The bleak war-torn settings of East and West Germany during the post-war years of WWII provide a suitable backdrop for a rather cold tale involving complex characters and moral ambiguities.

The story's first half takes time to set up the murky relationships between CLAIRE BLOOM, HILDEGARD KNEF and JAMES MASON before settling down to some quieter moments and romantic overtones when the chemistry between the young girl (Bloom) and the dangerous criminal (Mason) becomes evident. It's their relationship in the second half of the story that heats up some of the cold war atmosphere of the tale.

Suspense mounts as they hide out from the German authorities, but all the while one gets the feeling that all will not end well for the ill-fated pair who have fallen deeply in love.

If you liked the somber atmosphere of films like ODD MAN OUT and THE THIRD MAN, you'll definitely enjoy the atmospheric effects achieved in the crisp B&W photography on display here. Outstanding photography in scene after scene, although the story itself never quite achieves the same degree of finesse as the previously mentioned Carol Reed films.

Nevertheless, it's all extremely well acted. Mason has never been more effective as a complex man full of moral ambiguities and Bloom is given a wonderful chance to display her charm and sensitivity in a well-written role.

Definitely worth watching.

Claire Bloom has just arrived in post-war Berlin to vacation with her brother who is in the British Army and his new German wife (played by Hildegard Knef). Knef shows Bloom all about Berlin--both the Allied and the Russian sectors. In the east, the meet James Mason--a mysterious man who soon begins dating Bloom. However, there's obviously much more to the man than this and he and Knef share some secret. Later, through a strange series of events, Bloom is accidentally kidnapped and it's up to dashing Mason to help her sneak back to West Berlin--all the while pursued with Communists bent on their capture.

The film has a look very similar to director Reed's more famous preceding film, THE THIRD MAN--which was shot in post-war Vienna. However, the camera work in THE THIRD MAN was more daring and novel and the Berlin took far worse damage during the war--and the sheer volume of rubble in 1953 is still very significant and adds to the atmosphere.

Overall, while not a great spy film, it is very good and keeps your interest. I would say, overall, that the second half is a bit more exciting than the first. I especially liked the ending, though some might have preferred something a bit more upbeat.

By the way, James Mason seemed to do a fairly good job with speaking German. I could tell he wasn't exactly a native speaker, but he was pretty adept.

In the wake of the international acclaim for The Third Man, Carol Reed decided to try and repeat with another story about international intrigue with The Man Between. Though not as good as The Third Man, The Man Between can stand on its own merits quite nicely.

Taking the place of occupied Vienna is occupied Berlin. The story itself is a more formal cold war espionage story whereas in The Third Man it was about the black market which knows no politics. The innocent who churns thing up is Claire Bloom who is also in Berlin to visit her brother Geoffrey Toone, a medical doctor on assignment in the Allied occupied west sector in the British Zone. Toone has a new wife that Bloom's never met in the person of Hildegarde Knef.

And Knef's got a mysterious new friend in James Mason, someone who has known Knef from before the war. Of course we later find out just how well he knew her as the film progresses.

Aspects of two of James Mason's previous successful roles come into play and blend quite nicely for him in The Man Between. He starts out as an international man of mystery (no Austin Powers cracks please) as he is in 5 Fingers a rather ruthless individual operating in the netherworld between the west and east. Later on he reveals a lot more of himself to Bloom and by the end of the film you're thinking he reminds you of his luckless Irish revolutionary in Odd Man Out. The transition is accomplished smoothly under Carol Reed's direction.

The rest of the cast is mostly made up of German players who were active in the cinema during the Nazi days. What their politics were who of us could tell unless we'd made a serious study of the subject. I've often wondered myself what rated the blacklisting an Emil Jannings got as opposed to a lot of others who did appear in Nazi propaganda films. Look at the cast credits of both Ernst Schroeder who plays a western sympathizing agent and Aribert Wascher who's a gangster operating in the Eastern Zone for the Russians. Look at their credits, both appeared in propaganda films. Both also give good performances in The Man Between.

Even the occupied Eastern Zone has been considerably built up since the reunification of Germany. The Man Between is a fine Cold War drama and it gives one a chance to look at the devastation of Berlin post World War II which hopefully will never happen again.