A little over three years after the end of the war, A Foreign Affair was released in US cinemas in August 1948. War-damaged Berlin in the spring of 1946, with its ruined landscapes and the black-market business of everyday survival, forms the backdrop to the comedy. A US congresswoman, Phoebe Frost from Iowa (Jean Arthur), is tasked with checking the morale of the troops stationed in the city. Her counterpart is a German nightclub singer, Erika von Schlütow (Marlene Dietrich), who uses her seductive talents to ensnare a captain who is supposed to provide her with nylons, soap and coffee as well as a clean slate. However, the fact that she was the mistress of a high-ranking Nazi has not escaped the notice of the US officer.
Ever since Billy Wilder first offered her the role in March 1947, Dietrich stubbornly refused to play a Nazi mistress. Erika von Schlütow was conceived more as an apolitical figure who was ultimately only concerned with her own survival. Finally, at Dietrich’s request, a dialogue is written between the two women in which the singer describes to the congresswoman the daily struggle for survival during the war and in post-war Berlin. As a nightclub singer, Dietrich wears the same sequined costumes in the film that made her sparkle during her tours entertaining the US Army troops.
Wilder shot the footage of the destroyed city at the beginning of the film when he was stationed in Berlin as an American officer after the end of the war and roamed the city with a cameraman. Shortly before filming began, on 18 November 1947, Dietrich was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the US’s highest award for civilians, for her war work.
Wilder’s comedy divides the critics. The portrayal of such a serious subject in a comedy is considered tasteless by some. Others are full of praise for the quality of the dialogue and the authentic atmosphere. The songs by Friedrich Hollaender, performed in a smoky voice by Dietrich and accompanied by Hollaender himself on the piano, underline this with clear allusions to Der blaue Engel.
A Foreign Affair was Oscar-nominated for its cinematography and screenplay and was a considerable financial success in the US. For the American military government in Berlin, however, the film, which was primarily intended to be used for re-education purposes, was unacceptable. It was banned in postwar Germany.

Silke Ronneburg