Stalag 17 (1953)

With the slew of terrific war movies coming out in the 80's and 90's this comes off a bit dated for the modern viewer and black and white instead of color doesn't help. STALAG 17 is any-thing but dull however as there are comedic interludes and the drama builds with force as it moves along. The talented cast is placed into a prisoner-of-war camp and they carry it all the way to the concluding credits. First off we should mention William Holden as the American who gets in good with the German soldiers who guard the camp. Robert Strauss as the Animal who somehow has a crush on Betty Grable that just won't go away. You and I want them to get some relief or even escape and that's when the film really gets cooking. There is a failed attempt near the beginning of the movie at an escape: the Nazi guns are waiting and kill them. The camp has an edge now and the American who is suspected of conspiring with the Germans is William Holden's character who gets a beating but whom we suspect is not guilty. There is a trick that the guards have established with an infiltrator named Price (Peter Graves)involving a light bulb, said trick gets spotted by our oppressed American who wants the others to stop suspecting him. He has the kewlest character, sly and unflappable. The tension mounts as the leaders of the POW camp can't find an officer they know is hidden somewhere. The American unloads how he knows who the infiltrator is and the camp decides to let him go underneath the camp and escape with the hidden officer. The suspected spy is let out and the guns shoot at him, meanwhile the two prisoners run off to freedom. How I enjoyed the ending. [4.5 stars]