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''A Foreign Affair'' is a 1948 American romantic
comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
film directed by
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...
and starring Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich and John Lund. The screenplay by Charles Brackett, Wilder and Richard L. Breen is based on a story by David Shaw adapted by Robert Harari. The film is about a United States Army captain in post-World War II
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, occupied by the Allies during the early days of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, who is torn between a former Nazi cafe singer and the American congresswoman investigating her. Though a comedy, the film has a serious and cynical political tone, attesting to the fascination of both Wilder and American audiences with the multiple legacies of Berlin.


Plot

In 1947 in post-World War II
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, prim
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
congresswoman Phoebe Frost arrives with a congressional committee on a fact-finding mission to investigate the morale of American occupation troops reportedly infected by a "moral malaria." Corruption runs rampant, with troops taking advantage of supply shortages to gain profit as well as privileges from local women. Military officials defend the behavior of the troops. Phoebe arrives with a birthday cake for a constituent’s boyfriend, captain John Pringle. He trades the cake on the
black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...
for a mattress for his lover, Erika von Schlütow. MPs arrive to question Erika, who had been ordered to a labor camp for brickwork but has instead been working in a nightclub, protected by her relationship with Pringle. The MPs order Erika to report to the denazification office, but Pringle sends them away. On a tour of bomb-ravaged
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Phoebe notices how many American soldiers fraternize with local women. When Phoebe is mistaken for a local by two American soldiers, she pretends to speak only broken English and accompanies them to the Club Lorelei. There she sees
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
torch singer Erika von Schlütow, who is rumored to be the former mistress of either
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
or Joseph Goebbels. Phoebe enlists Captain Pringle to assist in her investigation of Erika, unaware that he is Erika's current lover. After seeing Erika with
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
in a
newsreel A newsreel is a form of short documentary film, containing news, news stories and items of topical interest, that was prevalent between the 1910s and the mid 1970s. Typically presented in a Movie theater, cinema, newsreels were a source of cu ...
filmed during the war, Phoebe asks John to take her to army headquarters to retrieve Erika's official file. To distract her, John woos Phoebe, who initially resists his advances but eventually succumbs. Erika questions why John not been seeing her lately. John replies that he had not realized the depth of her involvement with Nazi officials. When Erika mocks him, he responds coldly and departs. John and Phoebe visit Club Lorelei, where Erika joins their table and needles Phoebe. Colonel Plummer orders John to continue seeing Erika to serve as bait for Hans Otto Birgel, a former
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
agent believed to be hiding in the American occupation zone. A letter has been intercepted in which the jealous agent has threatened to kill Erika’s new lover. Erika and Phoebe are arrested during a raid at the club designed to catch Germans lacking identification papers. At the police station, Erika claims that Phoebe is her cousin in order to secure her release without revealing her identity, avoiding scandal. At Erika’s apartment, Erika explains that Phoebe is in her debt and owes her John, her protector. When John arrives, Phoebe, who is out of his line of sight, sees John kissing Erika and leaves humiliated. At the military airport waiting for departure, Phoebe tells Plummer that she will not be filing her report, as she feels ethically compromised. Plummer discloses that John has been following orders all along to use Erika to lead them to Birgel and now has a target on his back. Plummer tells Phoebe that John’s feelings for her have complicated matters. Birgel appears at the club to shoot John, but Birgel is shot first by American soldiers. Erika is arrested for her complicity with Birgel. Phoebe and John are finally united.


Cast


Production

While serving with the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
in Germany during World War II, Billy Wilder was promised government assistance if he made a film about
Allied-occupied Germany The entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II, from the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23 May 1949. Unlike occupied Japan, Nazi Germany was stripped of its sov ...
, and he took advantage of the offer by developing ''A Foreign Affair'' with Charles Brackett and Richard L. Breen.
Erich Pommer Erich Pommer (20 July 1889 – 8 May 1966) was a German-born film producer and executive. Pommer was perhaps the most powerful person in the German and European film industries in the 1920s and early 1930s. As producer, Erich Pommer was involved ...
, who was responsible for the rebuilding of the German film industry, placed what was left of the facilities at Universum Film AG at Wilder's disposal. While researching the existing situation for his screenplay, he interviewed many of the American military personnel stationed in Berlin, as well as its residents, many of whom were having difficulty dealing with the destruction of the city. Marlene Dietrich was Wilder's first choice to play Erika, and Friedrich Hollaender already had written three songs—"Black Market", "Illusions" and "The Ruins of Berlin"—for her to sing in the film. Wilder feared that Dietrich would not portray a Nazi collaborator, but he was able to convince her. In the film, Dietrich appears in two gowns designed by Irene that she had worn while entertaining American troops during the war. Wilder persuaded Jean Arthur, who was attending college, to leave her retirement to play Phoebe. Throughout filming, Arthur felt that Wilder favored Dietrich. After the film, Arthur signed a 12-year, four-picture deal with Paramount. Location shooting, much of which occurred in the Soviet occupation zone, began in August 1947, and filming continued at
Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...
in Hollywood between December 1947 and February 1948. The film was edited within a week after principal photography was completed, and it premiered at the Paramount Theatre in New York City on June 30, 1948, shortly after Wilder's '' The Emperor Waltz'' opened at
Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...
.


Release

The film's world premiere was held at the Paramount Theatre in New York on June 30, 1948.


Reception

In a contemporary review for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', critic Bosley Crowther called ''A Foreign Affair'' "a dandy entertainment which has some shrewd and realistic things to say" and wrote:
Maybe you think there's nothing funny about the current situation of American troops in the ticklish area of Berlin. And it's serious enough, heaven knows, what with the Russians pushing and shoving and the natives putting on their own type squeeze. But, at least, Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder have been happily disinclined to wax morose about the problems presented by occupation—and by "fraternization," specifically. Rather these two bright filmmakers have been wryly disposed to smile upon the conflicts in self and national interests which proximities inevitably provoke. ... Particularly, their interest is in how human beings behave when confronted by other human beings—especially those of the opposite sex. And their logical conclusion is that, granted attractions back and forth, most people—despite regulations and even differences in language and politics—are likely to do toward one another that which comes naturally.
Edwin Schallert of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' wrote: "'A Foreign Affair' can take a terrific bow for mixing politics, romance and postwar intrigue. This comedy, with dramatic overtones ... is the best topical film show that has arrived in months." In '' The Nation'' in 1948, critic James Agee wrote, "Brackett and Wilder again, this time in American Berlin... Some sharp, nasty, funny stuff at the expense of investigatory Americans; then—as in The Emperor Waltz—the picture indorses everything it has been kidding, and worse. A good bit of it is in rotten taste, and the perfection of that is in Dietrich's song ''Black Market''."


Awards

Charles Lang was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Black-and-White Cinematography, but lost to William H. Daniels for '' The Naked City''. Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett and Richard L. Breen were nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay adapted from previously established material. The most frequently adapted media are novels, but other adapted narrative formats include stage plays, mus ...
but lost to
John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...
for '' The Treasure of the Sierra Madre'', and the
Writers Guild of America Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility Th ...
, which was won by Frank Partos and Millen Brand for '' The Snake Pit''.


Home media

''A Foreign Affair'' has been released in various home-video formats. On November 27, 2006, the film was released as part of the 18-film ''Marlene Dietrich: The Movie Collection'' for the UK market. However, in April 2007, Dietrich's estate obtained an injunction that forced
Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...
to withdraw the DVD set because of an alleged contract breach. In 2012, Universal, through TCM, released the two-DVD set ''Directed by Billy Wilder'' featuring '' Five Graves to Cairo'' and ''A Foreign Affair''. On August 25, 2019, ''A Foreign Affair'' was released on
Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...
by
Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art film, art ho ...
.


References


Bibliography

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External links

* * * Streaming audio
''A Foreign Affair''
on
Screen Directors Playhouse ''Screen Directors Playhouse'' (sometimes written as ''Screen Directors' Playhouse'') is an American radio and television anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949. The radio program broadca ...
: March 6, 1949
''A Foreign Affair''
on
Screen Directors Playhouse ''Screen Directors Playhouse'' (sometimes written as ''Screen Directors' Playhouse'') is an American radio and television anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949. The radio program broadca ...
: March 1, 1951 {{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Affair, A 1948 films 1948 comedy-drama films 1948 romantic comedy films 1948 romantic drama films 1940s American films 1940s English-language films 1940s German-language films 1940s political comedy-drama films 1940s romantic comedy-drama films American black-and-white films American political comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films Cold War films Films directed by Billy Wilder Films produced by Charles Brackett Films scored by Friedrich Hollaender Films set in Berlin Films with screenplays by Billy Wilder Films with screenplays by Charles Brackett Paramount Pictures films English-language romantic comedy-drama films