Apr. 10, 2003 - 6:47 pm
this is a Billy Wilder film that I had been wanting to see for a while. he got nominated for Best Director for this one and William Holden won the Oscar for Best Actor. this film is also number 135 today on the IMDb top 250 list. so i guess you'd say a lot of people enjoy it. i thought it was a very fun movie and parts of it are hilarious.
it's about American POWs in a German stalag (or prison) during WWII. they have a lot of secret things that they do in their barracks such as listening to the BBC on a secret radio and sometimes they try to escape. the thing is that someone keeps ratting on them and the Germans find out. they always seem to be one step behind their captors. then they realize that one of the men in the barracks, William Holden's character, is the spy. they keep guards on him and watch him like a hawk, but he keeps trying to convince them that it's not really him who's the stooley. he later on makes it his mission to find the real rat so that he can go back to living in peace in the camp.
apparently William Holden's Oscar acceptance speech was the shortest in history. two words, "Thank you." he had initially refused to take this role and did not like the character, but he was forced into doing it by the studio.
my favorite scene in this is where there are about 50 men in the barracks all grouped together. they've recently been given a copy of Mein Kampf to read, so when Sgt. Schulz, their primary Nazi guard comes in they are all surrounding one of the Americans that does a great job at impressions. he's up on a table with Mein Kampf right in front of his face and he's screaming in his best Hitler impression. he takes the book down to reveal that his eyes are crossed and he's wearing the Hitler mustache. he screams to the men as they surround him (with the men replying in unison), "We is indoctrinating! Is you all indoctrinated?" (YES) "Is you all good little Nazis?" (YES) "Is you all good little Hitlers?" (YES) "Then 'heil Hitler' for Sgt. Schulz!" (All the men turn around to reveal that they are all wearing the Hiter mustache, they do the Hitler salute "HEIL HITLER!!") that bit is nuts, but so hilarious. i had to rewind it and watch it again.