Stalag
Cats: Set Your Recorders|This picture a great example of beautiful accidents. The shear fate of casting, writing and direction that give us this movie that holds up today. And although the picture is set in a World War Two Nazi prison camp its is fairly safe viewing for the over 10 set (I saw this picture ironcally at summer camp when I was 10). Prisoner of War camp life was incredibly dull. In this picture however, the monotony of P.O.W camp routine is disrupted because there apparently is a snitch within the prisoners’ ranks–some rat is tipping off the Commandant (director Otto Preminger–in one of his few acting roles) about escape attempts and other rule infractions. The obvious choice for snitch is Sefton (William Holden). But is he the dirty rat?
This is one of Billy Wilder’s best films. Very few directors can combine human suffering and comedy as brilliantly as Billy Wilder. A character reads severly shell shocked Joey (who clings to a sort of monotone flute that looks more like a rock than a flute) a letter from home. In the letter his parents say they hope that he continues his law studies when he gets home. “You don’t wanna be no lawyer Joey, you wanna be a flute player” says the character reading to Joey. Joey ain’t gonna be no lawyer. Lines like “Remember, just because the krauts are dumb doesn’t mean that they’re stupid” or “I’m tellin’ ya, Animal, these Nazis ain’t kosher” are peppered throughout the script.
William Holden won a well deserved Best Actor Oscar for his work. The picture can be very tense at times and unlike Stalag 17’s TV descendent Hogan’s Heroes, the Nazi’s are not funny.
Sunday May 25th at 3:45PM on Turner Classic Movies
