A Major Career Highlight
Stalag 17 (1953)
Stalag 17 infamous Heil Hitler scene with Otto Preminger as Colonel von Scherbach
Stalag 17 infamous Heil Hitler scene with Otto Preminger as Colonel von Scherbach
Then along came Stalag 17 (1953) where Gil not only played Academy Award Winner William Holden sidekick Clarence ‘Cookie’ Cook, but in true Stratton radio voice style he provided the pivotal narration for the film. 1953 was the year that really put Gil on the map of many fans. He narrated the entire movie. The ensemble cast included
- William Holden as J.J. Sefton
- Don Taylor as Lieutenant Dunbar
- Otto Preminger as Colonel von Scherbach
- Robert Strauss as Stanislas “Animal” Kuzawa
- Harvey Lembeck as Harry Shapiro
- Peter Graves as Price
- Sig Ruman as Sergeant Johann Sebastian Schulz
- Neville Brand as Duke
- Richard Erdman as Hoffy
- Michael Moore as Manfredi
- Peter Baldwin as Johnson
- Robinson Stone as Joey
- Robert Shawley as Blondie Peterson
- William Pierson as Marko
- Gil Stratton as Clarence Harvey “Cookie” Cook (Narrator)
- Jay Lawrence as Bagradian
- Erwin Kalser as Geneva Man
- Paul Salata as Prisoner with Beard
- Edmund Trzcinski as himself (Edmund Trzcinski “Triz” “I believe it” man)
Harvey Lembeck as Harry Shapiro, Robert Strauss as Stanislas “Animal” Kuzawa, Gil and Bill Holden as J.J. Sefton in Stalag 17
Most of the ensemble cast of Stalag 17 can be seen in this shot.
Gil peaks around the corner at the original co-playwright of Stalag 17, Edmund
Stalag 17 with Peter Graves aka Sgt. Price with Bill Holden and Gil in the background.
A beat up William (Bill) Holden with Gil in the background
A candid shot off set with Sefton and Cookie hanging out.
A candid shot of the actors, Michael Moore, Bill Holden and Gil Stratton
Bill Holden contemplates who is the stoll pidgeon
Gil plays Clarence Harvey “Cookie” Cook – the sidekick to William Holden as J.J. Sefton in Stalag 17
Gil plays Clarence Harvey “Cookie” Cook – the sidekick to William Holden as J.J. Sefton in Stalag 17
Robert Strauss as Stanislas “Animal” Kuzawa accosts Gil (Cookie) in Stalag 17 as Neville Brand as Duke looks on
Gil plays Clarence Harvey “Cookie” Cook – the sidekick to William Holden as J.J. Sefton in Stalag 17 with Peter Grave at the right
Principle cast of Stalag 17 gathers round the Christmas Holiday table.
Gil plays Clarence Harvey “Cookie” Cook – the sidekick to William Holden as J.J. Sefton in Stalag 17
From Wikipedia:
Stalag 17 is a 1953 war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen held in a GermanWorld War IIprisoner of war camp, who come to suspect that one of their number is an informant. It was adapted from a Broadway play. Produced and directed by Billy Wilder, it starred William Holden, Don Taylor, Robert Strauss, Neville Brand, Harvey Lembeck, Peter Graves and Otto Preminger in the role of the camp’s commandant. Strauss and Lembeck both appeared in the original Broadway production. The film was adapted by Wilder and Edwin Blum from the Broadway play by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinski which was based on their experiences as prisoners in Stalag 17B in Austria. (Trzcinski appears in the film as a prisoner.) The play was directed by José Ferrer and was the Broadway debut of John Ericson as Sefton. First presented at the Edwin Burke Memorial Theater of The Lambs, a theatrical club, on March 11, 1951 (staged by the authors). It began its Broadway run in May 1951 and continued for 472 performances. The character Sefton was loosely based on Joe Palazzo, a flier in Trzcinski’s prisoner-of-war barracks. The script was rewritten quite a bit by Wilder and Blum and the film was shot in chronological order (not the usual practice as that method is more expensive and time-consuming). In a featurette made later, members of the cast said that they themselves did not know the identity of the informant until the last three days of shooting.
Gloria Swanson visits the set of Stalag 17 and the entire cast is charmed
Gloria Swanson visits the set of Stalag 17 and the entire cast is charmed
Gil plays Clarence Harvey “Cookie” Cook – the sidekick to William Holden as J.J. Sefton in Stalag 17 with Peter Graves at the right