STALAG 17 - William Holden (1953 American war film)

In a German prisoner-of-war camp named Stalag 17, one of its compounds holds 630 American airmen (all of whom are sergeants), and is overseen by camp warden Oberst von Scherbach. In December 1944, the men of Barracks 4—led by appointed barracks chief "Hoffy" Hoffman, and security officer Frank Price—arrange for the escape of fellow airmen Manfredi and Johnson. The pair are shot dead in the attempt, and the men believe they were betrayed by an informant. Suspicion falls on J. J. Sefton, an enterprising cynic who barters openly with the German guards for various luxuries. He also creates profitable ventures that distract from the mundanity of camp life: from organizing rat races for gambling, to an improvised distillery for brewing alcohol, to a makeshift telescope to spy on the Russian women from a neighboring compound. Clarence "Cookie" Cook, who narrates the story, serves as Sefton's naive and loyal aide. #ww2movies #ww2