Synopsis
In occupied Berlin, a US Army Captain is torn between an ex-Nazi cafe singer and the US Congresswoman investigating her.
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Cast
- Jean ArthurCongresswoman Phoebe Frost
- Marlene DietrichErika Von Schlüetow
- John LundCaptain John Pringle
- Millard MitchellCol. Rufus J. Plummer
- Peter von ZerneckHans Otto Birgel
- Stanley PragerMike
- William MurphyJoe
- Gordon JonesMilitary Police
- Freddie SteeleMilitary Police
- Raymond BondPennecot
Recommendations
- 88
Chicago Tribune
That great ex-Berliner Wilder's cynical, darkly funny look at postwar Berlin--a hive of bombed-out buildings, desperate citizens and black-market morality, run by the U.S. military with a slightly blind eye. [02 Jun 2006, p.C4] - 80
The New York Times
A dandy entertainment which has some shrewd and realistic things to say. - 75
Chicago Reader
Wilder's strategy is to play a bubbly romantic comedy in a mise-en-scene of destruction and despair. As usual, it's more clever than meaningful, but this 1948 film is one of his most satisfactory in wit and pace. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
This is Wilder at his most acerbic and cynical, and the film was originally attacked by critics who considered it a monument to tastelessness. But the hypnotic performance he draws from sultry Dietrich shows his continuing mastery of the medium. - 70
Time Out
This may not be Wilder at his best - the story develops along fairly predictable lines, with Arthur switching her starchy uniform for a glistening evening gown - but there are some precious set pieces, notably a seduction among a row of filing cabinets and Dietrich's club act, not to mention a crackling script. - 70
Variety
While subject is handled for comedy, Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder have managed to underlay the fun with an expose of human frailties and, to some extent, indicate a passive bitterness among the conquered in the occupied areas. - 60
The New Yorker
Often seems on the verge of being funny, but the humor is too clumsily forced.
