A FOREIGN AFFAIR

March 1, 1951

Screen Directors Playhouse was a radio anthology series which brought leading Hollywood actors to the NBC microphones beginning in 1949. The radio program broadcast adaptations of films, and original directors of the films were sometimes involved, although their participation was usually limited to introducing the radio adaptations, and a brief “curtain call” with the cast and host at the end of the program. The series later had a brief run on television.
The radio version ran for 122 episodes and aired on NBC from January 9, 1949 to September 28, 1951 under several different titles: NBC Theater, Screen Director’s Guild Assignment, Screen Director’s Assignment and, as of July 1, 1949, Screen Director’s Playhouse.

“A Foreign Affair” was sponsored by Chesterfield, Anacin, RCA. The story was originally broadcast March 6, 1949 in which Rosalind Russell played the role here taken by Lucille Ball. Produced by Howard Wiley. Directed by Bill Cairn. Written by Charles Brackett, adapted by Richard Allen Simmons based on the screenplay by Billy Wilder.  

The Paramount film “A Foreign Affair” premiered on June 30, 1948, and opened wide across America in August 1948.  It starred Marlene Dietrich and John Lund, who recreate their roles for this radio broadcast. Lucille Ball takes the role played on screen by Jean Arthur.  The film was nominated for two 1949 Oscars. Background performers Leon Alton, Bert Stevens, and Norman Leavitt later were featured on Lucille Ball’s sitcoms. 

“The Screen Guild Theater” broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on March 9, 1950 with John Lund reprising his film role.

“Theater Guild on the Air” broadcast a 60 minute radio adaptation of the movie on November 4, 1951 with Marlene Dietrich reprising her film role.

Synopsis ~ In occupied Berlin, an army captain is torn between an ex-Nazi café singer and the U.S. congresswoman investigating her.

CAST 

Marlene Dietrich (Erika Von Schluetow) recreates the role she played in the 1948 film. She was born in Berlin, but came to Hollywood to make films in 1930. She was nominated for an Oscar in 1931.

Lucille Ball (Congresswoman Phoebe Frost, 9th District of Iowa) previously appeared on Screen Directors Playhouse in “Her Husband’s Affairs” (May 22, 1949) and “Miss Grant Takes Richmond” (May 19, 1950), both films she had appeared in on screen. The week after “A Foreign Affair” Ball starred in “Bachelor Mother” (March 8, 1951), taking the screen role originated by her friend Ginger Rogers in 1939.  

John Lund (Captain John Pringle) recreates the role he played in the 1948 film. 

Herb Vigran (GI) made several appearances on Lucille Ball’s radio show “My Favorite Husband.” He would later play Jule, Ricky’s music union agent on two episodes of “I Love Lucy” as well as Joe, the washing machine repairman in “Never Do Business With Friends” (S2;E31) and Al Sparks, the publicity man who hires Lucy and Ethel to play Martians in “Lucy is Envious” (S3;E23). Of his 350 screen roles, he also made six appearances on “The Lucy Show.”

Featuring Wally Mahe, John Riss, Henry Roland, and Gil Stratton Jr. 

Jimmy Wallington (Announcer)

Billy Wilder (Guest Director)

Bob Hope & Bing Crosby do Chesterfield commercials

EPISODE

Before the program begins, announcer Jimmy Wallington tells listeners that due to the illness of Miss Joan Crawford, the originally scheduled broadcast of “The Damned Don’t Cry” has been postponed.

After acknowledging their sponsors, Wallington introduces “A Foreign Affair”. 

ACT ONE

Congresswoman Phoebe Frost (Lucille Ball) is traveling to Berlin by air. She is traveling to investigate the morale of US troops.  Her traveling companion looks out the window at the wreckage and ruins from the war, but Phoebe has only work on her mind. 

PHOEBE: “Phoebe Frost is a relentless foe of fraternization.”

In Berlin, Colonel Plummer meets Captain Pringle (John Lund). Plummer is despondent because he has lost his German sweetheart. Pringle has nylons for his girl, Erika.  The troops are readied for the Congresswoman’s visit.  She is not impressed by the military band and the festive welcome.  

Frost has a box to deliver to Captain Pringle. It is a cake from Murdoch, Iowa. 

PRINGLE: “How is old Iowa?” 
FROST: “Sixty seven percent Republican, thank you.” 

The cake is from the daughter of one of her constituents and says ‘Love from Dusty’ in pink and white icing. Frost notices a nylon stocking peaking out of his pocket.  

FROST: “Colonel Plummer, do your officers normally go around looking like the hosiery counter of Macy’s?” 

Pringle lies and says it is for Dusty. Once Frost has gone, he tells Plummer he is going to parlay the cake into something more useful – a new mattress. 

Pringle immediately takes the cake to his paramour, Erika Von Schluetow, a nightclub singer. He honks the horn and she drops down the key from her window. He gives her the nylons and the new mattress. The kiss.  

PRINGLE: “Your mother was a volcano and your father was a blowtorch.” 

Erika has been protected from being accused of being a Nazi by Pringle. They make use of the new mattress, ending the first act. 

Jimmy Wallington does a live Anacin commercial. He then introduces the second act. 

ACT TWO

The Congressional Committee finish a ceremonial luncheon and they are offered a guided tour of Berlin.  

FROST: “For an Iowa woman, a guided tour is like a man with an apartment. They both want to take you were you don’t want to go.”

Frost is outraged that she has seen American soldiers speak to German women without an introduction!  She says that she is deliberately going to go out and try to get picked up!  Not one, but two American GIs approach her, thinking she is a German

Fraulein. She tells them her name is Gretchen – Gretchen

Gesundheit!

GI: “How do you like that? We’re fraternizing with a sneeze!” 

The GIs take ‘Gretchen’ to the Lorelei, a dive bar that charges them five packs of cigarettes for a bottle of wine. To hid that she is American, Frost limits her replies to ‘Ja’.  

GI: “With a vocabulary like that you could run for Congress yourself!” 

The floorshow begins. It is Erika singing “Illusions”. After her song, Pringle spots Frost in the audience and warns Erika to stay away from her. Meanwhile, the GIs are gossiping about Erika, saying she avoids trouble by hooking up with Army brass. 

The GIs try to get ‘Gretchen’ to dance when she spots the cake she brought for Pringle!  She drops her German accent and the GIs flee. Pringle swoops in to explain, but Frost wants to know all about Erika. 

Frost and Colonel Plummer hold a conference. Frost wants to know what they know about Erika and the Lorelei.  Plummer shuts her down – and tells her to drop it. 

FROST: “The last time someone tried to gag me, Colonel, he tried it with a mink coat in the middle of winter. He got five years and I got pneumonia.” 

Frost privately asks Pringle for some data about Erika. He tells her to forget the whole thing, but she has two incriminating photos of Erika with a Nazi officer. Pringle starts to get jealous although he tries not to show it.  A photo of Hitler kissing her hands is the last straw. Frost declares her mission is to find the officer protecting Erika.  She wants to expose him, no matter how high she has to go – even the president. 

FROST: “And if he doesn’t do it, I’ll see Margaret!”

Margaret Truman was the only daughter of President Harry S. Truman. She was very popular with the public – and with her father. 

End of Act Two. 

Jimmy Wallington does a live RCA commercial, touting their new 19 inch television screens. He then introduces the third act.

ACT THREE

Pringle and Frost stake out Erika’s flat to discover the officer protecting her.  Falling asleep, Frost accidentally leans on the car horn. A key drops from an above window. Erika calls for Johnny.  Pringle says it is a very common name.  

FROST: “This eliminates all the Jims, Bobs, and Georges.” 

Frost confronts Erika as Pringle pretends to be a stranger. Erika claims the key was for the milkman and says that Frost could use some make-up before she goes back inside.  Frost realizes that if they find the signature on her papers, they will find their man. 

Back at the office, they cannot locate any papers for Erika until she realizes they have been looking under ‘S’ but should be looking for ‘V’ for Von Schluetow.  Pringle says that Frost should be more empathetic. Frost says she was in love once, but he tried to sway her vote, so she filibustered until he lost interest – and she was very hoarse. 

FROST: “He was a Southern Democrat.” 

To distract Frost from finding the file, Pringle decides to kiss her. 

PRINGLE: “Since when has it been subversive to kiss a Republican.” 

She tries to filibuster, but he kisses her anyway. She is carried away with his passion and forgets about the files. 

Later, Pringle visits Erika and tells him he has distracted Frost – by getting engaged to her. He confronts her about her Nazi past.  She says she is in love with him and wants to go to America with him – and climb the Statue of Liberty. 

PRINGLE: “You wanna get down in that basement at Fort Knox.” 

He says he has to go but will return tomorrow night. 

Erika is performing at the club and Pringle and Frost are in the audience, celebrating their last night together. She is drunk on champagne. Erika approaches their table and wants to know about her progress. Pringle’s friend Lee runs in and says Colonel Plummer wants to see him at once!

At Plummer’s office, the Colonel is angry. He knows about his relationship with Erika and now – Congresswoman Frost. He orders him to stay away from Frost. Plummer insists that he stick with Erika. Her old Nazi boyfriend is not dead, but alive and knows all about them. He wants them dead. Plummer will protect them. 

Erika asks Frost to her apartment and says she wants her man. She truly loves him and doesn’t want to love him. She reveals that they want the same man. The jeep horn sounds and Erika drops down the key.  Frost sits in the corner and observes as Pringle comes in and romances her.  Frost comes out of the shadows and says he’ll be sorry, running out. Colonel Plummer tells Pringle that Erika’s Nazi boyfriend is due to get his revenge tonight!  

At the Lorelei Club, Erika says she has a new act – one performed completely in the dark. In the darkness, she sings as a gun is stuck in Pringle’s back by the Nazi. Gunfire rings out!  

At Colonel Plummer’s office, she tells Frost that Pringle is being forced to be a decoy – he isn’t in love with Erika at all.  The phone rings.  They race to the Lorelei Club.  

At the club, Plummer lifts the sheet and Frost faints. Pringle enters. It was the Nazi under the sheet, taken out by a military marksman.  They arrest Erika, who convinces the Colonel to let her go home first to change.  Frost revives and Pringle is there.  She says she loves him.  He tries to filibuster but she kisses him anyway. 

PRINGLE: “Congresswoman, you’re elected!”
FROST (German Accent) “Don’t be silly, John. These are just the primaries.”

The End

Announcer Jimmy Wallington reminds viewers to tune in next week for “Bachelor Mother” with Lucille Ball and Robert Cummings. He introduces the stars of tonight’s story. Lucille, Marlena, and John Lund introduce the original director, Academy Award winner for “Lost Weekend” and nominee for “Sunset Boulevard”, Billy Wilder. Wilder credits Charles Brackett, original writer and producer, who helped him create the original film, as well as “Sunset Boulevard”.

Wallington reads the credits: 

• “A Foreign Affair” was presented courtesy of Paramount Pictures, whose current release is “The Redhead and the Cowboy” starring Glenn Ford, Edmund O’Brien, and Rhonda Fleming (the redhead)

• John Lund will soon be seen with Gene Tierney in Paramount’s “The Mating Season”

• Lucille Ball can be currently seen in Columbia’s “The Fuller Brush Girl”

• Marlene Dietrich will soon be seen in the 20th Century Fox picture “No Highway” [later known as “No Highway In The Sky”]

• Billy Wilder’s latest picture for Paramount is “Ace in the Hole” starring Jan Sterling and Kirk Douglas

‘FOREIGN’ TRIVIA

Lucille Ball did an impersonation of Marlene Dietrich on a 1971 episode of “Here’s Lucy.” as well as on “The Danny Kaye Show” (November 11, 1962).

The song “Illusions” was written by Friedrich Hollander and sung in the the film version of “A Foreign Affair” by Dietrich, who also released it on Decca Records that same year.  In the film, Dietrich also sings two other songs by Hollander that are not heard here: “Black Market” and “The Ruins of Berlin.” 

Lucille Ball was one of many who were in attendance for “AFI Achievement Award: A Tribute to Billy Wilder” televised on March 6, 1986, despite this radio show being their only (brief) interaction.