courageous feats on behalf of an ungrateful group of more typically heroic cohorts.

- Commentary by actors Richard Erdman and Gil Stratton and co-playwright Donald Bevan
- Stalag 17: From Reality to Screen
- The Real Heroes of Stalag XVIIB
- Photo Gallery

Co-playwight, and former Stalag inmate, Donald Bevan joins most of the surviving cast members on an informative commentary that explores the play's evolution to film, paying particular attention to Wilder's alterations to the cast as well as the methods employed to "open up" the screenplay from the stage version. The same subject is tackled in a short featurette examining the translation, while yet another segment interviews survivors of the German prison camps (including Bevan) to create a cohesive picture of the history recounted in the film.

An elegant study in contradiction and character, the film incarnation of Stalag 17 opens up the canvass of the stage version while maintaining the blend of drama and comedy that made the live performance of the story a success.

Stalag 17 (Special Collector's Edition)

Paramount Home Video
Not rated; 120 min.
$19.99

Buy it now

At the age of 21, Jason Davis was hit in the face with a car. He has since devoted his life to writing. His words have appeared on TBS, MSN.com, and CS Weekly, where he serves as DVD manager. He lives in Burbank.

Stalag 17 (Special Collector's Edition) courtesy Paramount Home Video

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