Stalag 17

POW movies might seem like a dime a dozen now, but 70 years ago they weren't common. And POW comedies? They really weren't a thing. Of course, The Great Escape set an iconic standard a decade after Stalag 17 that was hard to match...and it doesn't match it. Billy Wilder's film is filled with hijinks and physical comedy, but not even the brilliant funnyman was able to make something that's actually got a lot of laughs. It's solid work, at least, and it's an effective mystery about just who is the Nazi rat embedded with our heroes. By design, William Holden never clicks with the other actors, which makes his Oscar-winning performance quite effective. So slip contraband in your pantleg as you plug some buds into your ears to hear the 515th edition of Have You Ever Seen, Ryan's solo show about Stalag 17. Sparkplug Coffee sponsors us and they give their customers a one-time 20% discount if they use our "HYES" promo code. Plug "sparkplug.coffee/hyes" into your browser. Contacting us continues to be an easy experience. We'll read your emails ([email protected]) or your tweets (@moviefiend51 and @bevellisellis). We've been on YouTube this entire year. Our podcasts can be found there in full. We haven't been on camera on quite some time, but we shall return...someday. Try @hyesellis. And there's only a few days left to enjoy new episodes of Scoring At The Movies. Ryan & Chris Di Gregorio's sports-film chatterbox is closing up shop on June 7th with a lengthy gab about Rocky Balboa.