Popular Culture Review Vol. 10, No. 2, August 1999 | Page 69

Jacques Tourneur^s Films

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Marshall aid) is expressed through the statements given by Bernhardt. In this way,
he is an idealized representation: a type rather than a psychologically developed
character. He doesn’t offer analyses of Nazism, but instead expresses the (naive)
belief in the essential goodness and universality of man, regardless of race. This is
what American audiences wanted to hear, and yet because the film’s release was
delayed, even these liberal sentiment s were obsolete in American society in 1948.
One of the most interesting aspects of the film is the subtle undercutting
of American positivism. Ostensibly, there is a privileging of American character
and world view, yet this is often undercut by the mise en scene. This is signified by
Tourneur’s use of the German locations. The ruins may be the symbols of the
death of Nazi ideology, yet they also represent an air of mystery and intrigue, a
sign that the old continent can't be taken over by American ideology. The Ameri
cans may, to all accounts, control a part of Frankfurt, but they will never be able to
truly eradicate the older Frankfurt. Tourneur reminds the viewer of this in the scenes
where Lindley and Lucienne (Merle Oberon) search for Bernhardt. It is significant
that both get lost in the maze of ruins that dominate the landscape. It is not surpris
ing that the “American” sergeant who seems to know his way around actually
turns out to be German. Through Tourneur’s melancholic tone and Lucien Ballard’s
superb cinematography, an air of crumbling decadence and mystery is evoked, and
Frankfurt remains inscrutable. The refusal to yield fiilly to the “invaders” is a
theme that is also present in I Walked with a Zombie, and is evidence of Tourneur’s
belief in the coexistence of “parallel worlds”. There is a constant feeling that the
Germans will never fully cooperate. This is seen in a number of scenes: from the
woman who sees Bernhardt on the bus as he arrives in Frankfurt (and rushes to tell
the Nazis that he’s not dead) to the woman who faints at the station (thus causing
a diversion which allows the kidnappers to abduct Bernhardt). Perhaps the best
example is the silent hostility that greets Lindley and Lucienne in the underground
nightclub. The hostility isn’t just on the part of the Nazi sympathizers, but is also
seen among the general German audience there. I would argue that the film is not
implying that all Germans, with the exception of Bernhardt, are still pro-Nazi.
Rather it points out the impossibility of imperialist practice, however benevolent
that imperialism might be. The Marshall Plan may well have had altruistic mo
tives, yet it also signified a kind of imperialistic control. Tourneur’s film seems to
suggest that any country’s attempt to impose their laws/ideologies on another’s is
bound to be met with resistance, whether it be subtle or overt. In this subtle under
cutting of the American positivism represented by Lindley (and Bernhardt) Berlin
Express's liberal message is in danger of collapsing from within the film. Is this
film the “no” to the “yes” of the Marshall plan? Is the ostensible liberalism actu
ally hiding a deeper sense of distrust? One could argue that this ambiguity is
conscious: an attempt by the producer and director to capture American society’s