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I am confident when I say that there has never been a director more able to balance legitimately funny with tragic, cynical, and dark (see also: Stalag 17).
This balance is exemplified most clearly in the 2 leads. Jean Arthur - still radiant and deliriously engaging at 48 - as gorgeous as ever (seriously, it's impossible to believe she's 48!) is sweetness in light straight out of Capra - except she is determined and has an inquisitive and skeptical edge as a congresswoman. My guess is this is the first time a female congresswoman has never been a character in a film. She has a hard exterior but an incredibly soft, mushy center.
On the other hand you have Dietrich. Sultry, cynical, and world-weary, as a former high-ranking Nazi lounge singer now tempting Colonel Pringle (John Lund) to trade black market goods for her favor in a frankly outrageous secret arrangement that it is stunning was not flagged by censors.
The set up: Congresswoman Phoebe Frost visits occupied Berlin with other members of a congressional committee, ostensibly to investigate concerns about troop morale and the post-war era. Representing Iowa, she brings a birthday cake to Colonel Pringle from an old sweetheart back home.
The military insist that while there is a bit of bad behavior among troops, they have everything under control. Frost does not believe them and strays from the tour group only to find a rampant black market, GIs relentlessly hunting frauleins for black market goods, and a seedy nightclub at which Erika von Schlutow (Dietrich) appears. Frost runs into Pringle there and must desperately try to cover his relationship with Dietrich, which he is hiding from his bosses.
To do so, Pringle seduces the Congresswoman, who falls hard for his mustachioed charms. Of course, the truth eventually comes out, as you would expect.
The result is a perverse romcom that critiques the post-war military effort and lampoons American romanticism and naivete - brilliantly. It's equal parts smart, funny, and beautiful, much like Ms. Arthur. Definitely worth your time.
This balance is exemplified most clearly in the 2 leads. Jean Arthur - still radiant and deliriously engaging at 48 - as gorgeous as ever (seriously, it's impossible to believe she's 48!) is sweetness in light straight out of Capra - except she is determined and has an inquisitive and skeptical edge as a congresswoman. My guess is this is the first time a female congresswoman has never been a character in a film. She has a hard exterior but an incredibly soft, mushy center.
On the other hand you have Dietrich. Sultry, cynical, and world-weary, as a former high-ranking Nazi lounge singer now tempting Colonel Pringle (John Lund) to trade black market goods for her favor in a frankly outrageous secret arrangement that it is stunning was not flagged by censors.
The set up: Congresswoman Phoebe Frost visits occupied Berlin with other members of a congressional committee, ostensibly to investigate concerns about troop morale and the post-war era. Representing Iowa, she brings a birthday cake to Colonel Pringle from an old sweetheart back home.
The military insist that while there is a bit of bad behavior among troops, they have everything under control. Frost does not believe them and strays from the tour group only to find a rampant black market, GIs relentlessly hunting frauleins for black market goods, and a seedy nightclub at which Erika von Schlutow (Dietrich) appears. Frost runs into Pringle there and must desperately try to cover his relationship with Dietrich, which he is hiding from his bosses.
To do so, Pringle seduces the Congresswoman, who falls hard for his mustachioed charms. Of course, the truth eventually comes out, as you would expect.
The result is a perverse romcom that critiques the post-war military effort and lampoons American romanticism and naivete - brilliantly. It's equal parts smart, funny, and beautiful, much like Ms. Arthur. Definitely worth your time.