L'homme de Berlin

James Mason is "The Man Between" in this 1953 Carol Reed film, shot on location in post-war Berlin. The film also stars Claire Bloom and Hildegarde Neff. Bloom plays Susanne, a young American woman who comes to Berlin to visit her brother Martin. Martin is stationed there and married to Bettina (Neff). Bettina is clearly unhappy about something, and Susanne soon realizes that her discomfiture has to do with a mysterious man, Iwo (Mason), described as an old friend. When Iwo offers to show her the sights, Susanne accepts, and, believing him to be having an affair with her sister-in-law, advises him to leave her alone. Iwo says he is trying to leave the area, and a friend of Martin's can help by getting him the required documents and introductions. When Susanne asks her brother to help Iwo by contacting the man, Bettina loses her temper, and the truth about Iwo and his true relationship to Bettina emerges.

This is an odd, moody, dark film with some haunting images of the destroyed Berlin, and some beautiful shots, particularly the very last one in the film which stays in one's memory. The serenely beautiful Claire Bloom and the enigmatic Mason are magic together and make this a poignant love story, and very typical Reed - the innocent who has her eyes opened, the man tainted by sin going to meet his fate. The whole last half of the film focuses on only the two of them, and we sense their isolation, an odd couple in a changing world.

The German supporting cast is excellent, particularly Neff, whose career in Hollywood was brief. She wrote a wonderful best-selling autobiography, The Gift Horse, in 1970, which leaves no doubt of her feelings about the place. She went on to star in Silk Stockings on Broadway and eventually returned to Germany.

Quite a beautiful film, not up to "The Third Man," but still has the touch of the master.

Vintage Reed with all the elements from his films of the period. The innocent (Bloom) whose view needs to be muddied. The world weary, complex hero/villain. The confusion and ambiguities veering between love and hate, trust and betrayal, weakness and strength. Humans pulled from their comfortable lives and twisted by circumstance. The worn surroundings of war torn Berlin an extra character in the plot. All this in typical stark angled Reed view, with an atmospheric signature tune used noticeably towards the end, and a scene sequence mirroring the ambiguities of the characters.

Whilst the film doesn't flow as fluently and seamlessly as The Third Man, Mason and Bloom create eminently watchable if not entirely rounded characters.

James Mason gives a tour-de-force performance as a tired clerk who knows not who to trust. Hildegrade Knef is magnificent in a complex supporting role. Carol Reed has directed some great movies and this is among his best. The ending sequence is so poignant, it always brings tears to the eyes.

In 1947,James Mason worked with Carol REED,in "Odd man out" (in Belfast).This work was influenced by Marcel Carné's "realisme poétique" and cast Mason as a fugitive.Both "odd man out" and "the man between " have similar endings,except for the female part.

Berlin atmosphere (like Vienna in 'the third man') is well rendering,with the claustrophobia you used to feel during the Wall days. There are plotholes,but the cast easily makes up for that.The couple Mason /Bloom is very endearing:Mason 's character is a man whose ideals have been betrayed and his love for the beautiful English woman he tries to save is touching .Actually ,at the beginning,Mason was not friendly,he was even disturbing,but his moral stature ceaselessly grows towards the end.The two stars get good support from German thespian Hildegarde Kneff,whom we miss in the second part.

This movie might have influenced two sixties work:"the spy who came in from the cold"(Martin Ritt,1965) which featured Claire Bloom again,and "torn curtain" (1966),one of Hitchcock's minor movies in which we find a theater again!FF Coppola in "godfather III" ,like Carol Reed,took advantage of this by using opera music to enhance particular scenes.

Although inferior to 'the third man" (neither Welles nor Karas) "odd man out' or even "fallen idol" (1948),"the man between " deserves to be seen.

The bleak war-torn settings of East and West Germany during the post-war years of WWII provide a suitable backdrop for a rather cold tale involving complex characters and moral ambiguities.

The story's first half takes time to set up the murky relationships between CLAIRE BLOOM, HILDEGARD KNEF and JAMES MASON before settling down to some quieter moments and romantic overtones when the chemistry between the young girl (Bloom) and the dangerous criminal (Mason) becomes evident. It's their relationship in the second half of the story that heats up some of the cold war atmosphere of the tale.

Suspense mounts as they hide out from the German authorities, but all the while one gets the feeling that all will not end well for the ill-fated pair who have fallen deeply in love.

If you liked the somber atmosphere of films like ODD MAN OUT and THE THIRD MAN, you'll definitely enjoy the atmospheric effects achieved in the crisp B&W photography on display here. Outstanding photography in scene after scene, although the story itself never quite achieves the same degree of finesse as the previously mentioned Carol Reed films.

Nevertheless, it's all extremely well acted. Mason has never been more effective as a complex man full of moral ambiguities and Bloom is given a wonderful chance to display her charm and sensitivity in a well-written role.

Definitely worth watching.