Morocco (1930)

Marlene Dietrich, in her first Hollywood film, took the country by storm with her smashing performance as cabaret singer Amy Jolly in Morocco, one of the first talkie films.

In her native Germany, Dietrich was already a star but Paramount wanted a leading lady to compare with MGM's top billed star Greta Garbo. Working with Director Joseph Von Sternberg, Marlene Dietrich became the ultimate femme fatale, sensual and unpredictable - a sensation with audiences.

Having just released The Blue Angel, a German film also directed by Von Sternberg, to rave reviews in Europe, Paramount held up its release in the USA until Von Sternberg could make Morocco, in Hollywood. It was a tremendous success and established Dietrich as an American star. The later release of The Blue Angel then acted to further confirm her superstardom.

Morocco is pure fantasy – an exotic locale and a love triangle involving Adolphe Menjou who is pursuing Dietrich who is pursuing Gary Cooper. Menjou plays the dashing, urbane, and rich Monsieur Le Bessiere who first encounters Dietrich on a ship bound for Africa. He offers to provide whatever assistance Dietrich may require in the new country but at this time she's not buying anything.

When they arrive in Morocco, Amy (Dietrich) immediately becomes the star performer at the local canteen. The boisterous crowd immediately hushes when Amy, daringly dressed in a tuxedo, begins her number. Wending her way through the audience, she meets Legionnaire Tom Brown (Gary Cooper) who buys an apple from her. She includes her room key with the change. In their first encounter, Brown plays hard to get. Amy, who hasn’t apparently experienced much rejection, begins a determined pursuit. But Brown is a lady-killer and has all sorts of encounters with women all over the town. Unfortunately for him, one of them is his commanding officer's wife and he saw them. As a result Brown is volunteered for a dangerous mission…

He must knock out an Arab machine gun blocking his regiment’s progress through the mountains…

When the column returns, Amy breathlessly leaves a formal dinner party meant to announce her engagement to Le Bessiere. Brown is, unfortunately, not with his regiment. Amy immediately sets off for the frontier to search for her man. I’m sorry but you'll have to see the film if you want to know the rest. I guarantee it will be unexpected and well worth it!

Much of the credit for creating the mystique that swirled around Dietrich has to go to photographer Lee Garmes. Although Sternberg gave rigid direction on lighting Dietrich's face, Garmes disregarded it instead opting for a technique he called "North Light." This emphasized the uniqueness of Dietrich's features and made her a visual icon fully on par with Garbo. Audiences went wild.

Cooper, an established American star, got top billing in Morocco but Dietrich was never overshadowed in any way. Indeed, this was one of Cooper's better performances showing a looser, more carefree spirit. Nearly a decade later, Coop would again essay a Foreign Legionnaire – this time in the classic adventure Beau Geste.

As one of the first sound motion pictures, there are defects in the soundtrack, however Dietrich's deep smoky voice comes through and adds to her charm.

Any film buff will want to see Morocco, where superstar Marlene Dietrich got her start. Also recommended are early talkie films The Blue Angel, All Quiet on the Western Front, Scarface, and the original Universal horror movies.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: VHS
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day