Wolfgang Borchert's radio play 'The Man outside. Tragedy of a returning Soldier', in which he drew upon his traumatic experiences on the Russian Front, was adapted for the stage in 1947 but he died from hepatitis just one day before the play's premiere. Two years later it has been filmed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner with Karl John as soldier Beckmann and expanded to focus more on war-widow Anna which provides a powerful role for the director's wife, the stunning Hilde Krahl. In keeping with their characters' tragic tales the sheer emotional intensity of their performances is overwhelming whilst Liebeneiner's direction is superlative and Franz Weihmayer's cinematography suitably stark. Beckmann could easily have been created by Bertold Brecht, especially in his surreal nightclub routine. The disturbing confrontation with his former commanding officer features a magnificent nightmare sequence. Comic relief is supplied by the nightclub owner who advises Beckmann that post-war Germany needs 'positives' like Goethe, Mozart and Shirley Temple. He is played by Hubert von Meyerinck, best known to English-speaking audiences in Billy Wilder's 'One, Two, Three' as the Count who comes from a long line of 'bleeders'.
Post-war 'Rubble' films depicted the terrible price that the Germans paid for their fatal flirtation with National Socialism and enabled directors to expiate their guilt for having served such monstrous masters, not least of whom was Liebeneiner who had made the notorious 'Ich klage an' which promoted the Nazi's T4 Euthanasia programme.
'Liebe '47' is certainly not the most renowned of the 'Rubble' genre but fully deserves to be, despite its harrowing and unrelenting gloom. It fared badly for by the time it was released the Germans had no further desire to face the privations of the past and were looking to future prosperity. Over seventy years on it can hopefully be viewed as an excellent piece of film-making although this sadly seems unlikely as mine is thus far the only review.
