Not Coming to a Theater Near You
What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
What do you think she meant when she said “a huge black monster with giant claws”?
Maybe it was the somber mood of the day – I watched Stalag 17 way back on November 11th – but I was left feeling puzzled and vaguely disapproving of this Second World War POW-camp classic. The story follows captured American soldier Sgt. J.J. Sefton, accused by his fellow prisoners of spying for the Germans after two of his fellows are killed in an escape attempt. Alright so far. But where The Great Escape leavened a very serious story with occasional doses of humor, Stalag 17 seems to do the opposite, filling the bulk of the movie with goofy sidekicks and light-hearted quips, interrupted by the occasional burst of deadly machine gun fire from the camp guards or a sudden outbreak of self-policing violence among the prisoners. I wonder if the movie’s proximity to the end of the war might be a factor – if humor was the best tool for tackling a subject that was still so fresh? In any case, if you like your war movies solemn and reverent, this may not be your best bet.
by Eva Holland | Source: Paramount DVD
18 Jan 2010 4:37 PM | Comments (1)
Thanks for the review. I’ll let others deconstruct the film writing/production & war timeline, not to mention Wilder personal history, but I have to disagree with the implications of the story weight in your comparison to The Great Escape. While Stalag 17 certainly uses humor more, in no way is it goofy or light-hearted or more importantly misplaced. In fact, overall the film is harder hitting and less… yes… escapist, than Escape. And as much of a blast as The Great Escape is, and it really is, it’s no insult to say Stalag 17 is the better film.
blessingflix
18 January 2010
10:22 PM
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