Starring Gene Kelly, Pier Angeli, and Richard Egan, The Devil Makes Three was not, shall we say, a hit upon its 1952 release.

​Granted, some reviews praised the film, particularly its wintry European scenery and entire second half that features "considerable suspense and action" (Harrison's Report, 1952). ​But even more critics panned The Devil Makes Three: they called it "curiously disappointing," paced too slowly, and "a pallid and erratic endeavor​." Even Gene Kelly called it "a catastrophe" (121). ​In short, this melodramatic thriller set in postwar Germany did not fare well at the box office either domestically or overseas. 

​With all of that in mind, why would you want to watch The Devil Makes Three in its entirety (which you can right here)? Let me offer 5 reasons: 

1. It's Gene kelly's First "Exile Film"

In 1951, the U.S. Congress passed a law offering a considerable tax break to Americans who lived outside the country for more than 18 months. During this time, these temporary ex-pats would no longer have to account to the IRS for any earnings they made overseas. 

According to Sheridan Morley and Ruth Leon, Gene Kelly was one of the first Hollywood stars to announce his intention to take advantage of this tax break. He asked MGM to find two European-based movies that would keep him out of the U.S. for at least 18 months.

In fan magazines of the time, Kelly's move to Europe is touted as purely financial. But looking back, we can surmise another explanation: McCarthyism was still setting its eye on Hollywood. While Kelly had little to fear in this arena, his wife, Betsy Blair, vocally supported several left-wing/Communist committees. Perhaps, then, Kelly thought, the family would be safer living abroad, at least until the chaos calmed down. 

In any event, The Devil Makes Three marks the first of Kelly's films "in exile." His others are Crest of the Wave and the experimental film Invitation to the Dance. So you might see for yourself, for better or worse, what happens when "an aging dancer who depended crucially on the Hollywood studio technology of the time" decides to forgo that prosperous relationship.

2. It's Shot Entirely On Location

In The Devil Makes Three, Gene Kelly plays Jeff Eliot, an American army captain who returns to Germany to visit the family that rescued him after his plane was shot down in WWII. To reflect this story, the film is shot entirely on location in Germany and Austria, as well as on the Autobahn (highway) between them.

We should remember that, at this time, Hollywood backlots and painted sets were still being used for many film productions. This, of course, will be evident in (and arguably detrimental to) Brigadoon, Kelly's first film after he returns to the U.S. in 1954.

3. It Features an Engaging Pier Angeli

Italian-born Pier Angeli is a charming heroine in The Devil Makes Three. Angeli plays Wilhelmina Lehrt, the only surviving member of the family that saved Kelly's Jeff Eliot during WWII. The rest were killed in an American air raid. ​Wilhelmina (or "Willie") works as a nightclub hostess and intensely dislikes Americans. But this is a movie, so she falls for Kelly's character anyway.

Angeli had a largely undistinguished career, at least in Hollywood terms, and she unfortunately died too young at age 39. But I always liked her in this film, as well as in Merry Andrew (1958) and Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956).

4. ITs ACtion Sequences are Expertly Choreographed

As reviewers point out in 1952, the second half of The Devil Makes Three is exciting and fun to watch. The film is directed by Hungarian-American filmmaker Andrew Marton, most well known for co-choreographing the chariot race in Ben Hur (1959) and battle scenes in A Farewell to Arms (1957).

Thanks to Marton's interest in action sequences, the motorcycle race in The Devil Makes Three, taking place on the Autobahn and atop a frozen lake, is particularly well-staged and thrilling to watch. ​Also, the music by Rudolph G. Kopp adds to the atmosphere, and brief musical interludes are mostly performed in German.

5. IT Gives Us a filmed record of postwar Germany

Because of its on-location shooting, The Devil Makes Three has much historic value to offer. For example, the finale was shot in the ruins of Hitler's retreat at Berchtesgaden before its demolition in 1953. Also, Hitler's Brown House in Munich is revealed in its bombed-out state.

About the Author

Endre Gergo is a Hungarian computer geek working in the IT field. He developed a passion for American English, the Golden Age of Hollywood, movie musicals, and Gene Kelly by watching TNT Classic Movies in the mid-1990s on analog satellite. He's also an advocate of all things related to home theater, multi-channel sound, Blu-Ray, and Ultra HD Blu-Ray.
Image: "Wintry autobahn," by skeeze, Pixabay.