A Foreign Affair (1948) - film review

After WWII, an American government committee arrives in Berlin to carry out an investigation into the morale of US troops.  Congresswoman Phoebe Frost is appalled to see American soldiers fraternising with German women, and one woman in particular – nightclub singer Erika Von Schluetow.  The latter is known to have had close associations with high-ranking Nazi officials and so Miss Frost enlists the help of GI John Pringle to establish why she hasn’t been indicted, not knowing that Pringle is the man who is protecting her...

Directed by one of Hollywood’s greatest talents, Billy Wilder, and starring international glamour icon Marlene Dietrich, A Foreign Affair is a film with an immense appeal for any film enthusiast even though it has languished in comparative obscurity for many years.  Whilst it may lack the faultless brilliance of some of Wilder’s later films, this carefully crafted melange of military satire, screwball comedy and melodrama has enormous entertainment value, offering not just moments of laugh-out loud hilarity and real poignancy, but also an educative pictoral record of a wrecked Germany in the immediate aftermath of World War II.  When the film was first released, its far from flattering portrayal of US troops was ill-received in America, and this could explain why it has not achieved the high regard of many of Billy Wilder’s other films (many of which also poke fun at American attitudes and institutions).

Marlene Dietrich may be the film’s star attraction – and she is certainly at her seductive best, draped in eye-catching gowns that most women (and some men) would die for – but Jean Arthur gives the best performance as the appropriately named Miss Frost, a prim congresswoman who has a bittersweet taste of love in the ruins of Berlin.  Dietrich may not be able to compete with Arthur at an emotional and comedic level but she still manages to delight and enchant her audience with her shamelessly sensual rendition of some memorable musical numbers.  It would be ten years before the magnificent Marlene would appear in her next Billy Wilder film, Witness for the Prosecution (1957), in one of her last great film roles.

© James Travers 2008

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