Tuesday, February 24, 2026

Stalag 17

Billy Wilder once made a romance in the ruins of post–World War II Berlin, so it makes sense that he'd also have the nerve to write and direct a full-fledged comedy about POWs in a Nazi prison camp. With his 1953 picture, "Stalag 17," the wacky set-ups just keep on coming. Like what we do here on the Filmographers? Then please consider joining our Patreon! Patreon.com/TheFilmographersPodcast Social media Instagram @thefilmographers Bluesky @thefilmographers.bsky.social Letterboxd @filmographers YouTube @TheFilmographersPodcast Website https://filmographerspodcast.com/ Credits Keir Graff & Michael Moreci, hosts Kevin Lau, producer Gompson, theme music Cosmo Graff, graphic design Time Stamps 4:43 - The Making of Stalag 17 5:48 - Billy Wilder’s ”running for cover” era 7:00 - Blacklisting in Hollywood 11:10 - Wilder needs a new co-writer. Again. 16:15 - Wilder needs a story--and a hit 18:95 - Casting Stalag 17 23:57 - Shooting begins--re-creating the POW camps 30:27 - Stalag 17 gets a release...after getting shelved 31:20 - Box office 33:05 - Wilder has a fanboy in Francois Truffaut 35:55 - Hogan’s Heroes draws ”inspiration” from Wilder’s war comedy 39:50 - Keir’s review 43:05 - Mike’s review 49:00 - The Filmographers Five: Favorite William Holden movies 49:06 - Executive Suite 49:45 - The Wild Bunch 50:20 - Bridge on the River Kwai 50:50 - Network 51:24 - Sunset Boulevard