Beyond the Curtain

This is another of those cold war thrillers with manhunts in the ruins of Berlin, this one from the year before the Berlin wall was put up. For some reason this one has been neglected and almost ignored, presumed to be outdated and totally overshadowed by the earlier masterpieces by Carol Reed ("The Third Man", "The Man Between"), "The Big Lift" 1948 and others, but this is actually in line with them and not much worse although more modern. Eva Bartok makes a fully convincing character torn between east and west, between her loyalties to her background and family in Dresden and her love for an American in West Berlin - the scenes from the night clubs in West Berlin are almost sarcastically reminiscent of the much earlier very decadent Berlin of the 20s and 30s - little seems to have changed since then. The insights in Eastern Germany and Dresden are also very revealing as not much different from the Nazi days - Eva Bartok's aristocratic family villa has been taken over by a former Nazi Gauleiter now in the service of DDR.

Richard Greene looks curiously much like Tom Hanks,and his character is even similar to most Hanks characters. It's an interesting film, Marius Goring as the doctor also torn asunder by his duties and loyalties and weakness for Eva is perhaps the most interesting character. The final tunnel chase is all too reminiscent of the final hunt in "The Third Man" but totally different.

Excellent period film set immediately before the construction of the Berlin wall. Karin finds herself grappling many dilemmas after finding herself back behind the iron curtain after the fight she is a stewardess on lands in Eastern Germany. The film gives a feel of the despair of living in a totalitarian regime. The highlight in my opinion was the chace across what appears to be many miles of buildings that were bombed out in the second world war. Although the film is for entertainment it is also historic. The roles are well played. The viewer will find themselves rooting for the characters. 8/10.

I must have watched a different version of the film than some others on here. Richard Greene wasn't flying the aircraft in the one I saw. Also the film I watched was very suspenseful and full of menace in places with believable characters and location (in the main). All in all a good entertaining film well worth seeing.

This is one of those films where the heroes are all very stiff upper lip and the villains are cold and mysterious, certainly a movie of the cold war period.

When an American plane gets drawn off course because of bad weather it mistakenly flies into East German air space, it's forced to land and the people are taken off the plane. When the authorities let the plane leave the stewardess Karin (Eva Bartok) is detained as she is an East German. She is taken home to live with her mother, whilst this is happening her fiancee Jim (Richard Greene) has arrived in Berlin to bring her back. This could be dangerous as she is being watched by Hans (Marius Goring), who works for the Stasi (the East German secret police). With the help of Linda (Andree Melly) Karin and Jim find her brother Peter (who the police are after) and start their escape to the West.

It all sounds more exciting than it actually is but it's got a great cast, especially Melly in a small role.

Eva Bartok ("Karin") is an erstwhile air hostess who, when her plane makes an unexpected landing, is compulsorily repatriated to her family home in largely bombed-out Dresden where her mother still lives. Her British fiancé "Jim" (Richard Greene) is soon on the trail as he flies to East Germany to try and rescue her.

A competent and a fairly gripping thriller set in the Cold War. It's well-acted, especially by Eva Bartok, who is forced to face the horror of returning to Dresden and is used as a bait to lead the authorities to her brother. Richard Green plays a dashing hero who is determined to bring her out of the country. It's a rather good film which mixes romance, emotion and intrigue rather well.