Berlin Express

I've only seen this movie once but what differentiates it for me is not the story, the actors, or the director, but rather the footage of post WWII Frankfurt Germany and the devastation wrought by the war.

In addition to the general post-war, pre-Cold War footage, the most fascinating thing is the film shot inside the I.G. Farben builting. This building is famous among architects and has a unique interior, shown in the film. This building was also the "Abrams Building" during the time the U.S. military occupied it during the Cold War and anyone who was in Frankfurt in the 1970's or 1980's might recognise it as unchanged inside from the time the movie was made to the time one served in the Army. This film is rare because that was a secure building during much of the Cold War. Today I believe the Army has left the building and it is occupied by a school or college.

Lots of history in this movie. I wish it was available on DVD.

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.

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.

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.

This movie is most notable as a historical document giving a glimpse of Germany after the war. The location shots in bombed out Frankfurt and Berlin are rather startling, and it's interesting to see the hatred and mistrust everyone has for the Germans. The movie is shot very well and the early scenes are excellent.

Unfortunately the script is weak. Towards the end I realized that I just wasn't clear on why things were happening as they were. It felt like the plot was just a backdrop to the ambiance, which was fine in the beginning but became a problem as the plot moved its wobbly self to center stage. I can't entirely blame the script though; I think Tourneur's greatest failing as a director is that while he had a lot of style and could always make things interesting, he could be sloppy in terms of telling a story. Of course he wasn't the only director who believed you could gloss over a lot if you just kept things moving, but that works better with a good muddled script like The Big Sleep rather than the distinctly ordinary but muddled script he worked with here. Still worth seeing though.