There are many reasons to watch this movie:
1. Pier Angeli- this compelling beauty stirs a certain something in our hearts - at once familiar and then somehow mysterious.
2. Gene Kelly- in one of his rare turns in a serious, non-singing, non-dancing part...I agree with another reviewer who says he was a showman not really an actor - - but he does a fair turn here.
3. Historical- few people know that the Nazi movement did not die immediately after Hitler died. The besieged German people had not forgotten the horrors and were still susceptible to somber outlooks.
4. Geo-Architectural- those pictures in the Eagle's Nest were spine-tinglingly eerie, if not thrilling to see since it has been apparently taken down. Other scenes in the German towns and countryside are vastly more interesting than so many other canned backdrops to which we are normally subjected.
All in all, this film occupies its time well - it's not world-shaking, but to me, it will be unforgettable because of the former reasons - especially the historical and geo-architectural...but also, one of our few looks at the beauty of the co-star, the stunningly beautiful Pier Angeli.
