Seventh, last, but not least of the Josef von Sternberg/Marlene Dietrich films reverses the outcome of their first American release, MOROCCO/’30*, by having Marlene go back to Papa at the end. Typically, the older lover is used & humiliated when Dietrich chooses a younger rival. In MOROCCO/’30, it’s Sternberg alter ego Adolph Menjou losing out to Gary Cooper. Here, Lionel Atwill seems all set to give way to young, virile Cesar Romero. But perhaps Sternberg knew this was the end of the line and gave himself the woman he longed for in real life. John Dos Passos, of all people, did the script, from Pierre Louÿs’ oft-adapted play, with an unusual structure: Big Prologue; Big Flashback; Big Race out of town. But no doubt you’re here for the expressionist Old Seville Carnival Sternberg lays out for us while acting as his own cinematographer. Densely textured with foreground objets, confetti & streamers, you need remarkable figures & faces to stand out amidst the decor. And if Sternberg can be blamed for thematically running on fumes (the Zeitgeist having passed him by a couple of films back*), he shouldn’t be blamed for dropping the ball at the 33" mark when Marlene’s big musical number (‘If It Isn’t a Pain’) was lost thru censorship. (Criterion offers a rare audio track of the missing song as an Extra and it’s a major addition.)
DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: As mentioned, Sternberg/Dietrich's Hollywood debut. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2017/07/morocco-1930.html OR: Luis Buñuel’s final film, based on the same Pierre Louÿs’ play. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2022/05/that-obscure-object-of-desire-cet.html
ATTENTION MUST BE PAID/LINK: *Sternberg, with but a handful of uneven films over the next 25 years, never really got back on track. Dietrich, in spite of some heavenly films in between, took four years to reestablish her career with DESTRY RIDES AGAIN/’39. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2018/02/destry-rides-again-1939.html
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