Set in West Berlin during the Cold War, C.R. ‘Mac’ Macnamara (James Cagney) is a Coca-Cola executive given the task of taking care of his boss’ socialite daughter Scarlett Hazeltine (Pamela Tiffin). Suddenly, an expected two-week stay develops into two months when Scarlett surprises Mac by announcing she has married Otto Piffi (German star Horst Buchholz), a young East German Communist with ardent anti-capitalist views.
Featuring a brilliant performance by James Cagney and classic fast-and-furious dialogue, this hysterical, hilarious satire on American cultural imperialism is Billy Wilder at his best, and just waiting to be fully rediscovered. An interesting curiosity is that the shooting started before the construction of the Berlin Wall – but then one morning the wall went up, forcing the crew to relocate to Munich.
Film details
- Country of production
- USA
- Year
- 1961
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2019
- Length
- 104'
- Medium/Format
- DCP
