Berlin Express

Directed by Jacques Tourneur, this 1948 thriller gathers French, American, German, British and Russian passengers aboard a secured US Army train from Paris to Frankfurt. When a German diplomat working for peace is abducted at the station, the passengers unite to search for him through the ruined city, the trail leading from nightclubs to an abandoned brewery, and one of their own turns out to be a collaborator. The film's real value lies not in its plot but in where it was made: an opening card states the scenes were shot with the separate permission of the American, British and Soviet occupation armies, and it is considered the first Hollywood production allowed into postwar Germany. The European shoot ran seven weeks, with negative shipped back to Hollywood for processing. Film equipment was so scarce on the continent at the time that Billy Wilder had to wait for this production to wrap in order to borrow what he needed for his own film. The cast includes German émigré actors who had fled Nazi Germany, performing among the ruins of their own country. Robert Ryan became a committed anti war advocate after seeing the destruction during filming. Who it's for: Fans of film noir and anyone curious to see postwar Europe as it actually looked. Who it's not for: Not for viewers wanting an original espionage plot, since even Variety noted the script never escapes the anti Nazi formula.