In occupied Berlin, an army captain is torn between an ex-Nazi café singer and the U.S. congresswoman investigating her.In occupied Berlin, an army captain is torn between an ex-Nazi café singer and the U.S. congresswoman investigating her.In occupied Berlin, an army captain is torn between an ex-Nazi café singer and the U.S. congresswoman investigating her.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 3 nominations total
- Joe
- (as Bill Murphy)
- Lt. Hornby
- (as James Larmore)
- Lieutenant Lee Thompson
- (as William Neff)
- General Finney
- (as George Carleton)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBilly Wilder said that John Lund "was the guy you got after you wrote the part for Cary Grant and Grant wasn't available."
- GoofsThough Phoebe, the American Congresswoman played by Jean Arthur is not married, the actress's real wedding ring is visible in many scenes especially closeups during the latter part of the film.
- Quotes
Erika von Schluetow: We've all become animals with exactly one instinct left. Self-preservation. Now take me, Miss Frost. Bombed out a dozen times, everything caved in and pulled out from under me. My country, my possessions, my beliefs... yet somehow I kept going. Months and months in air raid shelters, crammed in with five thousand other people. I kept going. What do you think it was like to be a woman in this town when the Russians first swept in? I kept going.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Good German (2006)
It stars Marlene Dietrich (one of her all-time best performances), and amazing Jean Arthur (in one of her final films), and newcomer John Lund, who was rather wooden in later performances...here, he's terrific.
Songs and musical score by Frederick Hollander...who's actually present playing piano. The three songs Dietrich sings, "Black Market", "Illusions" and "Ruins of Berlin" are lyrically integral to the plot and represent three of best songs written for a non-musical film of the late 1940's.
There's some serious plot points underneath the cynical comedy.
Wish to heck Universal would open their vaults and release it on DVD in the US; thankfully it's available in the UK (get an all-region DVD player...I did!).
It's an absolutely essential late 1940's comedy and in my opinion, one of Billy Wilder's best comedies.
Remember....Wilder's next film was "Sunset Boulevard".
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Operation Candy Bar
- Filming locations
- Berlin, Germany(Exterior)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,500,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 56 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1