The women steal the honours in this film about a soldier John Pringle (John Lund)who has a lover Erika (Marlene Dietrich) in Germany but falls for a Congresswoman Phoebe (Jean Arthur) who is on a 5-day stay in Berlin investigating morale and morals within the US army. Jean Arthur is funny, determined and innocent while Dietrich is sexy, stylish, streetwise and playfully wicked. The story has humour and sadness and it ends well for all parties, but it is the acting of the 2 lead women that makes the film worth seeing.
As usual, Dietrich sings some rubbish songs but it doesn't get in the way of the film and she wears nice sparkly outfits which takes the attention away from the music. My favourite scene is when Dietrich and Arthur are in a club that gets raided and Dietrich points out a few home truths. Jean Arthur makes you feel genuinely sorry for her and it's a good contrast to the humour which has gone beforehand. There is also a story about a jealous Nazi who is coming to dish out some revenge to John but this thread is only picked up in the latter stages of the film. It's quite a long film but it's enjoyable enough to watch again.
As usual, Dietrich sings some rubbish songs but it doesn't get in the way of the film and she wears nice sparkly outfits which takes the attention away from the music. My favourite scene is when Dietrich and Arthur are in a club that gets raided and Dietrich points out a few home truths. Jean Arthur makes you feel genuinely sorry for her and it's a good contrast to the humour which has gone beforehand. There is also a story about a jealous Nazi who is coming to dish out some revenge to John but this thread is only picked up in the latter stages of the film. It's quite a long film but it's enjoyable enough to watch again.