William Holden & Stellar Cast in Billy Wilder’s ‘Stalag 17’

William Holden sees the light in Billy Wilder's "Stalag 17" from 1953.

I avoided Stalag 17, despite my admiration for Billy Wilder and William Holden, because I grew up subjected to Hogan’s Heroes reruns, and thought they were basically the same story. I’m amazed that sitcom still has admirers, because even as a little kid, I realized that the show was incredibly sanitized, silly, and worst of all, unfunny. The creator of Hogan’s Heroes claimed there was no deliberate imitation of Stalag 17 from the show. Despite the fact both stories featured a smart aleck American soldier, a dopey German sergeant, and a preening German colonel, with the wiley American POWs always outwitting the inept Nazi captors. Yet, they are different—in terms of quality and depth.

I added Stalag 17 to my list of 2025 classic films to watch that I had never previously seen. And unlike Hogan’s Heroes, I was wowed by these POWs!

"Stalag 17" came out a dozen years before "Hogan's Heroes" aired, but was still more
 gritty and satiric, thanks to Billy Wilder.

Since Billy Wilder directed Stalag 17, it’s no surprise that the story is not watered down. The POW camp comedy-drama is still gritty. Billy Wilder's take on war and its spoils may seem cynical to some, I find Wilder’s outlook realistic. He covered similar themes in 1948’s A Foreign Affair, with John Lund as the soldier/black market profiteer. Stalag 17 is a microcosm of life during wartime.

Considering Stalag 17 is mostly stage bound in a prison barracks, the film is stylishly told. In a nutshell, there’s a rat in the ranks of Stalag 17. Most of his fellow prisoners think it is William Holden’s opportunist. While that plot expertly unfolds, this stage play is perfect for the intimacy of film to focus on the characters, as this is truly a character piece. The way of photographing them interacting or having a solo moment is done imaginatively, so it’s not stagey. The guys get outside enough in the drab prison yard, which it breaks the monotony and brings some drab atmosphere.

Amidst the satire & antics, scenes like this show the grim reality of "Stalag 17."

Stalag 17 boasts a large and diverse ensemble cast. There’s hardly a dud in the bunch. They look realistically lean, scruffy, and dirty. They are quite a mix of personalities and they play their archetypes admirably and entertainingly. Holden’s the star, but Wilder doesn’t make it a star vehicle, he’s part of an ensemble, and Bill leads admirably.

William Holden's willing to barter as the barracks profiteer, in 1953's "Stalag 17."

Wilder's subversive subtext is there in Stalag 17, with the men’s interaction with the Germans and each other. The two groups are always trying to outfox each other. Of course, the Germans are the captors so they have the ball. But the POWs got game.

Did William Holden rightly win the Best Actor Oscar that year? Cast as the lead in an ensemble piece is tricky. Pundits will question whether a star won on their own steam or were they bolstered by the great cast. Bill was on a roll after Sunset Blvd., so it was a popular win and a career Oscar, as well.

William Holden is suspected of being the barracks rat in 1953's "Stalag 17."

William Holden as J.J. Sefton is cynical, Wilder-style. Bill’s Sefton makes the most of his enforced stay at Stalag 17. He’s genial when mixing it up and doing business with the guys, but tough and cynical when it comes to realities of camp life. Holden probably brought some of his ambivalent feelings about studio era stardom to his character’s using his charm to succeed in a corrupt environment.

William Holden won an Oscar as prisoner/profiteer J.J. Sefton in 1953's "Stalag 17."

Even William Holden felt the lead character as the cynical barracks profiteer was a bit too unlikable—and Bill had fought to get away from a decade’s worth of “Smiling Jim” roles in the ‘40s. Wilder got his way, though there is a nudge at the end, when the nice Bill Holden comes out—as he's escaping the barracks!

Otto Preminger’s cool charm is extra sinister for Colonel von Scherbach. Sig Ruman is the clownish Sgt. Schulz, which Hogan’s Heroes later borrowed. Both characters are comic villains, which allow Wilder to satirize them even more.

Otto Preminger, as the charming/creepy Colonel in 1953's "Stalag 17."

Robert Strauss is comic relief, “The Animal,” somewhat like John Belushi in Animal House. And Strauss also seems to have been an inspiration to Brad Garrett’s persona, who came to fame as Robert on Everyone Loves Raymond. Strauss’ “Animal” and partner in crime, Shapiro, are a bit much at times, but Wilder knew the grim premise needed some broad comic relief. Harvey Lembeck, an expert comic actor, is Harry Shapiro, the wise guy/straight guy for “The Animal.”

Robert Strauss goes big as "The Animal" in 1953's "Stalag 17." After one scene with Strauss, I realized where Brad "Everyone Loves Raymond" Garrett got his shtick!

Neville Brand is baby-faced here as sullen Duke, the barracks bellyacher. He’s too good, I wanted Holden’s Sefton to belt him one! Jay Lawrence as Bagradian, one of the new prisoners, was a captivating personality, full of imitations. And why not, he was the brother of F Troop’s live-wire, Larry Storch. Gil Stratton is “Cookie” Cook, who narrates and is Sefton’s wingman. He offers everyman likeability and insight to J.J. Sefton’s personality. Robinson Stone is silently awesome as Joey, the traumatized soldier.

Jay Lawrence (center) is a live wire as the new POW in "Stalag 17."

Robert Shawley is adorable as “Blondie” Peterson and William Pierson very amusing as Marko the Mailman—my gaydar went off for both! Shawley has hardly has any lines, but is right in the mix, and is quite natural. Oddly, his subsequent career went nowhere. And Pierson, with his nasal rat a tat delivery of the barrack’s announcements is quite hilarious.

Robert Shawley as "Blondie" Peterson, "Stalag 17's" platinum twink!

Remember David Bowie as a WWII POW
in "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence?"

On the downside, there’s two rather dud performances, but they’re not bad enough to hurt Stalag 17. Peter Graves is Frank Price, who’s in charge of barracks security. Graves is decent but not especially dynamic, which is why he never became a top star in movies or television. He was one of those actors, like Robert Stack, who acted with his voice, like a radio announcer. Don Taylor, dull as always, is Dunbar, one of the latest captives. You may remember him as the groom in the original Father of the Bride.

Peter Graves as barracks security, barely gets by in 1953's "Stalag 17."

Stalag 17 is a solid two hours, but moves at a good pace, especially impressive since it’s a filmed play, with most of the action taking place inside the barracks. Billy Wilder’s way with actors, expert storytelling, and willingness to push the envelope, all play to Stalag 17’s advantage.

I don’t like the war movie genre and yet I was mesmerized the entire time by Stalag 17. And I’m pleased to add this film classic to my classic film blog. And if you like my blog, click Follow for free! https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/

See the link below for an excellent copy
of 1953's "Stalag 17."

Here is an excellent, free copy of Stalag 17 to watch on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njcqwleu9kc

My look at William Holden’s breakout year as an actor here: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2022/04/william-holdens-golden-year-1950.html

Look who came to visit "Stalag 17," all the way from "Sunset Blvd.!" Norma Desmond herself, i.e. Miss Gloria Swanson. Maybe she wanted to see if Otto Preminger was interested in being her new butler!

Billy Wilder’s Adult ‘A Foreign Affair’ 1948

 

Jean Arthur & Marlene Dietrich square off in Billy Wilder's post-war comedy-drama,
 1948's "A Foreign Affair."

Even for Billy Wilder, setting an adult comedy-drama like A Foreign Affair in the ruins of post-WWII Germany was pushing the envelope. Wilder shot most of the footage for this film in Berlin, a city in ruins, making it a most bleak backdrop. Billy's forte for balancing acerbic comedy mixed with adult drama miraculously works. Wilder’s humanity is clear beneath the surface cynicism over the spoils of post-war life. A Foreign Affair is a nearly flawless satiric comedy, unless you’re expecting the slapstick of Howard Hawks’ I Was a Male War Bride.

Love this foreign poster for Billy Wilder's 1948 "A Foreign Affair."

Wilder’s critics mistake his cynical attitude as uncaring. Billy may be a curmudgeon, but he does cares—very much so. Billy Wilder who served the US as a film maker during WWII, wanted to show what war had wrought.

Jean Arthur as Congresswoman Phoebe Frost, checking on the morale--and morals!--
of American soldiers in post-war Berlin, in Billy Wilder's "A Foreign Affair."

Jean Arthur plays the lone female member of a congressional committee sent to Berlin to check on the morale of U.S. soldiers. She soon finds it’s their morals that need to be held in check! John Lund’s Army captain plays both sides to the middle, getting his job done, while bending the rules to enjoy the spoils. One of these is Marlene Dietrich’s German nightclub singer, whom Lund lavishes with black market gifts for her favors. All three disparate characters undergo a change of heart and attitude during A Foreign Affair.

Could be just the timing, but Jean Arthur's body language looks less at ease than
Marlene Dietrich's, on the set of Billy Wilder's "A Foreign Affair."

It’s commendable that Billy Wilder cast two actresses he admired, despite even by the late 1940s, with divas in their late ‘40s, was more than a bit unusual. Leading man John Lund was a decade younger than both—usually such casting was the other way around!

Marlene Dietrich gets to use her seldom utilized flair for sardonic comedy as the cynical chanteuse Erika, whose side she is on is whoever’s in power. She is warm, sexy, complicated, pragmatic, and worldly. Marlene gets to warble three numbers by Friedrich Hollaender, which underline the action. “Black Market,” in particular, gives movie audiences a chance to observe Dietrich’s interpretation of a song that would make her a concert legend.

Billy Wilder watches as Marlene Dietrich's about to sing a number in "A Foreign Affair."

Jean Arthur makes her comedic last hurrah as the mid-west politician there to inspect morale. However, she gets caught up in some questionable morals herself! As Iowa-proud Phoebe Frost, Jean Arthur goes from comic perfectionist to a romantic whose steel trap mind slowly opens up for love. I’m not a die-hard fan of Jean Arthur’s eccentric persona by any means, but she was aces as a comedic actress who could segue into drama with ease.

Nothing escapes Jean Arthur's congresswoman, except that she's about to fall in love,
in 1948's "A Foreign Affair."

John Lund, as Captain John Pringle, was considered the weak link of A Foreign Affair’s romantic triangle. Paramount was then trying to give Lund the buildup, but it’s too bad Wilder hadn’t discovered William Holden yet, also a Paramount star. Also, Tyrone Power could have been quite good, as Ty and Marlene proved a decade later in Witness for the Prosecution. Wilder liked John Lund a great deal, thought while he was a solid actor, but correctly felt that Lund didn't have the star quality to hold up his end with these two dynamic divas. Especially since post-war, films were back to the male star dominating the show.

Marlene Dietrich & John Lund pose for publicity photos, in 1948's "A Foreign Affair."

Wilder was disappointed by the reception that A Foreign Affair received, but it got mostly good reviews, and it was a moderate box office hit, making around $150 million in today’s dollars. There are some biting lines by screenwriters Wilder and Charles Brackett about the spoils of war that still sting today. A Foreign Affair is intelligent, adult, with some memorable set pieces. 

Billy Wilder found Marlene Dietrich easy to get along with...
Jean Arthur, not so much! On the set of "A Foreign Affair."

Though two actresses couldn’t be more opposite, Jean Arthur and Marlene Dietrich shared some interesting similarities in their later careers, despite their essential differences.

Jean was a year older than Marlene. Arthur was born in October, 1900 and Dietrich was born in late December, 1901. While Marlene Dietrich moved heaven and earth to look eternally young her entire career, Arthur actually looked youthful her entire public life. Now, while Jean fretted about how she was photographed (Wilder was one of several who cited this) and she probably used wigs, tapes, and makeup tricks as well, Arthur always looked like “herself.” Whereas as time went by, Marlene's face looked like a glamorous mask of her former self, much like the latter day Cher. Off-camera photos of older Arthur shows some lines, but essentially looking like herself, much like Doris Day when she retired. Coincidentally, they both retired to Carmel—a showbiz Shangri-la? 

Jean Arthur looked amazing at 66 in her short-lived 1966 sitcom.

Arthur's insecurities resulted in her only acting intermittently from the mid-1940s on. Sadly, Jean dropped out of two stage classics, Born Yesterday and Peter Pan (though she did perform the latter briefly.) Typically, most film stars’ final movies or roles are reduced, yet Arthur had the biggest hit in her film finale, 1953’s Shane. Thereafter, she only acted before the camera on two TV shows, Gunsmoke, and The Jean Arthur Show, cancelled after 12 episodes. And Jean looked amazing at 66!

Marlene Dietrich segued from movie star to sequined concert star. Here she is,
at nearly 75, before a fall ended her performing career.

Marlene Dietrich's films became more infrequent after the war years, as well. However, there were some diamonds amongst the dross: Hitchcock’s Stage Fright, Wilder’s Witness for the Prosecution, and Stanley Kramer’s Judgment at Nuremberg. Along the way, Dietrich became a concert performer, giving her a whole new career. Marlene performed until 1975, when a final fall caused her to break a hip. 

Jean Arthur at 75, with Melvyn Douglas, on stage in "First Monday in October."

Both Jean and Marlene essentially retired after 1975. Arthur performed a handful of stage performances with Melvyn Douglas in First Monday in October. Marlene only made two more films after the '75 fall: a cameo in 1979's Just a Gigolo and then audio recordings by director Maximilian Schell for the 1984 documentary, Marlene. 

Marlene Dietrich, giving pesky paparazzi hell, in the early '70. Go, Marlene!

Though Marlene Dietrich enjoyed public life, Jean Arthur didn't. Yet both became reclusive the last years of their lives. When Marlene died, there was a huge funeral, attended by thousands of people in Germany. With Jean, at her request, there was no funeral. Jean Arthur died in 1991 at age 90. A year later, Marlene Dietrich died at the same age.

A Foreign Affair is an adult take on a movie love story, mixing clever comedy with heartfelt romance, with a smart view on life after war.

Here’s my take on Jean Arthur’s last film, the western classic Shane:

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2018/04/shane-1953.html

Here’s my look at one of Marlene Dietrich’s final films, Billy Wilder’s all-star courtroom mystery, Witness for the Prosecution:

https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2020/11/witness-for-prosecution-1957.html

 

The cinematic triangle of Billy Wilder's "A Foreign Affair": Marlene Dietrich,
John Lund, & Jean Arthur.

 

 

‘Witness for the Prosecution’ 1957

 

Marlene Dietrich & Charles Laughton, fascinating adversaries in "Witness for the Prosecution."

Witness for the Prosecution is the combined talents of two razor sharp artistic minds, Agatha Christie and Billy Wilder. Based on the play from mystery queen Christie’s short story, director/screenwriter Wilder expands on the premise in this terrifically told adaptation. Agatha is aces with her ingenious premise and Billy brings his smart dialogue and telling character detail here. Both are great storytellers and this ’57 version of Witness is still the best of the bunch.

Love how the ads hyped up thrills for what was a smart courtroom drama.

This Witness is an addictively watchable courtroom drama about a shady charmer on trial for murder, with an older wife who may or may not be on his side. More important than the mystery itself—who is most wily, the legendary lawyer with a bad heart, or the suspect’s wife, who seems to have no heart?

Elsa Lanchester & Charles Laughton make a great team as the bickering nurse and barrister. Elsa's character was a Wilder addition to "Witness."

Charles Laughton is great fun to watch as Sir Wilfred, Witness’ irascible lawyer. Wilfred, recovering from a heart attack, is saddled with an officious nurse, Miss Plimsoll, cheerfully played by Elsa Lanchester. Mr. and Mrs. Laughton’s bickering banter offers great comic relief in this courtroom drama. Wilder cited Laughton as his favorite actor to work with, marveling at his inventiveness for characterization. I’d say they were perfect for each other, as Wilder was great at bringing out the best in actors, and Laughton benefitted from directorial restraint. Laughton is most believable as a lawyer possibly facing his last hurrah. Only 58 at the time, he looks very frail and older, much like Spencer Tracy did in his last decade or two. In fact, Charles died five years after this film was released. Laughton gives it his all here and is funny and ferocious.

Marlene Dietrich as the mystery woman, in an Edith Head suit reminiscent
of the designs she created for Alfred Hitchcock's blondes.

The other outstanding performance, surprisingly, is from Marlene Dietrich. Considered a great persona rather than a great actress, Marlene’s cool demeanor is perfect as the seemingly cold-hearted wife. Dietrich and Laughton make a great pair, polar opposites in acting styles, and at odds as characters. As Christine Vole, the wife of the accused, Marlene is the master of restraint. In her “big” moments, Dietrich rises to the occasion. Marlene’s Christine is a character whose motivations are peeled back throughout the film and give Dietrich great opportunities as an actress. Dietrich is deliberately deadpan and snarky in her first scenes, then has some bittersweet moments in a flashback, as Christine’s frosty demeanor begins to thaw for future husband, Leonard. As the story unfolds, Christine is anything but the aloof wife. The plot twists in the last act were urged to be kept secret by the filmmakers, and some felt this cost Dietrich an Oscar nomination. Realistically, I question that, as Marlene was no longer a full-time Hollywood actress, but her performance definitely rated one.

Dietrich recalls her WWII era & gender-bending fashion in a "Witness" flashback.

 My only caveat with Dietrich in Witness is her appearance. Marlene was the forerunner to today’s actresses, whose faces are pulled tighter than a drum. During filming Marlene was 56. With her wigs and skin pulls, she looked neither old nor young, but “somewhere between 40 and death,” as Mame opines of bosom buddy Vera Charles. Still, Dietrich’s far too old in the flashback scene, with her as the sex bomb performer, and Power as the “young” soldier. Watching a second time, I got past her drag queen looks in the flashback, with her measured responses to Power's character, who’s trying to win her over. Dietrich projects a quiet strength beneath the cool veneer. Edith Head, an Alfred Hitchcock favorite, designs tailored costumes for Marlene Dietrich that cause the film seem even more Hitch-like!

Marlene has some sweet moments in her flashback scene, despite wearing the most obvious wig since Barbara Stanwyck in Billy Wilder's "Double Indemnity!"

Hollywood’s fun house mirror regarding age is one of my movie pet peeves. Dietrich refers to the victim as that “old woman” even though they were nearly the same age. At 22, Ruta Lee was the other woman, paired with Power at age 43, and up against Dietrich at 56! Laughton refers to Power as “young man,” which only calls attention to Ty’s age.

Dietrich w/Tyrone Power, from a "Witness" promo shoot that looks like they're for a pulp novel cover. Marlene's "ageless"appearance seems to have inspired today's divas!

Tyrone Power, as murder suspect Leonard Vole, is supposed to be boyishly charming and handsome—also, a ne’er-do-well, which he freely admits. This is a tricky type of role to pull off and still retain audience sympathy. Power had that quality as an actor. However, Leonard, as a recent vet, should be 30-ish. Ty was 43 and frankly looked at least a decade older. This makes his character seem like a case of arrested development. Still, Power was still box office and was cast after William Holden turned the role down. Richard Burton, who was not box office at the time, but a decade younger and far more talented, would have been brilliant as the charismatic cad.

Tyrone Power's first close-up as charming young cad Leonard Vole. Ty was just 43.

Witness for the Prosecution would be Power's last completed role and he died of a massive heart attack on the set of Solomon and Sheba. It's a shock to see Power in close up the first time in Witness. Here, his once lean figure and good looks now look bloated and slightly jowly. With dark bags under his eyes and black hair slicked back, Ty looks like he's about to turn into Mr. Hyde in his more dramatic moments. Power acts the charming boy well enough, but his dissipation undercuts him. In the subtle moments, Power’s performing is quite good, such as his smarmy expression at the finale, when Leonard’s wife pleads with him not to leave her. For his big dramatic moments, Power falls short, he's just not enough of a grand performer to pull them off, and it’s just bad acting. 

Tyrone Power's attempts at bravura acting make him look like Mr. Hyde! 

Power had been a top star right out of the box for over 20 years. Ty was rather like Rock Hudson in that he was well-liked, unpretentious, and very professional. Like Hudson, Ty's great looks were off-set by a genuine warmth and low-key charm, and un-self conscious about his physical appeal. Ty and Rock yearned to stretch artistically and be more than the handsome hero. Both did stage work and also performed in passion projects that went against their image: Power in '47's Nightmare Alley and Hudson in '66's Seconds. Both were bleak films that were dumped into theaters and bombed. They are now cult classics. 

What a shame Witness for the Prosecution wasn’t filmed a decade earlier, Marlene and Power would have been perfectly cast. This would have been the era that Wilder and Dietrich teamed for A Foreign Affair and Tyrone Power was trying to broaden his range as a villain Nightmare Alley. But alas, the play version of Witness hadn’t been written yet!

What do they see that's so frightening?!

The characters, from the aging barrister and all his ailments, right down to the housekeeper and murder victim, are funny, quirky, and human. This is what makes this straight forward courtroom drama interesting. Billy Wilder marveled at Christie's model of construction, but astutely noted her writing was flat when it came to characterization. And this was one of Wilder's gifts as a screenwriter. Much of the memorable detail in Witness originated with this film adaptation.

Ruta Lee is light years away from her brassy blonde persona as the other woman.
 Love the blase look on Power's face as Leonard's wife begs him not to leave her.

A superb cast of British character actors are scene stealers here: Henry Daniell, John Williams, Ian Wolfe, Torin Thatcher, Francis Compton, Phillip Tonge, and especially cranky Una O’ Connor and droll Norma Varden as the victim, Mrs. French. The lone young star is Ruta Lee in her brunette starlet phase and she’s pretty innocuous, but figures in the finale. Witness got six Oscar nominations, four in major categories: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.

Another Best Director Oscar nomination for Billy Wilder.

Interesting that two years later, similarly Oscar-nominated Anatomy of a Murder was also based on a real life crime that centered on a duplicitous married couple with an army background. Like Anatomy, there’s not much mystery as to WHO dunnit, but there’s more here than meets the eye of barrister’s blinding monocle. Wilder’s take on Witness of the Prosecution is still the winning version.

FYI: I put my movie overflow on my public FB movie page. 

Check it out & join!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/178488909366865/

 

The makeup man got a bit carried away. Her hand looks like it belongs to the bride of Mr. Hyde!

 

Can Marilyn Monroe Cure ‘The Seven Year Itch?’ 1955

Marilyn as 'The Girl' upstairs, figuring out how to beat the NYC summer heat!

Despite the capable cast, clever dialogue, and sexy premise, a memorable Marilyn Monroe is truly the whole show in1955’s The Seven Year Itch.

George Axelrod’s Broadway smash, The Seven Year Itch, is one of film’s first "sex" comedies, directed by Billy Wilder. Itch is a light look at what was considered racy and irreverent about the sexes in the ‘50s. That’s also the problem with Itch, much like the later Pillow Talk. Both film farces are now dated and while clever, only skin deep. That makes Itch more of a curiosity today, though there are people who prefer a past sensibility. An indicator that this material hasn't stood the test of time is that nobody has done a remake of the movie or a Broadway revival of the play. The lone time it’s been done on a major stage was London in 2000, with 40-year-old Daryl Hannah as ‘The Girl’!

Evelyn Keyes as Helen, leaving hubby Richard (Tom Ewell) alone for a summer in The Big Apple.

The Seven Year Itch is set at the start of a NYC summer, when all the wives and kiddies get away to beat the heat, and the husbands stay behind to sizzle and bring home the bacon. While the mice are away, the tom cats will play, according to this movie’s satirical view. One is a scaredy cat, Richard Sherman. After this hubby sees his wife and young son off, he vows not to smoke, drink, overeat, and keep his eyes to himself. That all goes out the window when Richard meets ‘The Girl’ upstairs.

Richard toils at a paperback publishing company. His editing marks show what's on his mind!

Marilyn Monroe’s effortless breeziness as ‘The Girl’ is offset by Tom Ewell's one-note performance as Richard. The dynamic here is the same as a decade later with one of Wilder's worst comedies, Kiss Me, Stupid, with Kim Novak and Ray Walston. Marilyn was far better than Kim, as the good hearted sex object, but at least Novak tried for pathos. Ewell and Walston both played comedy sitcom-style, which is very wearing in a two hour movie. Ewell played the sexless sap later with two other Marilyn wannabes, Sheree North and Jayne Mansfield. His bug-eyed shtick gets old real fast. Ultimately, The Seven Year Itch is about MM watching and Tom Ewell overacting.

In 1955, Marilyn Monroe was all that and a bag of chips, plus a bottle of bubbly!

Marilyn looks terrific here, in her physical prime, and adorable in her Travilla summer outfits. Given that MM is playing ‘The Girl,’ who’s just the object of the married man’s fantasies, Marilyn is surprisingly warm, human, naturally funny, womanly, and sexy, in a most appealing way.

In the Broadway play, Richard & 'The Girl' hook up. On film, the romance is all in his head.

Wilder feels The Seven Year Itch copped out by not having the film duo have a fling. Well, that wouldn’t have flown in 1955. Even a decade later, in Wilder’s ’64 sex farce, Kiss Me, Stupid, censors, critics, and audiences were put off  by the hero’s wife having a one night stand. The fantasy sequences in Itch are clever, well-done, and blend in with the actual action quite well, though the film still feels stage-bound. The Seven Year Itch’s humor is passé: The Manhattan ‘Indians’ intro; the interior designer ‘roommates’ upstairs; the ‘wacky’ health food restaurant; the sex maniac males; and anatomical humor relating to ‘The Girl.’

The fantasy sequences of 'Itch' are still funny and wittily performed by MM and Ewell.

Hollywood’s age game skews things, too. The movie couple’s been married seven years. Richard says his wife Helen is 31, and that he almost 38. “The Girl” confides that she is 22. Well, when Itch was released, Evelyn Keyes was almost 40, Ewell 46, and Marilyn almost 30. While MM looks great, she looks too mature to possess a child-woman persona. Keyes and especially Ewell look a bit timeworn to be parents of a young child. Jack Lemmon and Jean Hagen might have been a more vibrant couple.

Marilyn as 'The Girl,' the morning after, in a fluffy robe and hairstyle!

The Seven Year Itch is most famous for the memorable scene of Marilyn’s white dress blown up by the air from a subway grate. Marilyn Monroe, like that billowing dress, is heavenly as she floats above the material, while the rest of the movie feels earthbound.

While 'The Seven Year Itch' is a product of its time, Marilyn Monroe will still dazzle you!

FYI: I put all the movie overflow on my public FB  movie page. 

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