The Man Between (also known as Berlin Story) is a 1953 British thriller film directed by Carol Reed and starring James Mason, Claire Bloom and Hildegard Knef.

The screenplay concerns a British woman on a visit to post-war Berlin, who is caught up in an espionage ring smuggling secrets into and out of the Eastern Bloc.

Susanne visits Martin, her brother (Bettina's husband), who is a British army doctor in the western sector.

Martin and a friend plot to kidnap Ivo but he guesses this, and sends a boy to leave a sign in the snow that he is not coming.

The abduction of Susanne presents Ivo with an opportunity to both return the unfortunate victim to the West and impress Western authorities with his atonement.

Ivo almost admits his affection for Susanne on one occasion but he directs the conversation back to his sordid past and the escape attempt.

During his attempts to restart the engine, the capped boy circles on his bike a few metres from the checkpoint and has been noticed by one of the border guards; it is he who has unwittingly betrayed them by his presence.

The movie was filmed on location in Berlin, at the Shepperton Studios in England and at Richmond Ice Rink.

Bosley Crowther of The New York Times wrote: "It must be said, without reflection, that the credit for whatever there is in the way of exciting melodrama in this primarily atmospheric film goes to Mr. Reed for his direction of the actors and camera.

For it is the attitudes of his people, the moods of the city in various scenes and the cleverness of the assembly, rather than the sharpness of the story told, that account for the modest distinction on the quality level of The Man Between.