The Man Between (DVD)

From Carol Reed, the legendary director of The Third Man, Trapeze, The Fallen Idol, Oliver! and Outcast of the Islands comes this classic film noir, a reteaming of the director and star (James Mason, North by Northwest, Lolita) of Odd Man Out. Set in a divided Berlin at the beginning of the Cold War, The Man Between is often considered a companion piece to The Third Man with its atmospheric portrayal of a city struggling to survive in a grim post-war reality of poverty and mistrust. Unlike the devilish Harry Lime, Mason’s world-weary dealer Ivo Kern is ultimately still a decent man, compelled by his love for a naïve schoolteacher (Claire Bloom, The Haunting, Charly) to make one last misguided trip through the Brandenburg Gate, with potentially tragic consequences. Beautifully shot in glorious black-and-white by Desmond Dickinson (Berserk, Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?).