Berlin Express (1948)

“Bernhardt had a long proven record on international affairs. His report was sharp and concise. Facts and figures about turning the four allied zones of Germany into a single unified country.”

            I love how the poster for Berlin Express says in bold fancy lettering “Trapped on a Train of Terror!”. That makes the film sound as if this was made by Hitchcock. Unfortunately this was not made by the Master of Suspense otherwise it could have gone over a lot better not been less of a bore.

            The story is very interesting, almost like Murder on the Orient Express (I have a feeling this is where the plot of the story came from). A German, Frenchman and woman, an American, a Russian, and a Brit are traveling on a train from Paris to Frankfurt and from there take a train to Berlin. Each one has an important assignment to tend to in Germany. They are traveling in an American run line used for important people, soldiers, and any diplomatic need. The German is a man named Dr. Heinrich Bernhardt he is supposed to be giving a talk about how to unify his country.  A few minutes after an unexpected stop, the doctor walks into his room and bomb goes off killing him.

            All the passengers are taken off the train and taken to US headquarters in Frankfurt to be questioned. While there we learn that the man who was killed is not the real Bernhardt but a decoy the real doctor is still alive traveling with his French secretary Lucienne (Merle Oberon). He tells the others who is once the interview is over.

            At the train station the doctor sees a friend of his from before the War. He only stops to talk to this friend when they are blocked from the views of Lucienne and an American MP. When the baggage rolls away the doctor and the friend are gone. Lucienne begs the Brit, American, Frenchman, and Russian for help in looking for the doctor. They agree and their quest to find Dr. Bernhardt almost gets them killed by former Nazis looking to stop the doctor’s plans for peace and destabilize the government.

            So the plot sounds like it would make an interesting Hitchcock film and it would but since the Master did not make this film it fell very flat. The direction is completely uninspiring which is a shame because Jacques Tournuer directed I Walked with a Zombie and that is one of my favorite films. The acting is not good at all. I do not even know why I downloaded the film because I do not like Merle Oberon at all. She was not terrible but she was not good.

            What was very interesting about Berlin Express was that some footage was actually filmed in Paris and Germany. The voiceovers talk about justice and defeat of the Germans and my god does that impact hit you as you are watching actual footage of this devastated country. They also showed how there was plenty of hostility towards Americans from the conquered Germans. Not something you always see in cheerful classic films. I actually really liked how all the characters were introduced through the voice over and the camera pans from one room to the next. I would not totally write off seeing Berlin Express because it is important in that no films during that time were actually filmed in Germany after the War or showed hostility towards Americans. Also the story is not too bad if you can get past the bad acting and the uninspired direction. See the film at least once if you can find it. 

Affectionately Yours (1941)



“Ever since they been married, she squawked at all his foreign assignments.”

            Affectionately Yours is not a good film. I had so many issues with this film it got almost unbearable to sit through.

            Ricky Mayberry (Dennis Morgan) is a foreign correspondent. He is a married man but he plays the field with pretty girls. While he is in Lisbon on assignment he gets a cable telling him his wife has divorced him. Ricky panics and does everything he can to get back going so far as to fake a head injury and a sprained ankle. The lady Ricky was flirting with in Lisbon, Irene Malcolm (Rita Hayworth), travels back with him and kind of makes his life a little difficult.

            Now Ricky’s mission is to get Sue (Merle Oberon) back before she married some guy she had known in high school named Owen Wright (Ralph Bellamy).

            If I went on any further it would mean remembering the film and I really do not want to do that. Rita Hayworth is the only enjoyable character/actress. I was so mad that Irene did not end up with Ricky. I adore Dennis Morgan he is so adorable and so handsome. He was not too bad but at some points in the film he just got too much. Merle Oberon… the first time I ever watched her in anything was Wuthering Heights. I hated the film because I despised the story. I wanted to see Oberon in another film I figured she is a classic actress who made many films in the Golden Age. I could not believe how annoying and stiff Oberon was. I could not believe that someone like Ricky would ever fight for a woman like her. There was a cute scene when Ricky basically kidnaps Sue and takes her to a pier by a lake where they used to go. He takes her out of the car and Oberon is supposed to be fighting and kicking and I cannot even describe how unbelievable she was.  I cannot blame Oberon for her poor casting though. Jack Warner and his studio were comically challenged they could not put out a good comedy film or get really good actors to be in them. He chose Oberon as the lead and she did not even work no matter how much she threw herself into the role. I have other films with Merle Oberon in them and I am hoping she is better those. Ralph Bellamy just as always played the poor sucker who never gets the girl and here it is the same thing. He annoys me as the perpetual dummy who never wins. Hattie McDaniel and Butterfly McQueen play the domestics. It is like whoever cast the film thought it would be fitting to have both of these women together since they also starred in Gone with the Wind. McQueen is another reason why I did not like this film so much. She was so damn annoying!!! Even worse in this film than in GWTW!! She was such a whiny pain in the rear.  

            Now the whole film was not ridiculously awful there were SOME good scenes. When Ricky takes Sue up to the pier he ties her leg up really good so she cannot get out of it and runaway. For a few moments Sue remembers why she loves Ricky and kisses him. In a huff of embarrassment she forgets she has the rope around her ankle and she trips over the pier side falling into the water. Another scene is when Ricky asks Irene to come over as a blind date which Sue thinks she has set up through a lonely hearts type club. The whole scheme is to make Sue so jealous she will want to come back to Ricky. Hayworth was excellent she was totally adorable and very funny. The whole thing worked for a while. Hell, if I was Oberon acting or not I would have been totally jealous of Hayworth she was gorgeous.

            What I found enjoyable other than Hayworth was the musical score. Also had a good time seeing Oberon’s clothing all her dresses were very pretty and low cut.

            Affectionately Yours could have been a good film. The story was really cute if not over used. I feel the film could have been better if Merle Oberon, Ralph Bellamy, and Butterfly McQueen had not been in it. At times Oberon was alright but as I said she was really stiff. The whole film would have been great if Morgan and Hayworth had ended up together but I guess it was good that they did not it made the film different from all the others like it but the two actors were so good together it was a shame for them to not end up with one another. Watch the film only if you like Dennis Morgan or Rita Hayworth other than those two do not even bother.