The Man Between (1953)

Simply Perfect

Just perfect...

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

A perfect film noir with excellent acting from both the stars and the supporting cast. Mason is superb (when wasn't he?) and Carol Reed's many close-ups reminded us how beautiful "the Dark Young God" was in his 30s and 40s. The camera loved that face. Bloom is lovely and perfectly captures the innocence which is such a foil to the cynical, tormented Mason. Some reviewers have been critical of the rather long buildup to the love story, but I think it was necessary in order to flesh-out their respective characters and intentions. As for Mason's German accent, several commentators have remarked on its accuracy. For myself, I didn't much care for it because I love the original James Mason voice and don't much like any of his accents, except for the Irish lilt in ODD MAN OUT. The photography in this film cannot be praised enough and I loved the stark, haunting soundtrack. A pity that it hasn't been recorded. I have seen this film several times and it only improves with age (unlike Ivo Kern). A solid 10 for this one.

It's East and West (post war) Berlin (pre-wall). Stalin's huge Mug is Everywhere, a Big-Brother forever Looking over Your shoulder. It's not only the Cold War but it is Depressingly Cold Weather that also lends a Chill to the Atmosphere. Carol Reed's Icy Story of a Man Straddling the Line between His Occupation and His Scruples. He is a former Lawyer, a somewhat Reluctant former Nazi that is currently skating about Kidnapping for the Evil Communists.James Mason is Fine and Claire Bloom is Radiantly Confident and is Learning fast about the Complex Situation concerning the Politics of the Day and the coldness of the Bad Ruskies. Hildegard Neff is another Complex Character, the Wife of a British Officer and is remarkably Attractive.Speaking of attractive, except for Mason, all of the Commies are portrayed by Unattractive Actors, with Excess Weight, Mustaches, and Robotic Tendencies. This Stereotypical and frankly, Sophomoric Display is not worthy of Serious Consideration except in Pulp Fiction and is the Film's Weakest Element.The Strength comes from the fine Acting and the tilted Shots of Bombed Out Berlin draped with Hammer and Sickle and a Propagandized Atmosphere. The Movie is Long, sometimes Boring, and is Cumbersome with Clichés.Overall, Overrated but Worth a Watch for the Cold War Atmosphere and some Good Acting, but the Black Hat-White Hat Characters are far Less Intriguing than the Sets and Story They Move Through.

Ex-lawyer and Nazi sympathizer James Mason is aiding the Germans in kidnapping certain individuals from West Berlin and bringing them across the Eastern border; Claire Bloom, a lovely British miss who was under the assumption Mason had romantic feelings for her, is kidnapped by mistake. Sketchy melodrama, directed somewhat weakly by Carol Reed, was filmed mostly in England with a few actual Berlin locales scattered about. Visually, the picture is drab, with a potentially suspenseful finale mucked up by poor cinematography and editing. Reed feasts on Mount Rushmore close-ups of Mason, with only the star's molars and his precise diction (enunciated to reach the high balconies) making an impression. Bloom is very good, as is Hildegarde Neff (later Kneff) as a world-weary Frau, and the kidnapper's actual target. ** from ****

Carol Reed keeps the post-war intrigue alive for the most part with his Odd Man Out lead James Mason in this trifle uneven and occasionally slow suspense film that strongly resembles the director's magnificent Third Man.Londoner Sussane Mallison (Claire Bloom) visits her serviceman brother and his wife in war torn Berlin. It isn't long before she suspects Bettina (Hildergard Neff) her sister in law of some type of deception. When she meets the mysterious Ivo Kern she is drawn into the action further, conflicted by the fact he is an extortionist and she is romantically drawn to him.Reed does a good job of keeping the audience in the dark for a good deal of the film with Mason and Neff both convincingly ambiguous and Bloom as innocent and confused as Holly Martins. The devastated Berlin backdrop with the ubiquitous visage of Stalin in the Eastern sector provide grim atmospherics with cinematographer Dietrich Dikisson ably filling in for Reed regular DP Robert Krasker.The editing which is a touch sloppy occasionally bogs the story down and the music score at times can be torturous to listen to but Mason's tragic turn as the cornered Kern never allows the film to fall into bathos for too long. He is the German version of the angry young man that would permeate film throughout the fifties and into the sixties and as The Man Between he is an eloquent spokesman in conveying the devastating disappointment of a generation betrayed by its government.