The Man Between

Susanne comes to Berlin to visit her brother, an army doctor. The city is divided in four; crossing to the other side of a street means entering another country. Ivo, an acquaintance of her brother's wife, does business between the sides. Susanne meets him and soon finds herself on the wrong side of the line. The subject is not espionage but changing sides having become ordinary as a way of surviving after the war. Ivo is not a villain; he is someone doing whatever survival requires, and the film does not judge him. The form is built on ruin. It was shot in the real Berlin among rubble not yet cleared; snowy streets, empty facades and night scenes make its texture. It is Carol Reed's work four years after The Third Man and the comparison is unavoidable: a divided city, a morally uncertain man and a woman arriving from outside. It was not much liked and stayed in shadow for a long time; it is being reassessed now. James Mason plays Ivo, Claire Bloom plays Susanne and Hildegard Knef the brother's wife. Who it is for: viewers who like post-war noir and Carol Reed. Who it is not for: anyone who will measure it against The Third Man; this film is noticeably weaker and the final chase feels rushed.