Margin for Error (1943)

Here, Nazi silliness makes "Hogan's Heroes" look serious. Two Jewish cops (Milton Berle and Joe Kirk) are assigned to the German Embassy in New York, an assignment I wouldn't wish on a Communist. The head of the embassy is the very imperious, very rigid Otto Preminger who verbally assaults Berle the moment he makes his introduction. Calling him pretty much everything but his last name, he even questions him on his European heritage, giving the hint that he's going to place Berle's remaining relatives in a concentration camp. When Berle meets Preminger's lovely American born wife (Joan Bennett), he learns that this fate has already befell her father thanks to Preminger. Berle finds it difficult to become friendly with the staff until compliments towards a mostly German speaking maid (Poldi Dur) break through her seemingly cold demeanor towards him, showing that underneath the fear of showing one's own identity past Nazi ambitions dominated those forced to work for people they most likely secretly despised.Of course, it's only a matter of time before one of the Nazi's is killed, possibly by one of the people seemingly closest to them. Berle must put the pieces together to expose the killer, no matter how well deserved the murder was. The film is told in flashback aboard a navy ship where Berle explains how he met German Baron Carl Esmond, accused by Preminger of being part Jewish and threatened with entertainment in a concentration camp. Probably timely in 1943, it seems much dated now, even if the propaganda factor is of interest historically. Berle doesn't seem much "the cop type", and Bennett is pretty much wasted, even in a top-billed assignment. Preminger overacts with such obvious hatred towards the politics of the Nazi's. In fact, his performance seems to have influenced actor Leon Askin who played the German General on "Hogan's Heroes".It's hard to either like or dislike this film, because it is clear that its motivations were to show that Nazi influence was felt locally. The Manhattan community of Yorkville (the location of Gracie Mansion) is mentioned as being particularly known as an area where members of the Nazi party living abroad lived. In a documentary on the movie "All Through the Night", this is also mentioned, and it is clear that several of the scenes in that film (dealing with a Nazi spy ring) in New York take place there as well. So I have to call this anti-Nazi comedy (one of many) historically important rather than an entertainment because it gives the message that "Be quiet. The enemy might be listening", a warning that still exists today.

It's just a joy to see Moe Finkelstein,a modest cop ,give lessons in democracy to a consul (the director/actor) and to a German of high birth,a baron !It was a propaganda movie ,but it did not repeat parrot(!) fashion Preminger's peers ' errors (!).Actually the purpose of the movie was to denounce Nazis and it pulls it off with gusto ,thanks to Milton Berle's naive but effective common sense .He probably never read "Tristan Und Isolde" but he knows that his country is the country where you enjoy freedom of expression.The movie cannot be ranked among Preminger's finest works,by a long shot ,but its construction (a long flashback) is a good way to show that all the Germans are not evil when the cop (now a soldier)stands up for his noble friend .There's also a murder mystery a la Agatha Christie a bit far fetched but rather smart. Fine acting,particularly by Joan Benett and Milton Berle.Preminger's character is a bit caricatured.

I saw this odd "comedy" in the early 1970s when I was at college. It is not a great comedy - barely a passingly good comedy. But it has a situation in it that is still somewhat relevant, even if the characters have changed.The issue is: if you know a foreign government is evil and hates your country, your country's governmental philosophy, and most of the people in your country, how can you formally protect its representatives when they are under diplomatic title?Claire Booth Luce wrote one of the best comedies of the 1930s, "The Women", which was turned into a memorable film comedy with Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine, Paulette Goddard, and Mary Boland. As the film's advertisements said, "It is "The Women", and it's all about Men!!!", as the film is about the way women manipulate and fight over men. Despite some dating due to social changes (the social set is centered on the "gold coast" of Long Island) it still can be revived on stage - and has been in the last three years successfully.Not so with "Margin For Error". Ms Luce, like her husband Henry (the publisher of "Time" and "Newseek" and "Life Magazine"), was a mixture of good and bad ideas. The bad ones included a snobby anti-Semitism that arose from time to time. Alexander King once pointed out that every time TIME mentioned Leo Trotsky, Luce would have "(nee Bronstein)" after Trotsky's name. But Luce and his wife were aware of the real threat of Hitler's type of anti-Semitism. They were therefore aware that while they disdained social contact with Jews (and definitely disliked left wing Jews) they would not plan to kill every Jew. It never crossed their minds, of course, that the Hitler style of anti-Semitism was aided by the Luce style of it.Fiorello LaGuardia, known as New York's greatest Mayor, is recalled as our first Italian American Mayor. But his mother was of Hungarian Jewish ancestry. LaGuardia was therefore half-Jewish. He resented Hitler's anti-Semitism, and in the 1930s, while Fritz Kuhn led the American Bundists in Yorkville (in Manhattan), LaGuardia purposely put Jewish-American cops in front of the German consulate to "protect it". They did, as a matter of fact, as LaGuardia realized that the presence of the Jewish cops was a provoking insult to the Nazis.Claire Luce was aware of this, and it is the basis of "Margin For Error". The consulate of the Nazis, headed by arch Nazi Karl Baumer (Otto Preminger), is a center of spying against the U.S.A., and of third column work by Bundists. Baumer is married to Sophia (Joan Bennett) who is carrying on an affair with his secretary Baron Max von Envenstor (Carl Esmond). The Bundist leader is Otto Horst (Howard Freeman - doing a watered down version of his "Himmler" performance in "Hitler's Madman"). Baumer is not lovable at all (which explains his wife's affair). He is thoroughly involved with destroying the U.S.A. for his masters in Berlin. He is also aware that Horst (who has dreams of becoming America's "Fuhrer", like Kuhn did) has been dipping his hands into the till of the Bund. After a particularly nasty incident involving anti-Semitic comments, Baumer is sent word from City Hall that there will be a new police officer protecting the consulate. Enter Officer Moe Finklestein (Milton Berle). Baumer of course is absolutely furious at this individual being "given" to him for protection. Since Finklestein is not a German national or ally, he returns the comments that Baumer shoots at him with interest. As you can see the play has many plot lines in it - perhaps too many. The crisis comes when there is a confrontation scene involving Baumer with his wife and his Secretary, and Horst, and Finklestein within earshot. Baumer has his own agenda, including framing Finklestein in an attempt on Baumer's own life to give a reason for Germany to break off diplomatic relations. But in the course of the confrontations, which occurs during an evening where there is a power failure, Baumer is found dead in his study with knife wounds in his body. Who is responsible?While it may seem somewhat interesting the film moves too slowly. It is best served by Preminger (as several reviewers point out) who makes himself at home as the charismatic but evil diplomat. Freeman adds to it, playing Horst as an ambitious but rather fatuous type (his bund uniform looks a size too small for his plump form). Bennett has had far better roles in other films - this is not in her top 20 films. Esmond is adequate. As for Berle, he really never got into the swing of film acting until after his success as a television pioneer. He'd prefer being remembered for "It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World" and "Who's Minding The Mint" than for this film. Even his sleazy film agent in "The Oscar" was a surer performance. But then his material is not great.Yet for a minor film "Margin For Error" remains on one's mind. Whenever we have an incident where a country's diplomats (Cuban, or North Korean, or Libyan, or Iranian) have insulted our population or segments of it, and then insisted on protection for the same diplomats in their work, we have to grit our teeth and do it. We are not handing Nazi German diplomats anymore, but the central issue at the heart of the plot remains with us to annoy us.

I saw this film last night at the NFT.Unfortunately my hopes were not realised.It could not decide whether it was a comedy,drama or war film.Otto Preminger,doing his usual nasty Nazi was the only good thing in the film.When he disappeared the whole film went down the plughole.Milton Berle is unknown in the UK.I have seen some of his film performances which tend to be rather over the top.In this film he is rather restrained,more is the pity.Even he could not draw humour out of what should have been a promising situation.Apparently Otto was so keen for this film to succeed he spent his own money on rewrites.This begs the question just how bad the film was before the script alterations.All i can say is,Otto you should have saved your money.