Was she lesbian?

 Was she bi-sexual?

Marlene Dietrich

Is there an age of beauty?

To this day, people have not decided the sexuality of Marlene Dietrich, and the lady never talked about it.

Whatever her sexual preferences were, you cannot deny she was a talented actress, and a beautiful, and alluring lady, even as she got older she could outshine the younger actresses of her era.

The Devil is a Woman

Marlene Dietrich

Carole Lombard

Cesar Romero

Tonight's entry in the Iconic Movie collection will be the Marlene Dietrich film, The Devil is a Woman. I hope this is a better film than the other film I saw with Cesar Romeron in, Love before breakfast with Carole Lombard. He many be considered a great Latin lover, but to me, his acting is sickeningly cheesy

Iconic Films

The Hound of the Baskervilles

I doubt there is anyone who hasn't seen, or heard of the Hound of the Baskerville's. It is such an Iconic Film, it has been remixed at least twice in India over the years. I don't know about modern version with the elevated status of movie celebrities, the original was made on Dartmoor.

Dartmoor is also known for the prison which houses the worst criminals in the UK, and yet it is an open prison.

Why is a prison housing the most vicious criminals an "open prison?"

If you recall the film, you need to know the mire to be able to walk across safely; most men are not from the area. One wrong step, and nobody will find you.

The nearest village, Launceston, is 25 miles from the prison; so you could be on the run for hours, and still get nowhere. In all its 220 years, there has only been one successful escape, that was by Frank Mitchell, in the heyday of the Kray Twins. Mitchell known for being a man with a very sort fuse, and his tendency for using an axe was sprung; before he died, Reggie Kray said breaking Mitchell out was his big mistake.

While he was good at his job, his short fuse made Mitchell as much a menace to the gang, as their rivals.

The setting is similar to another iconic film March or Die with Terence Hill, Gene Hackman, and Catherine Deneuve about the French Foreign Legion at the time of the Rif War in Morocco.

Hill's character questions why there are no guards considering most of the men are criminals on the run from the law; to which Gene Hackman's character replies, "There is nothing to stop you. If the desert doesn't get you, the Legion will, if they don't succeed, I will hunt you down."

The Devil is a Woman

Marlene Dietrich

Tonight's movie is The Devil is a Woman starring Marlene Dietrich, also in the cast is the great Latin lover, Cesar Romero. I hope this is better than the cheesy performance he gave in Love before breakfast with Carole Lombard

Leni Riefenstahl

 Early German Cinema

Marlene Dietrich

Leni Riefenstahl will be contoversial so long as people live, for her pro-Nazi films. One thing you ccannot take from her, is without her modt modern sports events wouldn't be able to be filmed.

During the Nnuremberg Rally, she developed the idea of a camera on rails, to get seperate viewponts.

While she helped the Nazi cause, lots of others, such as Marlene Dietrich, left  Germany for the USA for various reasons.

The Marlene Dietrich confusion

Hollywood Mysteries

Mae West

Is there an age of beauty?

Last year, I was mystified when one of my orders from Hollywood Mysteries arrived.

The shirt which arrived was a Marlene Dietrich shirt, I was sure I had ordered Mae West. I checked my order, there was no error, the mistake was mine. I had been thinking of buying a set of Mae west dvds, so thought I had ordered a Mae West shirt. I did buy the films later

Marlene Dietrich Selection

 Anna May Wong

Shanghai Express

In my DVD selection, I have a 6-film selection of movies with Marlene Dietrich. I bought the selection as it has Shanghai Express with Anna May Wong, and Destry Rides Again with James Stewart.

Was Maelne, lesbian, or bi-sexual, who knows, but she was beautiful.

Shanghai Express is a story of two women on the run across China, one is running from her political enemies, the other from a failed romance.

Early German Cinema

 Marlene Dietrich

                                                           Weimar Cinema 

Though the Weimar Cinema era didn't last long, it produced some classic movies, not only of its era, but movies that stood the test of time.

One of my favourite horror movies, Nosferatu, was made at the time, though its star, Max Schreck, hated his role as the orignal vampire. Other great films include Fritz Lang's Metropolis, which is scarier with the knowledege that machines are taking over now. Peter Lorre is still scary as the murder in M. It was at this time, a young lady called Marlene Dietrich would rise to fame too.

A not too well-known movie called Pandora's Box starring Louise Brooks also came otu at this time. Ms. Brooks played a role which came to haunt her in life, she was a Hollywood Icon of the "flapper era," at the end of the silent movies, and going into sound. She was told to voice her character in the film, The Canary Murder Case,  with William Powell,but refused, months later her speaking was part was dubbed by another actress. Her refusal caused Paramount to halt her contract, and blacklist her in Hollywood. So she went to Germany, and became an Icon of the Weimar Cinema,

The director of her film told her to change her lifestyle of parties, and long hours of drinking, or she'd end her life like her character Lulu, destitute, and forgotten. Sadly, Louise ignored the warning, and died destitute