Witness for the prosecution 1957 - A courtroom drama with suprise twists and shocking climax

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IMDB Rating: 8,5

Director: Billy Wilder
Main Cast: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester

"Witness for the Prosecution is multi-faceted director Billy Wilder's stab at the courtroom genre, and he handles it with aplomb. Reworking Agatha Christie's stage play, based on Christie's own short story, Wilder retools the play in order to develop a humorous subtext in the interplay between the physically fragile defense attorney (Charles Laughton) and his overbearing but well-meaning nurse (real-life wife Elsa Lanchester). Laughton and Lanchaster have great chemistry and give fully realized performances that transcend the limitations of the genre. Wilder also jiggers Marlene Dietrich's role, wife of the accused, to make use of moments from her personal life, particularly the wonderful "Berlin cabaret" flashback sequence. The twists and turns of the plot are allowed to emerge unobtrusively in this methodically paced drama, and while the finale stretches credulity in order to circumvent the inevitable Production Code restrictions, Wilder's film is a completely satisfying experience anchored by a handful of memorable performances, including the last in Tyrone Power's illustrious career.
A delicious Billy Wilder mixture of humor, intrigue and melodrama, Witness for the Prosecution is distinguished by its hand-picked supporting cast: John Williams as the police inspector, Henry Daniell as Robards' law partner, Una O'Connor as the murder victim's stone-deaf maid, Torin Thatcher as the prosecutor, Ruta Lee as a sobbing courtroom spectator, and Elsa Lanchester as Robards' ever-chipper nurse (a role especially written for the film, so that Lanchester could look after Laughton on the set).
The movie was nominated for six Academy Awards, but ran up against David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai juggernaut, and was shut out." - www.allmovie.com

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A foreign affair 1948 - A very funny post-war satire

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IMDB rating: 7,5

Director: Billy Wilder
Main Cast: Jean Arthur, Marlene Dietrich, John Lund

"A cutting-edge comedy in the post-World War II era, A Foreign Affair remains a very funny film, but much of its richness came from the historical context of its satire. At the heart of the film is the observant wit of writer/director Billy Wilder, a Jewish German émigré with a sardonic view of life in post-war Berlin. The interplay among Marlene Dietrich, Jean Arthur, and John Lund gives the film much of its comic texture; the dialogue is sharp and the story is knowing. Charles Lang's cinematography is first-rate, and Edith Head's costume designs give the film much of its glamour. While not as well-known as other Wilder films, A Foreign Affair was a clear example of Wilder's increasing willingness to push the limits of what Hollywood would allow. While a film like A Foreign Affair would be the crowning achievement for many directors, Wilder had still more great films ahead of him, with such classics as Sunset Boulevard (1950) and Some Like it Hot (1959)." - www.allmovie.com

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Destry rides again 1939 - Pure gold from the golden age

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IMDB rating: 7,7

Director: George Marshall
Main Cast: James Stewart, Marlene Dietrich, Mischa Auer, Charles Winninger, Brian Donlevy

"Destry Rides Again was a huge critical and box-office success in 1939, a year that had many critical and box-office successes and that is often considered to have produced more great films than any other year of the 20th century. Max Brand, the author of the source novel, is little remembered today, but in his era he was a prolific and popular writer who created such memorable screen successes as the Doctor Kildare series. Sadly, Brand was killed at the height of his career, while serving as a war correspondent in Italy during World War II. Brand's story was considerably changed for the screen, and as a result there are occasional inconsistencies of characterization for Destry, who sometimes seems a bit too inclined to fight for a pacifist. Yet, in Tom Destry, James Stewart creates one of the screen's most likable characters, and the film's success revived the career of Marlene Dietrich, who had been dumped from her studio contract by Paramount because of her temperamental behavior and perceived weak box-office appeal. The problem, though, proved to be not that audiences had tired of Dietrich but that they had tired of her in the melodramatic films that Paramount put her in. Free of Paramount, Dietrich found a broader range of work and once again became a bankable star." - www.allmovie.com

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Morocco 1930 - Marlene Dietrich's American movie debut

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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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Knight without armour 1937 - A little known gem with Dietrich & Donat

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029087/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
IMDB rating: 6,9

Director: Jacques Feyder
Main Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Robert Donat

"Marlene Dietrich and Robert Donat star in this gripping melodrama about the Russian revolution, based on the novel by James Hilton. Surprisingly, the film is not especially well known, despite the presence of Marlene Dietrich and Robert Donat, and those that stumble upon it may wonder at its relative obscurity. There's a little something for just about everyone here, from historical epic to espionage thriller to romantic melodrama - even a bit of humor thrown in now and then. While those with little familiarity with the Russian revolution may find themselves lost in a couple of places, for the most part Knight does a fine job of utilizing its historical aspects in such a way as to make things clear. Jacques Feyder directs with a sure hand and a fine eye, providing a number of beautiful and/or exciting visual touches, such as the stunning moment when Dietrich's estate is suddenly overrun with revolutionaries. Dietrich herself does a very fine job, coming across as much more vulnerable and innocent than is often the case and creating a countess who is noble without being imperious. Donat does even better; faced with a character whose motivation doesn't quite ring true (i.e. he seems to have no ideology at all, yet is willing to work as a revolutionary spy for the English government), he makes him believable throughout. Add in a good supporting cast, excellent cinematography, and some excellent sets and costumes, and the result is a winner." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/knight-without-armour-v27581/

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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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The song of songs 1933 - One of Dietrich's best performances

IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0024598/
IMDB rating: 6,8

Director: Rouben Mamoulian
Main Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Brian Aherne, Lionel Atwill, Alison Skipworth, Helen Freeman

"Those who feel that Marlene Dietrich was merely a beautiful figure whose performances were molded only by director Josef von Sternberg should take a look at Song of Songs, which contains some of Dietrich's finest (if often overlooked) work. Granted, she was once again working with a strong director (Rouben Mamoulian in this case), but it's clear that this was a woman who not only had abundant talent but had a clear sense of how to act specifically for the camera. Observe the many ways she looks at the camera, always embracing it, but doing so with a tremendous variety - sometimes tenderly, sometimes angrily, sometimes teasingly, sometimes aloofly. Dietrich also gets a chance to show some range here, creating a character who changes from naïve and trusting to one who is cynical and world weary - and making all aspects of the character quite believable. For his part, Mamoulian's direction is a bit more 'conventional' than usual but enormously effective nonetheless. If he's not able to draw a very lively performance from Brian Aherne, he compensates with his work from Lionel Atwill, Alison Skipworth, and Helen Freeman. Add in some evocative Victor Milner cinematography and some stunning sculptures, buttressing a sturdy screenplay, and the result is an enormously entertaining drama in the Dietrich manner.
Song of Songs was based on a Herman Sudermann novel, previously adapted into a stage play and then filmed twice during the silent era." - http://www.allmovie.com/movie/song-of-songs-v111040

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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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