Categories: AllCinemaLeicaQuotes

Leica Sighting | Stalag 17

The scene in Billy Wilder’s Stalag 17 when the fellow prisoners of Barracks Four open up Sefton’s foot locker. Among the goodies are a couple of Leica III’s (with collapsible Elmars) mounted on the inside of the box’s lid.

Identification of the bodies and lenses comes from the invaluable geek resource, Andrew Nemeth’s Leica FAQ

Sefton's foot locker with Leica IIIs from Billy Wilder's Stalag 17, 1953

People copy, people steal. Most of the pictures they make nowadays are loaded down with special effects. I couldn’t do that. I quit smoking because I couldn’t reload my Zippo.

-Billy Wilder

doug