Listonixio Fresh and Exciting

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 12 August 1952 by Loew's Inc. A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer picture. New York opening at the Globe: 29 August 1952. U.S. release: September 1952. U.K. release: 15 December 1952. Australian release: 3 December 1952. Sydney opening at the St James. Approx. 90 minutes.SYNOPSIS: A memory brings Captain Eliot back to Munich - the memory of a girl who hid him from the Germans during the war. He finds her at the Cafe Silhouette. In the struggle for survival she has become part of a vicious underground pledged to new terror. How much a part, the American can can't know.COMMENT: Slow-moving spy melodrama with dull romantic interludes involving two of the wettest principals we have come across for some time. Mr Kelly doesn't sing a note or dance a step and is woefully miscast, while Miss Angeli with her innocent face and soulful eyes makes a thoroughly unconvincing B-girl. The American supporting cast is not much better, but the Germans are something else again. Claus Clausen, aided by skilful make-up (his features are made to seem wholly bland and cherubic in the former half of the film, but heavy shadow under his eyes, lines across his forehead and straggly-looking hair is used in the latter stages to give him a Dr Mabuse look), gives a most impressive portrayal and there are equally sinister vignettes by Heinrich Gretler and others while Miss Hielscher comes across effectively as a nightclub chantoose. Director Andrew Marton does nothing for the interior scenes but when the script moves out to the German countryside, he reveals his flair for action spots. There is a marvellously exciting, extended chase climax with the villain appropriately cornered in the ruins of Hitler's house. The location photography is nothing short of superlative. Other production credits, however, are merely adequate.OTHER VIEWS: Gripping mystery/romantic drama, skilfully acted by Kelly and Angeli, forcefully directed by Andrew Marton on actual locations, with fine photography, realistic sets, and plenty of hair's-breadth action.

Boba_Fett1138 The concept of the movie is pretty interesting; The post WW II effects on Germany. Too bad that the movie chooses a completely uninteresting approach.The story seems to be going nowhere and for an hour it mostly consists out of continuing drivel between Gene Kelly and Pier Angeli. The movie shows some mystery and action tendencies but none of them really pushes through. It makes "The Devil Makes Three" an unsatisfying and also quite redundant movie to watch, despite its very interesting and also original concept. There really aren't that many movies that concentrate on post WW II Germany. Too bad that they couldn't come up with a more interesting story and approach of it.The movie does get much better and interesting in the end, when a new Nazi order comes in the story but there is nothing in the story before this that even hints to this plot-element. The movie as a whole therefor feels disjointed and the ending comes too late to safe the movie as a whole.Director Andrew Marton had more success working as a second unit director, with movies such as "Ben-Hur", "Kelly's Heroes" and "The Day of the Jackal".It definitely helps that the movie was obviously shot at location and in the early '50's, right after WW II. Germany was still in ruins for some parts and the movie uses this backdrop gratefully. It helps to make the movie look and feel realistic and it works obviously better than the normal fake- and studio work. All of the locations seem to be the real thing, including Hitler's Eagle's nest (The Kehlsteinhaus), that was near Berchtesgaden, which at the time of filming was subsequently used by the Allies as a military command post until 1960, when it was handed back to the State of Bavaria.Guess lots of people are having trouble with seeing Gene Kelly in such a serious role as this one but in all fairness, he pulls it off quite well. He shows that he also knew how to act, besides being normally mostly just a 'show-man' or entertainer. Pier Angeli also plays nicely but her character just isn't the most compelling one. At first you mostly hate her and she is irritating, in the second halve of the movie you're supposed to care about her. This approach just doesn't work out, at least not good enough.Not an awful movie but still an uninteresting and redundant one.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

randtjcf 10 for Pier Angeli and 0 for Kelly who could of made this a good movie by dancing and not acting. An interesting plot of smuggling plus two weird characters on motorcycles starts to add-up to the appropriate ending . Pier Angeli is a fantastic and beautiful actress, I just had to say that, otherwise I wouldn't be writing this plus it's filmed in Germany, at least the scenery is. Some continuity issues. Willie brings up some poignant issues with her sarcasm concerning American occupation of postwar, poverty ridden Germany that few people today ever took the time to try and understand-the utter destruction of a country its people and their heritage. This movie would make and great candidate for a remake and a good history lesson for anyone. Let's hope that it happens.

fafougerat I don't have much to add besides what others have commented, except to support what was said previously, that the filming locations in post-WWII Germany and Austria are the most interesting features in this film. Views of Munich and Saltzburg give a clear picture of the extent of the devastation that resulted from bombing raids at the end of the war. But for me, what I found the most interesting was the last scenes filmed at Berchesgarten in the ruins of Hitler's Eagle's Lair where the head of the Neo-Nazi organization seeks refuge after being chased by Gene Kelly et-al. This is the only movie I recall that showed this location before it was eradicated.