| The Devil Makes Three | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Andrew Marton |
| Written by | Lawrence P. Bachmann Jerry Davis |
| Produced by | Richard Goldstone |
| Starring | Gene Kelly Pier Angeli Richard Egan |
| Cinematography | Václav Vích |
| Edited by | Ben Lewis |
| Music by | Rudolph G. Kopp |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
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Running time | 96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,005,000[1] |
| Box office | $1,485,000[1] |
The Devil Makes Three is a 1952 American film noir thriller film directed by Andrew Marton and starring Gene Kelly, Pier Angeli and Richard Egan. Produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was set and filmed in post-World War II Germany.
Plot
Former Eighth Air Force bomber crewman Captain Jeff Eliot returns to Germany in 1947 to visit the family who rescued and hid him from the Nazis after his plane was shot down over Munich in World War II.
He learns that most of the family was killed by an American air raid. The only survivor is the daughter, Wilhelmina Lehrt, who is working as a hostess in a nightclub and hates Americans. Eliot nonetheless manages to romance "Willie" and in his time at the nightclub, he develops a friendship with Heisemann, a comic.
Heisemann, it turns out, has secret ties to an underground Nazi revivalist movement. When Eliot discovers this, he tells his superiors, who order him to continue his relationship with Willie to learn more about Heisemann's operation.
The climax of the picture takes place in Berchtesgaden, and the scenes of Heisemann being chased through the rubble were filmed inside the ruins of Hitler's house just before its final demolition by the German government. Heisemann in the scene's final frame stands facing his captors in the notorious huge picture window of the house.
Cast
- Gene Kelly as Captain Jeff Eliot
- Pier Angeli as Wilhelmina "Willie" Lehrt
- Richard Rober as Colonel James Terry
- Richard Egan as Captain Parker
- Claus Clausen as Heisemann
- Wilfried Seyferth as Hansig
- Margot Hielscher as Bar Singer
- Annie Rosar as Mrs. Keigler
- Harold Benedict as Sgt. at Airport
- Otto Gebühr as Mr. Nolder
- Gertrud Wolle as Mrs. Nolder
- Heinrich Gretler as Keigler
- Charlotte Flemming as Girl in Telephone Booth
- Charles Gordon Howard as Lt. Farris
- Bum Krüger as Oberlitz
- Claus Lombard as Waiter
- Iván Petrovich as Sigmund Neffs
- Sepp Rist as Customs Official - German
- Michael Tellering as Ernst Haltmann
- Ruth Megary as Waitress
Reception
According to MGM records the film made $743,000 in the US and Canada and $742,000 elsewhere, resulting in a loss of $57,000.[1]