1 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Stalag 17
"The star-spangled, laugh-loaded salute to our P.W. heroes!"
1953 2h 0m EN
🙌
7.7
BANGER
🔥
91%
CERTIFIED FRESH
💯
84
METACRITIC
⭐
7.9
IMDB
★7.7TMDB · 691🍅91%Rotten Tomatoes●84Metacritic★7.9IMDB · 61,054
ComedyDramaWar
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
After two American prisoners are killed by guards in the act of escaping from a German POW camp in World War II, barracks black marketeer J.J. Sefton is suspected of being an informer.
“The star-spangled, laugh-loaded salute to our P.W. heroes!”
Cast
William Holden
J.J. Sefton
Don Taylor
James Dunbar
Otto Preminger
Oberst von Scherbach
Robert Strauss
Stanislaus 'Animal' Kuzawa
Harvey Lembeck
Harry Shapiro
Richard Erdman
Hoffy Hoffman
Peter Graves
Frank Price
Neville Brand
Duke
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Billy Wilder
- Writers
- Billy Wilder, Edwin Blum
- Languages
- English, German, Russian
- Countries
- United States of America
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Made its money back 6.0× over at the box office.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
ERA
Did you know
73 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
WORLD
Did you know
Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Russian.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Directed by Billy Wilder, shot by Ernest Laszlo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
DIRECTOR
Did you know
Editor George Tomasini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
ERA
Did you know
William Holden and Don Taylor and Otto Preminger carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Billy Wilder directs. Ernest Laszlo behind the camera. Franz Waxman scores. George Tomasini cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German, Russian.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 1Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
- 2Made its money back 6.0× over at the box office.
- 373 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
- 4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, German, Russian.
- 5Directed by Billy Wilder, shot by Ernest Laszlo. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
- 6Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
- 7Editor George Tomasini shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
- 8William Holden and Don Taylor and Otto Preminger carry the top of the cast.
- 9Marketing tagline: "The star-spangled, laugh-loaded salute to our P.W. heroes!".
- 10IMDB entry: tt0046359 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 11Classified under 11 themes, including "chess", "escape", "spy", "world war ii".
The technical file
- Cinematography
- Ernest Laszlo
- Original score
- Franz Waxman
- Editing
- George Tomasini
- Makeup / hair
- Wally Westmore
- Runtime
- 120 min · 2h 0m
- Aspect ratio (typical)
- 1.37:1 (Academy)
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $1,661,530
- Box office
- $10,000,000
- Return
- 602% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- NR
- IMDB
- Stalag 17 (1953)
- Rotten Tomatoes
- 91% 🍅 Fresh
- Metacritic
- 84/100
- IMDB rating
- 7.9/10 · 61,054 votes
- MPAA
- Approved
Awards
Won 1 Oscar. 2 wins & 8 nominations total
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
- Academy Award for Best Actor
Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.
Also by
Billy Wilder
Stills · wallpapers
Selected frames
Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Production companies
Who made it
Paramount Pictures
US
Key crew
- Theatre PlayDonald Bevan
- Theatre PlayEdmund Trzcinski
- ProducerBilly Wilder
- EditorGeorge Tomasini
- Art DirectionFranz Bachelin
- Art DirectionHal Pereira
- Set DecorationSam Comer
- Set DecorationRay Moyer
- Associate ProducerWilliam Schorr
- Assistant CameraHarlow Stengel
- Editorial ConsultantDoane Harrison
- Special EffectsGordon Jennings
- Makeup SupervisorWally Westmore
- Sound RecordistHarold Lewis
- Sound RecordistGene Garvin
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- chess
- escape
- spy
- world war ii
- guard
- plant
- based on play or musical
- black and white
- security
- barracks
- prisoner of war camp
Release history · US
When it landed
- Theatrical1953-05-29NR
Also known as
International titles
- 17号囚房CN
- 第十七号战俘营CN
- Inferno Número 17BR
- Traidor en el infiernoES
- Ο Καταδότης του Θαλάμου 17GR
- Θάλαμος Εξοντώσεως 17GR
- Flykten från fångläger 17SE
- O Inferno Nº 17BR
