The Dietrich Effect

Dear LWM readers, I have a confession to make.

I've been cheating.

Yes, it's true. I have been cheating on my movie idol Joan Crawford with another movie idol. I've tried to keep my thoughts centered on Crawford's shoulders and eyebrows, but I have become obsessed with another set of eyebrows. And those pencil-thin works of art belong to none other than teutonic sex goddess, Marlene Dietrich.

Dietrich has always been one of my favorites. Her ability to draw focus by simply raising an eyebrow or blowing an erotic puff of smoke, her nonchalant accent both murdering and sensualizing her English dialogue, the distinctive angles of that camera-loving face- the Dietrich cinematic mystique is enthralling. I recently got the new box-set of her work with director Josef von Sternberg, and I've found my movie thoughts engrossed with the career of this tempestuous force of the silver screen.

The new box set contains Dietrich's earliest Hollywood product, and it's really interesting to watch how her acting style changed over time. In her first American film Morocco (1930) (The Blue Angel (1930) although shot first, wasn't released in America until after Morocco) Dietrich is still finding her way both in acting and with the English language. Legend has it that von Sternberg literally had her count moments and steps in between actions and dialogue. Her eye movements, her gestures, her dialogue- everything was planned out. Yet somehow her performance is electric with an intense freshness thanks to Dietrich's aggressively laissez faire screen presence and visible lust for that thing called movie stardom. Her musical numbers, in particular, flash and the famous tux kissing scene helped create the any-sexual persona that would dominate the rest of her career.

By the time Dietrich starred in her final film with von Sternberg, The Devil is a Woman (1935), her performance has gone from planned to crafted. She no longer has that bit of uncertainty counting beats. Every eyebrow motion and purse of the lips is part of the confetti-covered artwork that von Sternberg is making. It's beautiful to watch- but that spark of the unknown- the sexy danger of what Dietrich might do feels lost amongst the mantillas and masks. Von Sternberg's Galatea has become a statue again- an exquisite statue- but a statue nonetheless.

After Dietrich ended her artistic partnership with von Sternberg the debate heated up as to whether Dietrich needed von Sternberg, or von Sternberg needed Dietrich. The easy answer is Dietrich did just fine without von Sternberg. True she was probably never photographed as sumptuously as she was in Shanghai Express (1932) and The Scarlet Empress (1934), but from an acting perspective, her later works show a relaxed quality that von Sternberg's compulsively controlled direction didn't nurture. In Destry Rides Again (1939), A Foreign Affair(1948), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Touch of Evil (1958), and Judgement at Nuremberg (1961), Dietrich proved she didn't need von Sternberg to create an indelible acting performance.

Even in slighter faire like Tay Garnett's Seven Sinners (1940), Dietrich is so devil-may-care as the Sadie Thompson-esque Bijou, she brings a wickedly romantic sparkle out of the normally frontier-y John Wayne. Dietrich was the essential secret ingredient no matter who directed her.

Now if only there were a movie with Dietrich and Crawford in it...

The IT Girls

For the next two weeks, Film Forum is hosting a film series called It Girls, Flappers, Jazz Babies and Vamps. It's an amazing collection of movies from an era where women were able to star in roles that showed-off the power of female sexuality. Women played characters with a passion for life, love, and good bathtub gin. This female freedom mirrored the advances women were making politically and socially in this country. Unfortunately, the introduction of the Production Code Administration and the Legion of Decency turned Hollywood movies into a celluloid cage for women. Open sexuality was frowned upon and could only be shown if the woman who displayed it was properly punished by the end of the film. But before 1934, women were able to grab ahold of fast roles and run with it. Here are some of my favorite screen sirens from that era:

Joan Crawford

Most people think of Crawford in her Mildred Pierce (1945) phase where she was all shoulders, eyebrows, and slaps. But Crawford got her start two decades earlier in silent film where she played a definitive flapper, rolling her shoulders and kicking up her heels. The young Crawford's energy is electric and those big eyes shown with an unrestrained love of life. As sound came in she was able to transition to talkies with ease, and also survive the changes of the Code by turning her flapper persona into a girl who comes from nothing and fights her way to the top. You can see the two ends of this evolution by watching Our Dancing Daughters (1928)- the film that made Crawford a superstar and Possessed (1931) where she plays a factory girl who sees a better life with wealthy wheeler and dealer Skeets Gallagher (Clark Gable in his first film-pairing with Crawford.) If you haven't seen this era of Crawford's career, you don't have the full story of this Hollywood icon.

Marlene Dietrich

There has never been a screen image like Marlene Dietrich's. The German sex goddess first came to prominence in 1930's The Blue Angel where she played a heartless cabaret singer who ruins the life of a school professor who falls in love with her. She would continue in her next few films to play chanteuses or prostitutes who left destroyed men in their wakes. Dietrich's beauty is beyond question, but what made her unique was her ability to inhabit the image that was being so carefully sculpted around her by director and lover Josef von Sternberg. Von Sternberg's use of lighting to capture Dietrich's face is genius, and with her sly, sexy glance, Dietrich was able to breathe life into that image. Film Forum is showing two of her best from the beginning of her career: Blonde Venus (1932) (you can't miss the "Hot Voodoo" number) and Shanghai Express (1932) (with the equally sexy Anna Mae Wong).

Barbara Stanwyck 

I love Barbara Stanwyck. No matter what she played- whether it was a golddigger, a blousy mom, or a western matriarch, she always felt so authentic. Stanwyck never appeared to be acting, she just was- and if you didn't like it- you could take a flying leap. Early on she was able to play characters who used that sort of brashness to put a dent in the man's world by any means necessary. Stanwyck is the definitive social climber in Baby Face (1933) and even if the ending was changed, this film still shows off Stanwyck's ability to play a shysteress that we want desperately to get ahead.

Louise Brooks

There are many who consider Louise Brooks to be one of the best actresses of the silent era. What makes Brooks stand out is the naturalness of her acting during an era where naturalness was not a common feature in film performances. Brooks came to Hollywood by way of the celebrated Denishawn dance troupe. Her bob hair cut and impish gaze made her an instant celebrity. But Brooks hated Hollywood. She was easily distracted by life and had no desire to waste her time standing around film sets or playing the Hollywood game to get parts in unremarkable films. So when she got a chance to go to Germany and shoot with the legendary G.W. Pabst, she flipped Hollywood the bird and left. The result is a wonderful silent film that perfectly shows why Brooks was so exciting to watch. Pandora's Box (1929) shows the adventures of a young woman who plays with men (and women) at will, with little care for the repercussions. Brooks would be done with the movies by 1938, but would re-emerge decades later as the poster girl for the Silent Era.

Joan Blondell

Joan Blondell had a fresh mouth. Sure she was a cute blonde who knew how to sing and dance her way into your heart. But it was her ability to deliver the best wisecrack that made her the perfect co-star in movies throughout the '30's. No matter whether she was sharing the screen with Ginger Rogers, Ruby Keeler, or James Cagney, Blondell always walked away with the film. She's a perfect example of the actress that was built for the sound era. A line like "Hello, you great big, beautiful heel!" rolled out of her droll mouth effortlessly- and it made her a joy to watch. Check out two of her most fun musicals at the festival: Goldiggers of 1933 (1933) and Dames (1934).

So, who's your favorite IT girl?