A Foreign Affair (1948)

This is not Billy Wilder's best film, and it occurs between greater classics like The Lost Weekend and Sunset Boulevard. At times, it seems as if the writer-director is going through the motions here, with another one of those ideas that work more like an extended gag (a two-minute joke stretched out to feature film length). But there are some silly moments in A Foreign Affair, and that makes it worth seeing. The humor resonates well.Also, the picture is fascinating to watch because of its two very different lead actresses. Perhaps no other film has such a unique mishmash of performance styles. As she exhibits in so many of her pictures, Jean Arthur has an unnatural way of delivering a natural performance. Then, there's Marlene Dietrich (and volumes have been written about her). Dietrich has a natural way of delivering a very unnatural performance.

Shot amidst the bombed out ruins of postwar Berlin, Billy Wilder's "A Foreign Affair" positions us to sympathise with Erika Von Schluetow (Marlene Dietrich), a German glamour queen who may or may not have once worked with the German War Office. As the US military begins its occupation of Germany, Erika works nights at a local club, where she sings sad songs of regret. The patrons love her, but a US congresswoman, played by Jean Arthur, wants her apprehended.Wilder's film functions as both a hymn to the fallen and a demand that the Axis and Allies stop slandering one another and fess up to the suffering each has wrought. It's not one of Wilder's masterpieces, but his trademark cynicism shines through all the same.Dietrich - who hated Wilder's script and took the part only to pay her bills - is excellent as Erika. Her character's a poor gal struggling to get by, latching onto whatever occupier dares claim her body as post-war bounty. Jean Arthur's her nemesis, a stickler for rules and regulations who balks at post war, trans-Atlantic love affairs, be they literal or political. 7.5/10 – Once daring, now dated. Worth one viewing.

Director Billy Wilder also co-wrote this post-WWII comedy (along with producer Charles Brackett) involving a prim, humorless Congresswoman policing American troops stationed in Occupied Berlin, finding little but celebrations and skirt-chasing from the randy soldiers. Predictably, she finds her no-nonsense nature stirred up by an army captain, though he's currently sweet on a German chanteuse. A strictly lackluster affair; Wilder means for it to be goosey and 'grown up', yet the silliness of both the conception and the uninteresting characters defeats the players. Plodding John Lund would hardly seem to rate the pounding pulses he achieves here, and Jean Arthur's spinsterish Phoebe Frost (ha ha) is an unattractive role for the actress. Only Marlene Dietrich emerges unscathed, though her song selections are poor. ** from ****

The women steal the honours in this film about a soldier John Pringle (John Lund)who has a lover Erika (Marlene Dietrich) in Germany but falls for a Congresswoman Phoebe (Jean Arthur) who is on a 5-day stay in Berlin investigating morale and morals within the US army. Jean Arthur is funny, determined and innocent while Dietrich is sexy, stylish, streetwise and playfully wicked. The story has humour and sadness and it ends well for all parties, but it is the acting of the 2 lead women that makes the film worth seeing.As usual, Dietrich sings some rubbish songs but it doesn't get in the way of the film and she wears nice sparkly outfits which takes the attention away from the music. My favourite scene is when Dietrich and Arthur are in a club that gets raided and Dietrich points out a few home truths. Jean Arthur makes you feel genuinely sorry for her and it's a good contrast to the humour which has gone beforehand. There is also a story about a jealous Nazi who is coming to dish out some revenge to John but this thread is only picked up in the latter stages of the film. It's quite a long film but it's enjoyable enough to watch again.