A Foreign Affair
1948 Comedy / Drama / Romance
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Credits
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Summary
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...
Review
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 Write a review for this film... For World Cinema on DVD... 
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