By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
Marlene Dietrich, the Hollywood fashion Icon, was a German-American actress who acted on the Berlin stage and many silent movies until 1929.She tasted stardom with “The Blue Angel” (1930) playing as cabaret dancer Lola-Lola. The film’s success made Paramount Films take her on their payroll. The success & popularity of the film released in 1930 can well be judged by the fact that it earned $78000 on its 2001 re-release. The film was earlier declared as “an instant international success”.
I would also like to mention her Technicolor film “Kismet” (1944), directed by William Dieterle, starring Ronald Colman, Marlene Dietrich, James Craig, Edward Arnold, Hugh Herbert, Joy Ann Page, Florence Bates & Harry Davenport. I saw photographs of the actress in an American magazine sometime in 1960s & watched the movie in 1970 after graduation at Kanpur.
“Around the World in 80 Days ” (1956) was the second film of the actress I watched in 1974 .It starred Cantinflas, David Niven, Robert Newton & Shirley MacLaine & was produced by Michael Todd, Elizabeth Taylor’s husband. It was another Box office bonanza collecting $42 million against its budget of $6 million. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards.
Marlene had an early aptitude for music. She even tried to get into the orchestra & even tried to become a cabaret dancer before she was found by producer Rudolf Sieber who later became her husband
‘Tragedy of Love’ in 1923 was her first film . She later ventured to do femme fatale roles in films, such as in the film “Morocco”. Interestingly, the actress who had married ,Rudolf Sieberm ( 1923–1976) spent few years with him. She spent the remaining life with her five or more lovers without divorce. Dietrich had an affair with Suzanne Baule in Paris. Yul Brynner was also among her boyfriends with whom she had an affair for many years. Although she was made to divorce her husband by some of her lovers, she refused to do so. Her relations remained cordial with her husband until his death in 1976.
It might be news to many that the actress was bisexual & had extra-marital flings with ladies including American poet & playwright Mercedes de Acosta who failed to carve niche for herself but gained notoriety for her lesbian affairs with many celebrities including Marlene Marlene Dietrich & Greta Garbo. Marlene Dietrich wanted her lesbian relations to last longer because she knew that Greta Garbo, too, was passionately attached with her .Eventually Marlene succeeded & found her love in Mercedes de Costa, thereby earning notoriety in the society. In her 1960 memoir, ‘Here Lies the Heart’, de Costa hinted at the lesbian component in her relationship with different women.
Marlene Dietrich was an icon to fashion designers and screen stars. Edith Head remarked that Dietrich knew more about fashion than any other actress. Dior was her favourite. In 2017, Swarovski, known Austrian fashion & jewellery designer, commissioned a $60,000 Art Deco-styled dress in the style of her famous “nude dress”, from Berlin-based fashion tech company ElektroCouture to honor Dietrich 25 years after her death. It contains 2,000 crystals in addition to 150 LED lights
“The Scarlet Empress” (1934), “The Devil is a Woman” (1935) “I Loved a Soldier” & “Desire”(1936), “Seven Sinners”, (1940) “The Lady Is Willing” & “The Spoilers” (1942), “Golden Earrings” (1947) , “A Foreign Affair”(1948) & “Witness for the Prosecution” (1957) were her other films. She had a cameo appearance in 1964 film “Paris When It Sizzles” starring William Holden & Audrey Hepburn.
“Destry Rides Again” (1939) , directed by George Marshall starring Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart was released in 1939,the same year epic “Gone With The Wind” was released. It was the greatest year in Hollywood history as cine-goers bought tickets worth 80 million a week.
The American Government bestowed her with the Medal of Freedom for her work during the War & also the Operation Entertainment Medal.The French Government made her a Chevalier (later upgraded to Commander) of the Legion of Honour and a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres .On 27 December 2017, she was given a Google Doodle on the 116th anniversary of her birth .
Marie Magdalene Dietrich, who stole a million hearts, Died this Day in 1992 .
