Berlin Express

I saw this movie recently on TCM and liked it. I thought the plot was good, as was the acting. I couldn't believe that the secretary was Merle Oberon, I hardly recognized her, and I think that is a testament to how good an acting job she did. Some of the lines seemed stilted and staged, particularly toward the end, but given the time period when the movie was filmed, not at all surprising. There was a good mix of characters, but the real star of the film is the location: there are wonderful shots of Berlin and Frankfurt right after the war, and the devastation around the characters adds a powerful unspoken dimension to the film.

For anyone who enjoyed this movie, I would also highly recommend "Decision Before Dawn," also filmed on location in postwar Europe, which starred Richard Basehart, Oskar Werner and a whole host of other fabulous character actors, including Hildegard Kneff.

It is irksome, but neither Berlin Express nor Decision Before Dawn seem to be available on Video or DVD, which is a real shame. So, watch your TV listings for these two.

There is nothing like a puzzling thriller on a rattly train, and there have been many successful ones including NARROW MARGIN (1952) and NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) . Prior to these and after the Hitchcock Brit ones of the 30s is this terrific Jacques Tourneur RKO surprise package BERLIN EXPRESS. Filmed in the rubble of German cities in 1946 this film, basically is a very good and constantly weaving espionage drama; and not unlike NORTH BY NORTHWEST in deception, missing persons, terrific set pieces in ruins and epic visuals of genuine locations. Robert Ryan as the US everyman, all casual but tough, Merle Oberon gives ze Fronnch occent a good go, and a solid cast enjoying a provocative script . I especially liked the Russian soldier Roman Toporov and his witty snarls. BERLIN EXPRESS also explores the unusual brief reality of Nazi resistance to the US victory over Germany, and offers some really intriguing plot devices (a clown in a cabaret) some identity swapping and a fantastic shootout in a ruined brewery. There are quite a few gasp-out-loud moments. Did Jacques Tourneur ever make a dud? I actually do not think so. The only annoyance to modern audiences are the obvious studio process shots where characters have dialogue before a projected background screen. I suggest you catch the BERLIN EXPRESS next time it is scheduled.

Most everyone has seen film of the atomic leveling of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during WWII. However, this revealing flick shows the lesser seen ravages of conventional bombing of WWII Germany, specifically Frankfurt and Berlin. Only jaggedly grim foundations are left standing, except for the lavish Siemens corporate complex which remains perfectly intact. I expect there's an interesting backstory to that. Anyway, I gather this was the first movie to show Germany's urban destruction, which, all things considered, stands as the movie's centerpiece.

Nonetheless, the screenplay weaves an interesting post-war thread into the compelling visuals. Seems the influential Dr. Bernhardt is trying to bring the four occupying powers (U.S., Britain, France, and Soviet Union) into a unifying compact that will prevent their breakup into rivals and also make a resurgence of German militarism more difficult. (However, the nature of the German resistance, whether Neo-Nazi or otherwise, is never specified.) The trouble is elements of that German resistance are trying to eliminate the Doctor and his plans for allied unity. It seems that keeping those occupying powers separate will make a German resurgence easier. Thus protecting Dr. Bernhardt becomes an allied priority. The movie's suspense then becomes figuring out which of the cast members are actually German resistance operatives.

If there is such a thing as noir intrigue, RKO has fashioned it. Most of the activity takes place in the shadows of railway cars and dour rooms along with twilight chases through the urban rubble. But then this is expert noir director Tourneur along with art and set direction from the talented D'Agostino and Silvera. As a result, the plot and visuals complement one another compellingly. Then too, as a revealing period fact, we find out how important cigarettes were when no common money exists.

This 1947 production reflects a post-war period prior to the onset of the uncompromising Cold War between the Soviets and the U.S. Thus the film's Soviet officer is treated in sympathetic fashion totally unlike the many movie and TV caricatures that would follow. For a Cold War product like myself, that takes some real getting used to. Too bad the movie's hopeful note of European, American, and a Soviet compact was not borne out in practice.

Anyway, it's an unusual and provocative film, certainly deserving of more recognition and less obscurity than what it's gotten. So don't pass it up.

On a surface level this is a kind of benevolent THIRD MAN, as a group of international comrades, most prominently a naive American, try to root out sinister Germans and a betraying friend in the rubbles of post-war Europe. The script is a model of civic decency, as it dramatises the lingering dangers facing Europe after the war, but offering a narrative of co-operation and hope.

Director Tourneur, however, had only just directed the beautifully bleak OUT OF THE PAST, and this film is full of a blackness overwhelming good intentions, where the frightening contingencies of history and inexplicable darkness of man are not so easily swept aside. His mastery of space and lighting, his disturbing compositions and vigorous editing are an eternal pleasure not to be enjoyed again until Scorcese's glory days.

Earlier today I posted a negative review of SPY TRAIN, a WWII-era thriller flop about Nazi spies on a train, all done by the numbers, and not very well.

Thank heaven for BERLIN EXPRESS, which is a potent antidote to formulaic war thrillers. Here the "McGuffin" is the need to deliver Dr. Bernhardt safely to a conference in Berlin, where he has a wonderful plan for reuniting Germany. But of course, there are sinister forces at work to prevent him from arriving.

Bernhardt's secretary, Lucienne (Oberon) is on a train with her boss and several good-looking male passengers who represent the four Allied powers. An intercepted message has warned of danger, but no one knows what to expect. Danger does indeed strike, and when the train arrives in Frankfurt, things become decidedly worse. There's a kidnapping, a hanging, a gun-toting clown, and plenty of awe-inspiring shots of bombed-out Frankfurt (much like the Vienna of THIRD MAN). Bits of humor lighten up a taut, well-written script.

What makes this film better than dreck like SPY TRAIN is its sense of reality, which is cemented by good characters and embellished by the very real locations. Shot in Paris, Frankfurt, and a shelled Berlin, it plays like something from post-war headlines. (The running narration, which is not obtrusive, lends the sense of a documentary.) The only sour note is a saccharine ending, in which the characters from each country exit the screen to the sounds of national theme songs. But that's not enough to spoil a very engaging thriller. It's great for war movie fans, and for students of history who want a look at the aftermath of WWII.