A Foreign Affair (1948)

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Approved
1h 56min
Comedy, Drama
20 Aug 1948 (USA)
Movie

7.3 (8,542)

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In occupied Berlin, an army captain is torn between an ex-Nazi café singer and the U.S. congresswoman investigating her.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Stars:

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 nomination.
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Reviews:

Photos and Videos

Still of Marlene Dietrich (I) and John Lund (I) in A Foreign Affair (1948)

Still of Marlene Dietrich (I) and Jean Arthur (I) in A Foreign Affair (1948)

Still of Marlene Dietrich (I), Jean Arthur (I) and John Lund (I) in A Foreign Affair (1948)

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30 photos | 2 videos

Cast verified as complete

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	Jean Arthur	...	Congresswoman Phoebe Frost
	Marlene Dietrich	...	Erika Von Schluetow
	John Lund	...	Capt. John Pringle
	Millard Mitchell	...	Col. Rufus J. Plummer
	Peter von Zerneck	...	Hans Otto Birgel
	Stanley Prager	...	Mike
	William Murphy	...	Joe (as Bill Murphy)
	Raymond Bond	...	Congressman Pennecot
	Boyd Davis	...	Congressman Giffin
	Robert Malcolm	...	Congressman Kramer
	Charles Meredith	...	Congressman Yandell
	Michael Raffetto	...	Congressman Salvatore
	Damian O'Flynn	...	Lieutenant Colonel
	Frank Fenton	...	Maj. Mathews
	James Lorimer	...	Lt. Hornby (as James Larmore)
	Harland Tucker	...	Gen. McAndrew
	Bill Neff	...	Lieutenant Lee Thompson (as William Neff)
	George M. Carleton	...	General Finney (as George Carleton)
	Gordon Jones	...	Military Policeman
	Freddie Steele	...	Military Policeman (as Fred Steele)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
	Nick Abramoff	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Leon Alton	...	Military Reporter (uncredited)
	Robert Bohannon	...	Soldier (uncredited)
	Ted Cottle	...	Gerhardt Maier (uncredited)
	Roy Damron	...	Canteen Lorelei Customer (uncredited)
	Zina Dennis	...	Russian (uncredited)
	Jimmie Dundee	...	Military Police (uncredited)
	Curt Furberg	...	Canteen Lorelei Customer (uncredited)
	Joseph Goebbels	...	Joseph Goebbels (uncredited) (archiveFootage)
	Lisa Golm	...	German (uncredited)
	Leo Gregory	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Ilka Grüning	...	German Wife (uncredited)
	Vilmos Gyimes	...	Waiter (uncredited)
	Chester Hayes	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Len Hendry	...	Staff Sergeant (uncredited)
	Lars Hensen	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
	Hans Herbert	...	Waiter (uncredited)
	George Hoagland	...	Canteen Lorelei Customer (uncredited)
	Friedrich Hollaender	...	Piano Player at The Lorelei (uncredited)
	Jerry James	...	Lieutenant (uncredited)
	Howard Joslin	...	Military Police (uncredited)
	George Kachin	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Willy Kaufman	...	Waiter (uncredited)
	Phyllis Kennedy	...	WAC Technical Sergeant (uncredited)
	Henry Kulky	...	Russian Soldier at Marketplace (uncredited)
	Harry Lauter	...	Corporal (uncredited)
	Rex Lease	...	Military Police Lieutenant (uncredited)
	Norman Leavitt	...	Non-Commissioned-Officer (uncredited)
	Paul Lees	...	Soldier (uncredited)
	Max Linder	...	Canteen Lorelei Customer (uncredited)
	Ken Lundy	...	Soldier (uncredited)
	Don Lynch	...	Soldier (uncredited)
	Mathew McCue	...	Canteen Lorelei Customer (uncredited)
	Gregory Merims	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Ralph Montgomery	...	American Soldier in Nightclub (uncredited)
	Bert Moorhouse	...	Transport Pilot (uncredited)
	Hazard Newsberry	...	Lieutenant (uncredited)
	Larry Nunn	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
	Paul Panzer	...	Peddler with KnickKnacks and Mattress (uncredited)
	George Paris	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Joe Ploski	...	Canteen Lorelei Customer (uncredited)
	Frank Popovich	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Otto Reichow	...	German Policeman (uncredited)
	Albin Robeling	...	Cook (uncredited)
	Richard Ryen	...	Herr Maier (uncredited)
	William Sabbot	...	Russian Dancer (uncredited)
	William Self	...	Soldier (uncredited)
	Pat Shade	...	Soldier (uncredited)
	John Shay	...	Soldier (uncredited)
	Bill Sheehan	...	Military Policeman (uncredited)
	Peter Similuk	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Robert J.T. Simpson	...	Major (uncredited)
	Kinko 'Lucky' Simunovich	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Bert Stevens	...	Canteen Lorelei Customer (uncredited)
	Walter Thiele	...	German (uncredited)
	Jack Tornek	...	Canteen Lorelei Customer (uncredited)
	George Unanoff	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Edward Van Sloan	...	German (uncredited)
	Jack Vlaskin	...	Russian Dancer (uncredited)
	Sergei N. Vonevsky	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)
	Henry Vroom	...	American Sergeant (uncredited)
	Otto Waldis	...	Inspector (uncredited)
	Fay Wall	...	Fraulein (uncredited)
	Christa Walton	...	Fraulein (uncredited)
	Bobby Watson	...	Adolph Hitler (uncredited)
	Chalky Williams	...	Military Photographer (uncredited)
	Eric Wyland	...	German Waiter (uncredited)
	Frank Yaconelli	...	Accordion Player (uncredited)
	Nicholas Zane	...	Russian Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by

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Billy Wilder

Written by

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Charles Brackett	...	(screenplay) &
Billy Wilder	...	(screenplay) and
Richard L. Breen	...	(screenplay)

Robert Harari	...	(adaptation)

David Shaw	...	(original story)

Produced by

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Charles Brackett

...

producer

Music by

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Friedrich Hollaender

...

(as Frederick Hollander)

Cinematography by

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Charles Lang

...

director of photography (as Charles B. Lang Jr.)

Editorial Department

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Doane Harrison

...

editorial supervisor

Art Direction by

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Hans Dreier
Walter H. Tyler	...	(as Walter Tyler)

Set Decoration by

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Sam Comer
Ross Dowd

Costume Design by

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Edith Head

Makeup Department

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Wally Westmore

...

makeup supervisor

Production Management

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Hugh Brown

...

production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Charles C. Coleman	...	assistant director (as C.C. Coleman Jr.)
Douglas Bridges	...	extra second assistant director (uncredited)
Withold Grünberg	...	assistant director: Berlin (uncredited)
Willi Herrmann	...	assistant director: Berlin (uncredited)
Gerd Oswald	...	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department

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Jack Golconda

...

props (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Hugo Grenzbach	...	sound recordist
Walter Oberst	...	sound recordist

Visual Effects by

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Farciot Edouart	...	process photography
Gordon Jennings	...	special photographic effects
Dewey Wrigley	...	process photography

Camera and Electrical Department

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Guy Bennett	...	camera operator (uncredited)
Ed Crowder	...	grip (uncredited)
Paul Filipp	...	still photographer: Berlin (uncredited)
Herbert Greyer	...	assistant camera: Berlin (uncredited)
James Hawley	...	assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)
Jack Koffman	...	still photographer (uncredited)
Kurt Schulz	...	camera operator: Berlin (uncredited)

Music Department

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Sidney Cutner	...	orchestrator (uncredited)
Friedrich Hollaender	...	musical director (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	...	orchestrator (uncredited)
Van Cleave	...	orchestrator (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Harry F. Hogan

...

script supervisor (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Ronnie Lubin	...	dialogue director (uncredited)
C.A. Murphy	...	technical advisor (uncredited)

Crew believed to be complete

Production Companies

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Paramount Pictures (presents)

Distributors

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Paramount Pictures (1948) (United States) (theatrical)
Paramount Film Service (1948) (Canada) (theatrical)
Paramount British Pictures (1948) (United Kingdom) (theatrical)
Paramount Film Service (1948) (Australia) (theatrical)
Film AB Paramount (1948) (Sweden) (theatrical)
Paramount Films of Mexico (1949) (Mexico) (theatrical)
Les Films Paramount (1949) (France) (theatrical)
Filmaktieselskapet Paramount (1949) (Norway) (theatrical)
Filmaktieselskabet Paramount (1949) (Denmark) (theatrical)
Paramount Films of Argentina (1949) (Argentina) (theatrical)
Paramount Filmes (1950) (Portugal) (theatrical)
MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (United States) (tv)
Junes Planning (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
Versátil Home Vídeo (2007) (Brazil) (DVD)
Universum Film (UFA) (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) (2013) (United States) (DVD)
Kino Lorber Studio Classics (2019) (United States) (Blu-ray)
The Criterion Channel (2022) (United States) (tv) (streaming)

Special Effects

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Other Companies

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TCM Vault Collection (package design)

Storyline

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Plot Summary	A congressional committee visits occupied Berlin to investigate G.I. morals. Congresswoman Phoebe Frost, appalled at widespread evidence of human frailty, hears rumors that cafe singer Erika, former mistress of a wanted war criminal, is "protected" by an American officer, and enlists Captain John Pringle to help her find him...not knowing that Pringle is Erika's lover. Written by Rod Crawford Plot Summary
Plot Keywords	chanteuse nazi-party nazi-sympathizer fellow-traveler excuse See All (87) »
Taglines	You'll Be Buttonholed by People You Hardly Know Who'll Tell You "I Just Saw the Funniest Show in My Life!" See more »
Genres	Comedy Drama Romance
Parents Guide	Add content advisory for parents »
Certification	Argentina:13 Australia:G France:Tous publics Germany:12 Hungary:14 Italy:T Norway:A (recommended rating) Norway:16 (cinema rating) Sweden:Btl United Kingdom:U (video rating) United Kingdom:A United States:Approved

Additional Details

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Also Known As	Operation Candy Bar (United States) La scandaleuse de Berlin (France) Eine auswärtige Affäre (Germany) Berlín Occidente (Spain) Moralens vokter (Norway) See more »
Runtime	116 min
Country	United States
Language	English German
Color	Black and White
Aspect Ratio	1.37 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix	Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Filming Locations	Berlin, Germany See more »

Box Office

Budget

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Did You Know?

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Trivia	Billy Wilder said that John Lund "was the guy you got after you wrote the part for Cary Grant and Grant wasn't available." See more »
Goofs	Though Phoebe, the American Congresswoman played by Jean Arthur is not married, the actress's real wedding ring is visible in many scenes especially closeups during the latter part of the film. See more »
Movie Connections	Edited into The Good German (2006). See more »
Soundtracks	Black Market See more »
Quotes	Erika von Schluetow: We've all become animals with exactly one instinct left. Self-preservation. Now take me, Miss Frost. Bombed out a dozen times, everything caved in and pulled out from under me. My country, my possessions, my beliefs... yet somehow I kept going. Months and months in air raid shelters, crammed in with five thousand other people. I kept going. What do you think it was like to be a woman in this town when the Russians first swept in? I kept going. See more »

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