Le diable fait le troisième

The closing scenes of this film were shot at the ruins of the Berghoff, which was Hitler's actual residence in Berchtesgaden, most famous for the huge picture window that framed a picture-perfect view of the mountains of Germany and Austria. Since the actual building was torn down by the post-war German government during the 1950's (they were afraid of it becoming a Nazi shrine), this film represents a rare, motion picture view of what the site actually looked like during that period.

The location is now the site of the luxury Hotel- InterContinental Berchtesgaden and visitors can still see the same view of the mountains that Hitler built for himself.

"The Eagle's Nest", located nearby, was the informal name given to the Kehlsteinhaus, or the Fuhrer's Tea house, custom built for Hitler at the top of Kehlstein Mountain during the 1930's. The site survived the war and is now a tourist attraction owned by the local government and features a road carved into the shear rock face of the mountain and a deep tunnel with a brass elevator that takes visitors to the top. It was said that Hitler didn't like heights and only visited the Kehlsteinhaus a few times during his lifetime. Contrary to popular belief, the "Eagle's Nest" is not believed to be featured in this movie.

Until recent NATO reductions-in-force, the Americans had many military recreational facilities in Berchtesgaden which have since been turned over to the German government.

The film's plot is solid yarn but not much above average. What makes the film interesting are two things: First Pier Angeli as the girl. And more than that, that the film gives a strong impression of how Germany looked like during the first years after WW II. There is a very atmospheric photography which shows some original locations in Munich and Bavaria: the Bavarian landscape, some villages, the post war Munich. Beyond it the film focuses on the everyday life of the German people more than other films with a similar topic, and it does it in an interesting way: you see some clothes, cars or flats of that time for example and some of the cabarets, clubs ore Night Shows, which obviously where quite typical for the post war era in Germany (and can be found in some other films about post war Germany ). And by this "The Devil Makes Three" manages to be  a nice contemporary document along the way.

One of many of the post-war (WW II)films built around the theme of German nationalist's out to rebuild the Nazi Reich, this one is a bit less documentary-styled than most of the others. But the screenplay( by Jerry Davis) pulls few punches in depicting the Munich of 1947---the bombed-out homes, the bitterness, the German self-pity (justifibaly so in most cases, but with the blame placed on the wrong doorsteps) and the struggle and fight for survival.

Simplified, the story has U.S. Captain Jeff Elliott (Gene Kelly) returning to Germany to visit the family that once saved his life, learns that the only one still alive is the family's youngest, Wilhelmina "Willie" Lehrt (Pier Angeli), as the rest of the family were victims of an Allied air raid strike. "Willie", now working as a cabaret singer and forcibly-involved with a gold-smuggling gang, working to restart Hitler's 1000-year reign-plan,does not receive Elliott with open arms.

The film, as originally shown in the USA in the 96-minute version, is primarily all-characters speaking English, but IS sub-titled when the characters speak German. (Maybe they felt no need to outside of English-speaking countries.) Shot on location, including shots at Salzburg and a scene in the Mozarteum and the finale which finds the Nazi leader trapped in the ruined desolation of Hitler's Berchtesgaden Eagle's Nest.

Songs heard in the film include "Can Love Come Back Again." "Oh, Christmas Tree" and "Wie Sole Das Bazahlen."

The movie grabs your attention immediately and doesn't let go until the end. Post WII Germany is one of the main characters here and it's fascinating to see the bombed out buildings and how people had to live after the war. The fact that it was filmed on location in winter only adds to the mystery.

As for Gene Kelly not being an actor but only a showman, watch him in Inherit the Wind, and you may change your mind. His non-dancing roles were not really all that rare, even during his heyday as a dancer.

Pier Angeli, who was Italian, is cast as a German girl. That doesn't quite work for me, as her German isn't good enough for her to have been a native, yet her appealing nature, her huge eyes and her inherent sweetness help her performance as woman whose innocence has been lost.

The corruption and struggle to rebuild in Germany and Austria after the war is something that most people do not really know much about. Other recommended movies that deal with this subject are A Foreign Affair and The Third Man.

I don't have much to add besides what others have commented, except to support what was said previously, that the filming locations in post-WWII Germany and Austria are the most interesting features in this film. Views of Munich and Saltzburg give a clear picture of the extent of the devastation that resulted from bombing raids at the end of the war. But for me, what I found the most interesting was the last scenes filmed at Berchesgarten in the ruins of Hitler's Eagle's Lair where the head of the Neo-Nazi organization seeks refuge after being chased by Gene Kelly et-al. This is the only movie I recall that showed this location before it was eradicated.