☆ ☆ ☆ ½
A
Foreign Affair (1948) – B. Wilder
Films shot in Berlin immediately after
the war have a surreal quality granted by all of the rubble and burned out
buildings (akin to seeing footage of Hiroshima after the war). Billy Wilder’s film takes place just in this
setting, focused on American troops letting loose and the Congressional
Subcommittee sent to investigate. But
Jean Arthur, the straitlaced congresswoman from Iowa gets more than she
bargained for when she tries to expose Marlene Dietrich as a former Nazi now
protected by an illicit romance with a US officer. Of course, she falls in love with said
officer (smooth John Lund) and this is the basis for comedy and some light
political points by Wilder. The film holds together very well (hardly “dated”
at all, if you can say that about a 65 year old film) and there are some songs
from Marlene. Wilder is more wicked in
other films but (with Charles Brackett) he does slyly cross the line a few
times here (with Millard Mitchell as his knowing mouthpiece).
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