Morocco 1930 - Marlene Dietrich's American movie debut

IMDB Link
IMDB rating: 7,3

Director: Josef von Sternberg
Main Cast: Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Adolphe Menjou

"Director Josef von Sternberg transfers Marlene Dietrich's siren singer persona to northern Africa in their first American collaboration, pairing her with Foreign Legionnaire Gary Cooper. Dietrich's Amy Jolly is an sensuous figure of desire and mystery amid von Sternberg's signature mise-en-scene of lushly exotic surroundings, layered shadows, and gauzy fabrics. Her first nightclub performance exudes an androgynous eroticism that would define her star persona: although she eventually sacrifices everything to follow Cooper's Tom Brown across the visually arresting desert sands, the tuxedo-clad Amy accepts a flower from a female admirer and nonchalantly kisses her on the lips before tossing the flower to an equally smitten (and beautified) Cooper. Along with the stunning imagery, von Sternberg inventively used sound to enhance the atmosphere, particularly when Amy makes her final decision between a rich man and the Legionnaire she loves. A box office success, Morocco earned Oscar nominations for von Sternberg, Hollywood newcomer Dietrich, Lee Garmes's alluring cinematography, and Hans Dreier's interior decoration, and helped keep Paramount Pictures afloat as the Great Depression hit Hollywood." - www.allmovie.com

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Dishonored 1931 - Dietrich as a fascinating spy

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021800/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
IMDB rating: 7,4

Director: Josef von Sternberg
Main Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Victor McLaglen, Gustav von Seyffertitz, Warner Oland

"Contemporary viewers who go into Dishonored expecting a musty, dated espionage melodrama will be in for a surprise. Marlene Dietrich delivers a subtle and witty performance as a Viennese prostitute who offers her services as a spy during WWI. Though far from a classic, Dishonored is an immensely enjoyable vehicle for Marlene Dietrich, and a treat for fans of the screen goddess. Those who know Dietrich primarily as an icy, world weary siren, the personality with which she is often unfairly associated, will be in for a surprise here. 'I'm not afraid of living or of dying', she announces early on, and she certainly demonstrates her capacity for living in here in a performance which moves from joyousness, strength and vitality to a doomed resignation born of doomed love - and is always believable. A highlight is Dietrich's richly comic (and mostly silent) turn as fresh-off-the-farm scullery maid, a disguise which allows the actress to demonstrate a surprising talent for broad comedy. Aside from Dietrich, Dishonored has some problems. The script, though serviceable, is a bit short on inspiration and surprise; it gets to where it needs to go, but it doesn't take the viewer on a particularly interesting ride along the way. Director Josef von Sternberg does wonderfully with Dietrich and gets a good performance from Warner Oland, but he can't help Victor McLaglen get a handle on his character, leaving him to do little more than strut and stick an annoying leer on his face for extended periods of time. Von Sternberg does provide some beautiful visuals, of course, especially during one of his trademark party scenes; but he also overindulges a penchant for lengthy cross-fades." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/dishonored-v13959/

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The scarlet empress 1934 - Dietrich, the reigning beauty of the screen!

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025746/?ref_=nv_sr_6
IMDB rating: 7,8

Director: Josef von Sternberg
Main Cast: Marlene Dietrich, John Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser

"Of the two 1934 film versions of the life of Russia's Catherine the Great, Josef von Sternberg's The Scarlet Empress was the most opulent and exotic. This movie is a largely fictional account of the life of Catherine the Great, but that doesn't stop it from being one of the best and most adult biopics of the 1930s. Directed in grand style by Josef von Sternberg, the film is a visual feast, though it is Marlene Dietrich's performance in the title role that has given the film its enduring appeal. A truer account of the life of Catherine the Great probably could not have been made in the U.S. in the 1930s. Nonetheless, The Scarlet Empress is unusually frank and occasionally suggestive.
This version has even less to do with accuracy than Paul Czinner's Catherine the Great of the same year, which starred Elizabeth Bergner. Watch for Dietrich's real-life daughter Maria Sieber (aka Maria Riva) as the 7-year-old Catherine in the early scenes.
A self-proclaimed 'relentless excursion into style', the pair's sixth collaboration (which was the last between von Sternberg and Dietrich) follows the exploits of Princess Sophia (Dietrich) as she evolves from trembling innocent to cunning sexual libertine Catherine the Great. With operatic melodrama, flamboyant visuals, and a cast of thousands, this ornate spectacle represents the apex of cinematic pageantry by Hollywood's master of artifice. After this Dietrich would go on to make well-remembered films for other directors, while von Sternberg's later career would be less successful." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-scarlet-empress-v43090

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Shanghai Express 1932 - Marlene, the goddess!

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023458/
IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: Josef von Sternberg
Main Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland

"Shanghai Express is one of the best, and arguably the most popular, of the seven films that director Josef von Sternberg made with Marlene Dietrich. As usual, the strikingly photographed Dietrich looks like a goddess, but she also delivers a fine performance as Shanghai Lily, a woman of debatable reputation. Von Sternberg creates a suspenseful atmosphere, rich with memorable characterizations. Still, the film's visual design is its most distinctive aspect; Lee Garmes' cinematography won him an Academy Award. In keeping with the overall look, Shanghai's sets and costumes are brilliantly ornate. The story would be remade in 1942 as the little-seen Night Plane from Chungking and in 1951 as Peking Express, neither of which could achieve the allure of the Von Sternberg production, which was also nominated for Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/shanghai-express-v44084

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Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel 1930) - Marlene Dietrich started to conquer the world

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020697/

IMDB rating: 7,9

Director: Josef von Sternberg

Main Cast: Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich

"Der Blaue Engel is one of the masterpieces of the early sound era, notable in using sound to enhance atmosphere and establish characterization. Germany in 1930 was in desperate economic turmoil from reparations following World War I, and the film mirrors the bleak, unhappy view of the future common in German society at that time. The story is a superb portrait of cruel, obsessive love and the unrelenting degradation that ensues. Director Josef Von Sternberg skillfully paces the film so that the descent of the Professor (Emil Jannings) is both believable and understandable. Indeed, it is clear that the camera adores Lola (Marlene Dietrich) every bit as much as does the professor. The film made an international star of Dietrich, and she is matched in performance by Jannings, in what is perhaps his best-remembered screen role. The film also launched the song "Falling in Love Again,"which, like the film itself, has amply stood the test of time.The Blue Angel was shot in both German and English language versions and was based on Heinrich Mann's novel." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/the-blue-angel-v60947/

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