‘Stalag 17’: Comedy Meets Conflict in a POW Camp

World War II POWs in a German prisoner-of-war camp look for the traitor who discloses their escape plans.

William Holden as Sgt. J.J. Sefton, in “Stalag 17.” Paramount Pictures

NR | 2h | Comedy, Drama, War | 1953

After recently reviewing “The Grand Illusion” (1938), which portrays the struggles of prisoners in a German POW camp with both seriousness and hope, I approached “Stalag 17” with similar expectations.