The Man Between 1953
The Man Between
A British woman on a visit to post-war Berlin is caught up in an espionage ring smuggling secrets into and out of the Eastern Bloc.
A British woman on a visit to post-war Berlin is caught up in an espionage ring smuggling secrets into and out of the Eastern Bloc.
Videos & Photos
All 0 Videos & 9 Photoscast
Full Cast & Crew... Suzanne Mallison
... Ivo Kern
... Bettina
... Martin Mallison
... Lizzi
... Halendar
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews25 Sep 2022 by CinemaSerf
Very much in the vein of Carol Reed's similar cold war thriller "The Third Man" (1949), this is a gritty and characterful story set in Berlin just before the Soviet Union imposed travel restrictions. This time, the Communists kidnap "Susanne" (Claire Bloom) - she happens to be the sister of British officer "Martin" (Geoffrey Toone) and we are now presented with an intriguing and internecine series of spy and counter-spy scenarios that revolve around the dubious "Ivo" (James Mason) with whom the missing woman had been associating with - and has fallen for. It transpires that she is being held so that they can use her as leverage for the return of "Kastner" (Ernst Schröder), a lawyer with a distinctly dodgy pre-war past. It now falls to "Ivo" to rescue her and smuggle her to safety. Desmond Dickinson's dark and eery photography - especially in what's left of the heavily bombed out Berlin - coupled with a seedy and effective John Addison score work well to create an atmospheric environment. I didn't love Mason's rather unreliable German accent, but Bloom is quite effective and there are compensating and strong supporting contributions from an on-form Hildegard Knef ("Bettina") and from Aribert Wäscher as the untrustworthy "Halendar" as the plot twists and turns towards quite a menacing and tightly shot denouement. The narrative is tight, the romance sparing, it is frequently quite compelling to watch and it does have a ring of plausibility to it. A superior crime drama well worth a watch.
Genres:
Release Date:
Nov 18, 1953 (United Kingdom)
Run Time:
1hr 40`
MMPA Rating:
NR
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United Kingdom
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:

Related Movies To
The Man Between
Very much in the vein of Carol Reed's similar cold war thriller "The Third Man" (1949), this is a gritty and characterful story set in Berlin just before the Soviet Union imposed travel restrictions. This time, the Communists kidnap "Susanne" (Claire Bloom) - she happens to be the sister of British officer "Martin" (Geoffrey Toone) and we are now presented with an intriguing and internecine series of spy and counter-spy scenarios that revolve around the dubious "Ivo" (James Mason) with whom the missing woman had been associating with - and has fallen for. It transpires that she is being held so that they can use her as leverage for the return of "Kastner" (Ernst Schröder), a lawyer with a distinctly dodgy pre-war past. It now falls to "Ivo" to rescue her and smuggle her to safety. Desmond Dickinson's dark and eery photography - especially in what's left of the heavily bombed out Berlin - coupled with a seedy and effective John Addison score work well to create an atmospheric environment. I didn't love Mason's rather unreliable German accent, but Bloom is quite effective and there are compensating and strong supporting contributions from an on-form Hildegard Knef ("Bettina") and from Aribert Wäscher as the untrustworthy "Halendar" as the plot twists and turns towards quite a menacing and tightly shot denouement. The narrative is tight, the romance sparing, it is frequently quite compelling to watch and it does have a ring of plausibility to it. A superior crime drama well worth a watch.
Cast & Crew of
The Man Between
Directors & Credit Writers
Cast
... Suzanne Mallison
... Ivo Kern
... Bettina
... Martin Mallison
... Lizzi
... Halendar
... Olaf Kastner
... Horst
... Inspector Kleiber
... Opera singer
...