''The Devil Makes Three'' is a 1952 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Andrew Marton Andrew Marton (born Endre Marton; 26 January 1904 – 7 January 1992) was a Hungarian-American film director. In his career, he directed 39 films and television programs, and worked on 16 as a second unit director, including the chariot race in ...

and starring

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American dancer, actor, singer, director and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

Pier Angeli Anna Maria Pierangeli (19 June 193210 September 1971), known internationally by the stage name Pier Angeli, was an Italian actress, model and singer. She won the Nastro d'Argento for Best Actress for her debut role in the 1950 film '' Tomorrow ...

and Richard Egan. Produced by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

, it was set and filmed in post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Plot

Former

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

bomber crewman Captain Jeff Eliot returns to Germany in 1947 to visit the family who rescued and hid him from the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

after his plane was shot down over

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in World War II. He learns that most of the family was killed by an American air raid. The only survivor is the daughter, Wilhelmina Lehrt, who is working as a hostess in a nightclub and hates

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Law of the United States, U.S. federal law does not equate nationality with Race (hu ...

. Eliot nonetheless manages to romance "Willie" and in his time at the nightclub, he develops a friendship with Heisemann, a comic. Heisemann, it turns out, has secret ties to an underground Nazi revivalist movement. When Eliot discovers this, he tells his superiors, who order him to continue his relationship with Willie to learn more about Heisemann's operation. The climax of the picture takes place in

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps. South of the town, the Be ...

, and the scenes of Heisemann being chased through the rubble were filmed inside the ruins of Hitler's house just before its final demolition by the German government. Heisemann in the scene's final frame stands facing his captors in the notorious huge picture window of the house.

Cast

as Captain Jeff Eliot *

as Wilhelmina "Willie" Lehrt * Richard Rober as Colonel James Terry * Richard Egan as Captain Parker * Claus Clausen as Heisemann *

Wilfried Seyferth Wilfried Seyferth (21 April 1908 – 9 October 1954) was a German actor, perhaps best known for ''Decision Before Dawn''. He was married four times, to four actresses, Eva Ingeborg Scholz, Tatjana Iwanow, Irene Naef and Lu Säuberlich. He died ...

as Hansig *

Margot Hielscher Margot Hielscher (29 September 1919 – 20 August 2017) was a German singer and film actress. She appeared in over fifty films between and 1939 and 1994. Hielscher was born in Berlin. In 1957, she was chosen to represent Germany at the Eurovis ...

as Bar Singer *

Annie Rosar Annie Rosar (17 May 1888 – 5 August 1963) was an Austrian stage and film actress who is best remembered today for her appearances in many Austrian comedy films from the 1930s to the early 1960s. In those movies, she was frequently cast in the c ...

as Mrs. Keigler * Harold Benedict as Sgt. at Airport *

Otto Gebühr Otto Gebühr (29 May 1877 – 13 March 1954) was a German theatre and film actor, who appeared in 102 films released between 1917 and 1954. He is noted for his performance as the Prussian king Frederick the Great in numerous films. Early li ...

as Mr. Nolder *

Gertrud Wolle Gertrud Wolle (11 March 1891 – 6 July 1952) was a German film actress. Selected filmography * ''Die Insel der Glücklichen'' (1919) * ''Prince Cuckoo'' (1919) * '' Roswolsky's Mistress'' (1921) * '' A Glass of Water'' (1923) * ''Burglars'' ( ...

as Mrs. Nolder *

Heinrich Gretler Heinrich Gretler (1897–1977) was a Swiss film and television actor, who also starred on stage at the Bernhard-Theater in Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton ...

as Keigler * Charlotte Flemming as Girl in Telephone Booth * Charles Gordon Howard as Lt. Farris *

Bum Krüger Bum Krüger (born ''Willy Krüger''; 13 March 1906 - 15 March 1971) was a German actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films from 1948 to 1969. Filmography References External links * 1906 births 1971 deaths German male film ...

as Oberlitz * Claus Lombard as Waiter *

Iván Petrovich Iván Petrovich (; 1 January 1894 – 18 October 1962) was a Serbian film actor and singer. He was the first actor from Yugoslavia to have a successful international movie career. Petrovich mainly worked in German cinema, but also collaborated ...

as Sigmund Neffs *

Sepp Rist Sepp Rist (24 February 1900 – 11 December 1980) was a German film actor.Goble p.480 In WW1 he served in the Imperial German Navy. He was married to the actress Carla Rust. Partial filmography * '' Storm over Mont Blanc'' (1930) - Hannes * '' S ...

as Customs Official - German * Michael Tellering as Ernst Haltmann * Ruth Megary as Waitress

Reception

According to MGM records the film made $743,000 in the US and Canada and $742,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $57,000. In his August 30, 1952 review in ''

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 ...

'', Howard Thompson wrote: “ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has gone to a great deal of trouble to authenticate "The Devil Makes Three," a curiously disappointing melodrama of Occupied Germany and Austria … Producer Richard Goldstone filmed the offering entirely on location, using a supporting cast composed almost entirely of native talent…this latest safari, bucking the wintry ruggedness of some truly striking natural settings, has returned with as graphic a contemporary canvas as we have had in some time.Scenery or no scenery, however, the film remains, on the whole,…little more than a Continental Western… the director has staged a frenzied but routine climax atop

, no less, with Mr. Kelly and the M. P.'s (or the Cavalry) snaring the chief culprit. …The performances somehow emerge unscathed. …Mr. Kelly … (gives) a fine, restrained characterization. And while it is hard to believe that Miss Angeli would ever set foot in a questionable bistro, much less serve as a "hostess," this frail doe-eyed girl manages to convey a smoldering innocence that comes close to justifying the whole misguided excursion.”

References

External links

* * * 1952 films American black-and-white films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films 1950s romantic thriller films Films set in 1947 Films set in Germany Films set in Bavaria Films set in Munich Films shot in Munich American romantic thriller films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films English-language romantic thriller films Films directed by Andrew Marton Films set in Salzburg Films scored by Rudolph G. Kopp {{1950s-thriller-film-stub