A Foreign Affair

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Rare T This is so many genres and elements infused into one. Even the predictability shown by some parts of the plot is surpassed by the ingenuity and inventiveness of the Billy Wilder classic. The plot is as dense in its intertwined events as the whole movie is in its interwoven elements: the setting, the performances, the suspense, the humor, the romance, the action, the drama… All of them render A Foreign Affair congenial. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/29/24 Full Review Steve D Interesting and well acted but doesn't leave enough of an impact. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/06/23 Full Review Matthew D Marlene Dietrich plays a seductive Nazi opposite Jean Arthur's persnickety congresswoman. Director Billy Wilder's romantic comedy-drama A Foreign Affair (1948) is a fascinating post-war thinkpiece as well as a cute romance movie. Wilder's direction is swift and thoughtful with cute flirting and reflective writing about Germany after World War II. Wilder's direction ensures A Foreign Affair looks like a fiercely dark and brooding film noir with a decaying, destroyed Berlin in the backdrop. Cinematographer Charles Lang uses darkness and shadows to cascade Berlin in a grim sorrow and inescapable desolation. Wilder is having fun with his characters maneuvering between silly investigations into a captain's cover-up of a Nazi affiliate, while also portraying soldiers as mad for German women. I found Wilder's direction sympathetic towards the tired and horny soldiers in postwar Berlin after marching and fighting for years with no hope. Writers Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett, and Richard L. Breen alongside David Shaw and Robert Harari poke fun at fastidious Republican women with their supposed moral superiority, Nazis hiding out in postwar Berlin, desperate Germans bartering for foreign goods, and lonely American soldiers fraternizing with desperate German women trying to survive. It's quite clever about questionable morals. Jean Arthur is hilarious as the ultra fastidious and embarrassingly conservative Iowa Congresswoman Phoebe Frost. Arthur is a riot trying to pretend to be loose, when her character is super straight laced and meticulous by nature. It's cute watching her attempt to flirt or be afraid of his advances in the silliest way possible. She has real chemistry with John Lund's crooked Captain John Pringle. He can be charming and flirtatious, but his best moments were actually defending the lonely soldiers, frustrated and exhausted after WWII, now seeking companionship in German women. He humanizes the sleazy soldiers going around after the local Berlin ladies enough to make the film seem lighthearted, but earnest in its sympathies. Marlene Dietrich is gorgeous and alluring as the German singer Erika von Schlütow. I found her subtle expressions of jealousy or intelligence to be impressive. Dietrich demonstrates how a German Nazi woman could seduce her way through gullible and desperate American officers for favors. She makes an effort to be as evil and manipulative as possible to entertain audiences, but also shows sympathy for the plight of women with no options anymore. Her sultry jazz club singing is enticing and playful. She's a delightful third wheel in the love triangle and a fine femme fatale villainess in A Foreign Affair. Millard Mitchell is hysterical as the blunt Colonel Rufus J. Plummer. His jaded and dispassionate tours through the haunting ruins of Berlin are a scream. I found his blatant defense of soldiers' pursuit of German ladies to be both touching and funny. His shrewd intellect and thoughtful responses to any questions made him one of A Foreign Affair's best characters. Peter von Zerneck cameos as the wicked Nazi remnant Hans Otto Birgel with cruel intentions in his eyes during his lone appearance. Stanley Prager's Mike and William Murphy's Joe are humorous side soldier characters. Composer Friedrich Hollaender cameos as Marlene's pianist at the Lorelei night club. Editor Doane Harrison deftly juxtaposes the strict military protocol with the fast and loose bribing of eager soldiers trying to impress German women. Art direction from Hans Dreier and Walter H. Tyler makes up grim rooms to match the real ruins of Berlin in the background. Their emphasis on the ruined bricks and dark shadows everywhere enshrouds Berlin in bleak darkness. Sam Comer and Ross Dowd's set decoration put old props and postwar era furniture everywhere for realism. Composer Friedrich Hollaender made really fun and metaphorical songs to represent what was happening in Berlin for his music. His songs for Marlene play into her temping persona and the German women wanting fine things from men in the lyrics. Sound designers Walter Oberst and Hugo Grenzbach let the rubble crunch underfoot and Marlene's pretty vocals ring out clearly even above noisy crowds. Costume designer Edith Head gives Jean Arthur humble and conservative suits to her repressed congresswoman. I adore Head's lavish evening gowns for Marlene Dietrich with a glamour all in Marlene's high fashion chic style. Wally Westmore's makeup also makes Jean Arthur look natural and ordinary, while Marlene glows with a lush blush and piercing lipstick. Marlene's fancy hair and slick eyeliner is neat too. In all, A Foreign Affair is an entertaining 116 minutes of old Berlin and hard choices by soldiers and locals alike. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/05/23 Full Review Mark A Billy Wilder directing Marlene Dietrich. It should have been better. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/20/22 Full Review william d Ostensibly a romantic comedy, the film works better as a slice-of-life look at Berlin in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Arthur and Dietrich are their usual wonderful selves, but I felt John Lund lacked the acting chops and charisma needed for his role. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member The best comedy movie ever made! Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Read all reviews

A Foreign Affair

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