Wilder - Stalag 17

[stefmcd]

JUst watched the R1 DVD of this title last night.
Would seem to have been more than a little influential on MASH.
A very impressive war comedy starring William Holden (Wild Bunch) and Peter Graves (MI on TV).
Any other fans of this title?
Some of u may have caught this on TV last week.

[jonathan.e]

A fine picture, but then what Wilder movie isn’t? Okay, Fedora isn’t too great but I can forgive him that.

Also disliked by some people, Kiss Me Stupid is screening on TV tonight.

[Mike]

I rather like "Fedora" myself... "Buddy Buddy" on the other hand...

Anyway, "Stalag 17" is great. So is "Kiss Me Stupid" although radical feminists might want to steer clear of it.

[Cornelius]

Originally posted by stefmcd
JUst watched the R1 DVD of this title last night.
Would seem to have been more than a little influential on MASH.
A very impressive war comedy starring William Holden

Comedy:confused:

I thought this was a tense war drama?

[stefmcd]

It is very much in the same spirit as MASH. There are some poignant moments but this only punctuates the comedy.
It really comes under the black comedy genre.

[Terry]

Class movie,highly recommended.

[John Hodson]

Paramount's upcoming Collectors Edition of Stalag 17 (no specs yet) has just pitched up at DVD Pacific here (http://www.dvdpacific.com/item.asp?ID=705760) for a little over £7, plus p&p.

[jonathan.e]

Gosh, I was sooo much younger and keener in this thread..............

:D

[Wendell Armbruster]

For me, the funniest line belongs to Otto Preminger when he says the POWs will be having a white christmas, "just like the ones you used to know." And that guy, Irving, Otto goes on to say, took the name of our capital, Berlin. The use of Preminger throughout is pretty hilarious. I always thought that Holden who won his Oscar for this took that character on to The Bridge on the River Kwai, even naming himself Shears in honor of the Wilder pic (the wire cutters). Viewers of Stalag 17 might also reflect on the fact that Wilder lost almost his entire family in Auschwitz - so a comedy about concentration camps is all the more remarkable.

[jackal]

Artwork courtesy of DVD Answers ... er, Active (http://www.dvdactive.com/home/index.html):

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/4858/stalag173rm.jpg

[Silver Jet]

Although it fells quite stagey, i believe it was adapted from a successful play, i’ve always found this a gripping film. The first half being pretty much a comedy and then mutating into something much darker in the second half. I use to try to watch it every time it’s on tv bit this DVD is well worth a purchase.
I’ve always wondered about the guy who does the impressions, was he a famous comedian at the time? It’s quite unusual to have someone do impressions in a film.

[Nathan-Wind]

I think the film is way more influential on Hogan's Heroes rather than MASH. MASH is set in a hospital afterall. While Hogan's is a comedy set in a prisoner of war camp. Didn't the makers of Hogan's Heroes get sued or pay a settlement because of them ripping off Stalag 17?

The is definitely talk of it in the Bob Crane (Hogan)'s biography. Its been a while since I read it and my memory ain't great.

EDIT: Ok according to IMDB the makers of Hogan's Heroes were sued but they won. This film also led to Billy Wilder leaving Paramount over either an arguement about money or because he was pressured to change the nationality of the camp commander. (That would the head of the camp not a comander skipping round saying "Oooooh get her!)

[John Hodson]

I’ve always wondered about the guy who does the impressions, was he a famous comedian at the time? It’s quite unusual to have someone do impressions in a film.

That's Jay Lawrence (brother of Larry Storch), a minor comedian and impressionist, probably in there because he was getting alot of TV exposure at the time (used in much the same way as Bob Newhart in Hell is For Heroes).

Stalag 17 is excellent and Bill Holden is wonderful, but I've never been able to get to grips with...

...the affectionate smile and wave he gives the guys as he makes his way down the tunnel. I want him to spit in their collective eyes

BTW, Movies Unlimited doesn't have full details on the extras on the SE, but does say it will include 'audio commentary; featurettes'.

[Silver Jet]

That's Jay Lawrence (brother of Larry Storch), a minor comedian and impressionist, probably in there because he was getting alot of TV exposure at the time (used in much the same way as Bob Newhart in Hell is For Heroes).
Thanks for that John, it's something i've always wondered about.

[jackal]

Specs for the Stalag 17 SCE at DVD Times (http://www.dvdtimes.co.uk/content.php?contentid=60022):
Features include:
Full Screen
English Restored Mono
French Mono
English subtitles
Commentary by actors Richard Eroman and Gil Stratton and co-playwright Donald Bevan
Stalag 17: From Reality to Screen
The Real Heroes of Stalag XVIIB
Photo Gallery
Oh, and back cover art at Davis DVD (http://www.davisdvd.com/)
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/5390/stalag172rh.jpg

Can't wait for this!

[moviemonsteruk]

At Ease ! At Ease ! Next :)

[John Hodson]

Savant's review of the new edition of Stalag 17 is here (http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s1930stal.html). This para:

Some critics of the film point to Wilder's sabotaging his own instincts by going soft with the Sefton character. Mercenary reporter Chuck Tatum (Kirk Douglas) in Ace in the Hole played his rotten character out to the end, but in the third act of Stalag 17 Sefton lets us know he's a nice guy. And several critics have (rather harshly) identified Wilder's "sell-out" moment, when Sefton breaks character (their assessment) while leaving to escape at the end. He ducks out of sight, and then pops back up to give a hearty smile and wave to the comrades he's been sneering at for two hours. There is no hint of condescension -- the gesture is sincere.

...leaves me in complete agreement with 'some critics'. The comedy in Stalag 17 is in this instance much too broad for my tastes* (the Germans are, at times, embarrassing; exhibit number one being the hand-clapping sap who is suckered into playing volleyball) and it's only there as part of my collection because it's Wilder and, of course, because of Bill Holden (despite that wince inducing payoff as above) - 'Ach zooooo...'

Preminger is wonderful too I think, and plays the part with great relish; apparently studio heads, sensitive to the post-war climate wanted him to be Polish - Wilder, whose hatred of the Nazi knew no bounds, stuck to his guns. I love the scene where he dons his boots to 'phone headquarters, simply because clicking his heels in stockinged feet wouldn't show the necessary servitude.

Nice transfer, BTW; I can't compare it to the previous iteration, but after watching it through, it's a very good job.

*Funnily enough, they don't come much broader than One, Two, Three another film which bases it's comedy on a regime, which, depending on your viewpoint, wasn't very funny. But I love it. Maybe it's an uneasy mix of comedy, drama and tragedy which fails to ring my bell here...