A Foreign Affair (1948)

100% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
77% of users liked it
(1,206 ratings)

Writer/director Billy Wilder (in collaboration with producer/writer Charles Brackett) earned his first critical condemnation with A Foreign Affair. Reviewers accused Wilder (as they would so often in the future) of moral bankruptcy, challenging him to prove what could possibly be funny about the… More Writer/director Billy Wilder (in collaboration with producer/writer Charles Brackett) earned his first critical condemnation with A Foreign Affair. Reviewers accused Wilder (as they would so often in the future) of moral bankruptcy, challenging him to prove what could possibly be funny about the Nazi war guilt, the bombed-out city of Berlin, the postwar European black market or attempted suicide. All of these elements are in Foreign Affair, and all are very funny. John Lund is an American army captain carrying on a casual affair with Berlin songstress Marlene Dietrich, who accepts Lund's attentions so long as there are contraband cigarettes and nylons added to the bargain. Iowa congresswoman Jean Arthur is sent as part of an American fact-finding delegation to Berlin, and Lund is compelled to clean up his act--or at least pretend to. Despite her initial shock at the corruption all around her, straitlaced Arthur eventually falls for Lund, but Dietrich has been at this game a lot longer. For an interesting cinematic and sociological exercise, A Foreign Affair should be shown in tandem with Wilder's 1961 Cold War comedy One, Two, Three. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 56 min.
Directed By: Billy Wilder
Written By: Charles Brackett, Richard L. Breen, David Shaw, Billy Wilder
Genres: Comedy, Romance

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1948 Limited
On DVD: Sep 29, 1998
Studio: Paramount Pictures

Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
As usual, it's more clever than meaningful, but this 1948 film is one of his most satisfactory in wit and pace.
Bosley Crowther, New York Times
A dandy entertainment which has some shrewd and realistic things to say.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A stinging satirical look at black marketeering in post WW II Berlin.
, Time Out
This may not be Wilder at his best -- the story develops along fairly predictable lines, with Arthur switching her starchy uniform for a glistening evening gown -- but there are some precious set pieces.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Despite its predictable story line makes for a somewhat enjoyable satire.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Lesser Billy Wilder with great actresses and a weak leading man.

Read all 6 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Stella D

dark comedy set against the brutal backdrop of post-war berlin. jean arthur plays a stuffy american congresswoman who becomes involved with an army officer who's trying to cover up his lover's nazi past. i like that both jean and marlene were close to 50 when this was… More
dark comedy set against the brutal backdrop of post-war berlin. jean arthur plays a stuffy american congresswoman who becomes involved with an army officer who's trying to cover up his lover's nazi past. i like that both jean and marlene were close to 50 when this was made. the script is vintage wilder if a little predictable, with shades from ninotchka to stalag 17. john lund is okay as the male lead; don't think i've ever seen him before...not wilder's best but very entertaining.
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]In "A Foreign Affair", Congresswoman Phoebe Frost, R-Iowa(Jean Arthur), is part of a congressional delegation sent to postwar Berlin to investigate the reportedly poor morale of the American soldier. Frost helps in this matter by personally delivering a… More
[font=Century Gothic]In "A Foreign Affair", Congresswoman Phoebe Frost, R-Iowa(Jean Arthur), is part of a congressional delegation sent to postwar Berlin to investigate the reportedly poor morale of the American soldier. Frost helps in this matter by personally delivering a birthday cake to Capt. John Pringle(John Lund) from his girlfriend back in the states. Pringle promptly trades the cake in for a mattress at an open air black market at the Brandenburg Gate. He gives the mattress along with some nylons to Erika(Marlene Dietrich), a famous nightclub singer who was once tight with some high-ranking Nazis. Pringle is now doing his best to keep her out of a labor camp...[/font] [font=Century Gothic]"A Foreign Affair" is an entertaining comedy about the serious subject of postwar Germany, directed with style by Billy Wilder.(Only the ending does not ring true, however.) The movie is about a country trying to get back on its feet and uses Berlin's devastation to show how far it has to go. Luxury goods can only be found on the black market, where chocolate and cigarettes seem to be the main units of currency. The movie urges reconciliation with, not condemnation of, the people of Germany. And the only way to find out anything of value is to avoid the guided tour.[/font]
Anastasia B

This may not be one of Wilder's major works, however, the spirit is here, and you can feel it: the German director and his fellow German leading woman have made this film from the soul. It's more about post-war Berlin, than the love-affair (mere excuse of a plot). Jean… More
This may not be one of Wilder's major works, however, the spirit is here, and you can feel it: the German director and his fellow German leading woman have made this film from the soul. It's more about post-war Berlin, than the love-affair (mere excuse of a plot). Jean Arthur's talent saves the day when it comes to the (sometimes) poor script, and provides the comic relief, but it's Dietrich that shines all the way through- she is simply divine. She steals the whole film, of course, and the scenes where she sings at the cabaret can be inscribed on one's memory for ever. Don't miss this classic!
Doctor S

'A Foreign Affair' Provides the Laughs, Dahling This postwar comedy with Marlene Dietrich as an acid-tongued nightclub singer with suspected Nazi ties and Jean Arthur as a visiting no-nonsense Congresswoman from Iowa both after the same army heel with a guilty conscience… More
'A Foreign Affair' Provides the Laughs, Dahling This postwar comedy with Marlene Dietrich as an acid-tongued nightclub singer with suspected Nazi ties and Jean Arthur as a visiting no-nonsense Congresswoman from Iowa both after the same army heel with a guilty conscience starts slowly but gets in full gear when the romantic entanglements commence. Both actresses are terrific.