View source for Stalag 17 (film, 1953)

{{Infobox Film
| name= Stalag 17
| image=Stalag 17.jpg
| caption=
| director=Billy Wilder
| producer=Billy Wilder<br>William Schorr
| writer=Donald Bevan<br>Edmund Trzcinski<br>Billy Wilder
| narrator=Gil Stratton (as character "Clarence Harvey 'Cookie' Cook")
| starring=William Holden<br>Don Taylor<br>Otto Preminger
| music=Leonid Raab
| cinematography=Ernest Laszlo
| editing=George Tomasini
| distributor=Paramount
| released=July 1, 1953
| runtime=120 min.
| country=USA
| language=English
| budget=
| gross=
| preceded_by=
| followed_by=
| website=
| amg_id=
| imdb_id=
}}
'''''Stalag 17''''' is a 1953 film by Billy Wilder, and based on a play written by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski, basing the film on their experiences as prisoners of war at Stalag XVII-B, located near the town of Gneixendorf, [[Austria]], during [[World War II]].  The film won the [[Academy Award]] for Best Actor in a leading role (William Holden).

==Plot synopses==
In the days before [[Christmas]], 1944, a pair of escaping G.I.'s are found out and shot; evidence leads the remaining prisoners to conclude that one of their own may be an American stoolie seeking favors, with the blame quickly falling on a cynical, self-serving sergeant.

==Cast==
*William Holden......J.J. Sefton 
*Don Taylor..........Lt. Dunbar 
*Otto Preminger......Col. Oberst von Scherbach 
*Robert Strauss......Stanislas Kasava (the Animal) 
*Harvey Lembeck......Harry Shapiro 
*Richard Erdman......Hoffy 
*Peter Graves........Price 
*Neville Brand.......Duke 
*Sig Ruman...........Sgt. Schulz 
*Michael Moore.......Manfredi 
*Peter Baldwin.......Johnson 
*Robinson Stone......Joey 
*Robert Shawley......Blondie Peterson 
*William Pierson.....Marko the Mailman 
*Gil Stratton Jr.....Clarence Harvey Cook (Cookie)

==Trivia==
William Holden did not want the part of Sefton; he didn't like Sefton's selfishness.  Paramount execs eventually forced him to take the part, and Holden gave an outstanding performance, resulting in an [[Oscar]]. 

The Bevan/Trzcinski play debuted in May, 1951, and did a record 472 performances.  Harvey Lembeck and Robert Strauss would be the only stage performers to take their roles of Harry and the Animal to the film version.

Elements of ''Stalag 17'', such as the clandestine radio, the making of distractions, and Sgt. Schulz, were remade in 1965 for the television comedy series ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]''.

==References==
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046359/ Internet Movie Database]

[[Category:War Movies]]
[[Category:Survivalist Fiction]]