Billy Wilder was a great director. He was a master of both comedy and drama. But it is easy to name at least fifteen films he directed that are better than "A Foreign Affair".
The film takes place in post-war Berlin and involves three people. Jean Arthur plays Phoebe Frost, a senator who is doggedly investigating immorality among American soldiers. John Lund plays Captain John Pringle, an American officer romantically involved with a nightclub singer. And Marlene Dietrich plays Erika Von Schluetow, the object of his attentions.
Post-war Germany was horribly scarred by bombings. German citizens endured economic hardships and living conditions that might be considered inhumane. Against this backdrop, Billy Wilder shot a story that somehow straddled the fence between comedy and tragedy, but intended to be comic. Senator Frost is a humorless Iowan, intent on ferreting out corruption. Captain Pringle, who is assigned to provide military assistance, has reasons for hiding facts from the senator. What results is one of those stories where the handsome leading man removes the woman's spectacles and finds a comely beauty hidden beneath her frosty exterior. At least that is the intent.
However, the tone of the film wavers unpredictably and the viewer is confused about the director's intentions. The ending is clear enough, but how the story gets there is murky. It may be that Mr. Wilder's personal history--as a Jew who left Berlin and emigrated west to escape a fate that other family members did not--and his closeness to the harsh realities of Germany served to interfere with the film's purely comedic objectives.
The film takes place in post-war Berlin and involves three people. Jean Arthur plays Phoebe Frost, a senator who is doggedly investigating immorality among American soldiers. John Lund plays Captain John Pringle, an American officer romantically involved with a nightclub singer. And Marlene Dietrich plays Erika Von Schluetow, the object of his attentions.
Post-war Germany was horribly scarred by bombings. German citizens endured economic hardships and living conditions that might be considered inhumane. Against this backdrop, Billy Wilder shot a story that somehow straddled the fence between comedy and tragedy, but intended to be comic. Senator Frost is a humorless Iowan, intent on ferreting out corruption. Captain Pringle, who is assigned to provide military assistance, has reasons for hiding facts from the senator. What results is one of those stories where the handsome leading man removes the woman's spectacles and finds a comely beauty hidden beneath her frosty exterior. At least that is the intent.
However, the tone of the film wavers unpredictably and the viewer is confused about the director's intentions. The ending is clear enough, but how the story gets there is murky. It may be that Mr. Wilder's personal history--as a Jew who left Berlin and emigrated west to escape a fate that other family members did not--and his closeness to the harsh realities of Germany served to interfere with the film's purely comedic objectives.