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A gritty prisoner-of-war movie offset with comedy, Stalag 17 was the inspiration for the popular TV show “Hogan’s Heroes,” but the movie is far darker than its simple-minded TV descendant. Stalag 17 is a suspenseful mystery set during the World War II. It’s also a sly indictment of human nature from a director who was himself a Jewish refugee, and an artful condemnation of the Communist witch hunts that bedeviled Hollywood and the nation in the 1950s.

The Plot

A group of captured American sergeants are piled together in the barracks of a German prisoner of war camp, Stalag 17. They hatch ingenious plots for escape, but somehow, they are always discovered -- there’s a traitor in their midst. Suspicion falls on Sefton (William Holden), a deeply cynical POW who manages to work the system to get a few extra comforts from time to time, assisted by his devoted sidekick, Cookie.(Gil Stratton.)

The mood turns ugly when two escaping Americans are shot in the attempt - and grows even uglier when a heroic captured pilot is betrayed to the camp commandant as a successful saboteur. Absent any real proof, the barracks men turn on Sefton, ostracizing and even beating him. Sefton sets out to find out who the real traitor is.

It’s world within a world, where the Nazi guards are villains -- but so are the men of the barracks willing to act outside the rule of law.

The Cast of 'Stalag 17'

Holden won an Oscar for his acid portrayal of Sefton, who came to the barracks an idealist but has since learned to use his cynicism and his shrewd observations of human nature to stay alive.

Richard Erdman is good as the “leader” of the barracks, chosen by the men, but largely ineffectual in controlling their mob instincts. A very young Peter Graves is the head of security, and Robert Strauss and Harvey Lembeck play the comic relief - a Mutt-and-Jeff pairing that’s not quite as funny today as it was in 1953.

It’s fascinating to watch famed director Otto Preminger as the camp commandant, wily, hard, cravenly seeking recognition from his higher-ups in Berlin. Sig Ruman is excellent as Sergeant Schultz, the model for the buffoonish guard in the TV series, but here a more calculating prison guard who masks his cruelties with a veneer of good humor and bad English.

Robinson Stone is haunting as Joey, a shell-shocked American flyer who plays tunelessly on an ocarina. Gaunt, hollow-eyed and unable to speak for himself, he is the visual symbol of the Holocaust.

The Director

Billy Wilder took this successful Broadway mystery-comedy and layered it with his own experience as a successful Jewish director who fled Europe - and as a creative genius who wanted to speak out against the red-baiting of America in the 1950s while staying off the blacklist. Wilder folded a multitude of messages into the plot of a good story, and made a successful movie.

'Stalag 17' - the Bottom Line

Like most stories from great story-tellers, Stalag 17 hints at an enduring truth -- that until human beings are tried by fire, it’s impossible to tell who will be a hero, who will be a villain - and who will just be one of the mob.

Recommended for you:

If you liked Stalag 17, try more Billy Wilder movies, The Great Escape or The Big Red One.

'Stalag 17' at a Glance:

Year: 1953, Black and white
Director: Billy Wilder
Running Time: 120 minutes
Studio: Paramount Pictures