Stalag 17 - Characters & Cast

Survival and self-interest. He wants to endure the war with maximum comfort and minimum risk, though he ultimately acts to clear his name and exact justice.

Starts as a selfish profiteer indifferent to the war effort. After being wrongly accused and beaten, he shifts from passive observer to active investigator. He redeems himself not by changing his nature, but by using his cunning to save the day, maintaining his cynical edge to the very end.

Loyalty to Nazi Germany. He is a spy planted to gather intelligence and thwart escape attempts.

Appear as a model soldier and security chief, trusted by everyone. His arc is a static facade of patriotism that crumbles only in the final moments when Sefton exposes his true identity as a German agent.

Maintaining order and preventing escapes to further his own military career and ego.

A static antagonist who rules the camp with a mix of bureaucratic cruelty and aristocratic arrogance. He views the prisoners as children to be managed or eliminated.

To distract himself and others from the grim reality of their captivity.

Provides the emotional and comedic release for the barracks. His obsession with Betty Grable and his clownish behavior mask the deep despair and sexual frustration of imprisonment.