So many plot holes, unbelievable things and too comic and harmless Germans. Even the comic scenes of great Wilder are bad in this one, especially that Animal character - it's too artificial, forced and imposed acting. The character wasn't funny, he was trying to be. And failed.
shareWatched the movie last night and I tend to agree. They try to hang a number of comic bits around a serious "who's the informer" plot. William Holden is just too unlikeable and unbelievable. It's one thing to be a better scrounger and have some perks but to fry an egg in front of hungry GIs and mock them while he does it just isn't gonna happen. Sleuthing out the informer who was responsible for a string of failed escape is not a bad plot and more screen time should have been devoted to this.
As for comic bits, I wish they had some. Strauss and Lembeck were not funny, for me a significant improvement would be made if they were just eliminated from the movie.
Totally agree. I found myself fast-forwarding any scenes involving these two lame Laurel and Hardy morons.
shareWhere else could Septon have cooked his egg? You are correct that he was an extremely unlikable person who obviously had been carrying a chip on his shoulder long before he was ever in the military. His treatment of Lt. Dunbar confirms this. There is also no love lost between him and the others from the beginning of the picture. Ironically their dislike for Septon is probably based upon envy of the luxuries he enjoys in the camp, just as his envy of the wealthy at home is shown in his dislike for Dunbar. Holden is a great actor though and you can see the human emotion come through the cynicism when he speaks of Manfredi and Johnson being killed. He does care about the others, but isn't averse to making a buck off of them either. He's just human like all of us with good and bad living side by side inside of him.
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