Berlin Express a Post WWII Look at Germany
Robert Ryan and Merle Oberon Movie in War Ravaged Frankfurt
Aug 25, 2009
Berlin Express is a film from 1949 set in Germany after World War II. The movie is notable for the images of war torn Frankfurt am Main, a rare sight captured on film. Berlin Express has a cast the includes Merle Oberon, Robert Ryan, Charles Korvin, Paul Lukas and Robert Coote.
Berlin Express in Postwar Europe
Robert Lindley (Robert Ryan) is an American officer teamed with British officer Sterling (Robert Coote), Russian Lt. Maxim (Roman Toporow) and a French secretary (Merle Oberon). This small band of allies is on a mission to find a man who had been kidnapped.
The four allies are on a mission to rescue Dr. H. Bernard (Paul Lukas) a champion of the peace movement, from the Nazis. Each arm of the Allied Forces (United States, Great Britain, France and Russia) is represented in this film, which serves as a message about the importance of cooperation between the Allies. The “Big Four” Allies combined forces to win World War II, and the message of the movie is that continued cooperation between the allies continues to be important.
Rare Footage of Frankfurt After WWII
As the train travels through the German country side and into the city, exterior shots of a bombed out Frankfurt and the Frankfurt Hauptbahnof (train station) grim reality to the film. In fact the pictures were and and are a rare picture of the devastation of Germany as a result of World War II. The bombed out skeletons of the brick building reach up into the sky, with no roof to offer protection.
The excellent cinematography used the natural sunlight to illuminate the bombed out shells of ancient buildings. Today Frankfurt has been rebuilt and is a thriving metropolis, but after the war the city was devastated and this film is one record of this period of history with the important archival quality of the film.
Berlin Express is filmed in black and white. Background music is kept to a minimum, adding to the realism of the movie. As the movie ends the allies drive off with a medley of military music merrily paying tribute to the arms of the allies.
Cast and Crew of Berlin Express
- Merle Oberon as Lucienne
- Robert Ryan as Robert Lindley
- Charles Korvin as Perrot
- Paul Lukas as Dr. H. Bernhardt
- Robert Coote as Sterling
- Reinhold Schunzel as Walther
- Roman Toporow as Lt. Maxim
- Producer: Bert Granet
- Director: Jacques Tourneur
- Cinematography: Lucien Ballard
- Screenplay: Harold Medford, Curt Siodmak
- Berlin Express is an RKO picture.
Berlin Express may sometimes be seen on Turner Movie Classics (TCM). Berlin Express can also be found on DVD.
Resources: The movie Berlin Express and Turner Movie Classics.
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