Regular Price $26.98

Starring: Marlene Dietrich,  Bruce Cabot,  Roland Young,  Mischa Auer,  Andy Devine, 
Directed By: René Clair,  Josef von Sternberg, 
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Release Date: 1941-04-25
Studio: Universal Studios
Format: Box set,  Color,  Dolby,  DVD-Video,  Full Screen,  Subtitled,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)

Product Description
A queen of the silver screen Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich carved a place for herself in film history with her roles in the five films gathered here: MOROCCO BLONDE VENUS THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS and GOLDEN EARRINGS. See individual descriptions for details.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 025192845529 Manufacturer No: 28455

Amazon.com
Marlene Dietrich was one of the cinema's glorious creatures, an elegant arrangement of bone structure and silver light, blessed with a sly sense of humor. Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection assembles five titles featuring la Dietrich at her best, with a special emphasis on one of the great Hollywood director-star collaborations.

Dietrich and director Josef von Sternberg met in Germany when he plucked her from obscurity for the starring role of The Blue Angel, after which she came to America and instant stardom. A string of films with Sternberg created her image as an exotic source of fascination, both ethereal and sexually knowing. Three of those outings are included in this package. Morocco, their first Hollywood movie together, is a delirious look at a cabaret singer taken with a Foreign Legion soldier (the young Gary Cooper). Dressed in masculine clothes for her act, Dietrich already displays a sexual confidence that fairly burns off the screen. Blonde Venus has a soap opera-ish plot about a woman's fall and rise, but Dietrich's commitment to the part is complete; plus, there's an outrageous faux-African number that begins with Dietrich dressed in a gorilla costume. Cary Grant looks on in astonishment.

The Devil Is a Woman is an unmitigated Sternberg-Dietrich masterpiece, and their final movie together. Here Marlene is a Spanish vixen making life exciting and miserable for Lionel Atwill (a lookalike stand-in for Josef von Sternberg himself). The film is an eye-popping light-painting draped with feathers, mesh, and confetti, all of which are in service to a fundamentally serious inquiry into the knotty business of men and women.

Putting three of the Paramount Dietrich-Sternberg films in this collection and leaving out the other three is either carelessness or marketing strategy. In any case, the other two movies in this package are not at the same level, but certainly good fun. The Flame of New Orleans, director Rene Clair's first Hollywood picture, is a gorgeously photographed comedy with a delightful role for its star. Dietrich is stuck choosing between aristocrat Roland Young and rough sailor Bruce Cabot. The look on her face as she listens to helpful advice about wedding-night conjugal realities from a matron is a riot of erotic mischief. Golden Earrings is a crazy story about Ray Milland getting stuck behind German lines in the early days of WWII, and being taken in by gypsy girl Dietrich. Even here, nearly 20 years after her first stardom, she's still Dietrich. The hair may be dyed black, but the cheekbones are unmistakable. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews for Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)

Good quality for a great price
I was suspicious of the 3 DVD package at first - thinking that the quality would be lacking. However, I was pleasantly surprised that all the films were from very good quality prints. The package is clearly worth double the price. It's true - there are no extras, but that doesn't bother me. This is a great value for outstanding entertainment & a must have for any Marlana Dietrich fan! Now, if somebody like Criterion would only release a restored version "Shanghai Express" on DVD!Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)

Marlene Dietrich the glamour collection
i have always loved marlene dietrich,this dvd set of her movies is great,five of her greatest movies,a five star rating.jeanetteMarlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)

Old Memories
Good to watch those old movies, especially when there's nothing to do outside and you are stuck inside. Brings back the good old days.Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)

Historical Document
It's really good to have all these films in one collection. For people interested in the history of cinema, Hollywood, movie stars, etc., this is a welcome historical and cultural document. 9 films, including most of the expressionist ones created with von Sternberg. It seems amazing now that these works caused von Sternberg to be dismissed from Hollywood because of their sexual over/under-tones. Set in authentic locations, these films also tell us about society at that time, along with wars and social issues.Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)

Good prints, variable films, lousy packaging
This is a cheap DVD set so you get what you pay for - 5 films of the legendary Marlene Dietrich in excellent condition with no extras except a couple of trailers and poor packaging with no labels and 2 disks, one of which has a blank side. I don't mind the lack of extras at the price but the confusion in locating each film is a pain and the DVDs are "sticky" due to the cramming.

As for the films themselves, the selection is fair with 3 from the Von Sternberg era in the early thirties and 2 from the forties. It is arguable whether Dietrich was ever much of an actress, certainly not in the same league as her contemporary Greta Garbo. She came to America with the same aura of mystique but during the war, she came down from the pedestal. She was best in comedy, with a great dry irony, and most often cast as a trollop.

Here is what the DVD provides:

- In 1930, Dietrich was brought to Hollywood from Berlin with her Svengali, Joseph Von Sternberg, and rushed into "Morocco". The film was released at the end of 1930 and watching it today, it probably would have been better as a silent. In fact, I would suggest that it can be viewed more enjoyably with the sound turned off because the ponderous dialogue is irrelevant and the film moves at a snail's pace. Von Sternberg's art was visual and there are numerous shots carefully lit and posed of the languorous Dietrich. Acting does not really come into it but her performance is convincing simply by how she is presented. Gary Cooper, cast as a French Foreign Legionnaire, looks the part but every time he opens his mouth, he is absurd. The best moment is the end of the film - no dialogue, an archway, Dietrich, buffeted by the wind and sand, walking into the desert with the camp followers. Note also the film is pre-code and there are some provocative suggestions concerning Dietrich's sexual preferences in her night club act.

- By 1932, Dietrich was established in Hollywood, having been re-groomed into a sleeker creature than in "Morocco". Von Sternberg cobbled together an unbelievable yarn in the mother love/self sacrifice genre which was popular at the time. "Blonde Venus" stars Dietrich as a wife who sacrifices herself to playboy Cary Grant to pay for the operation needed to save chemist husband, Herbert Marshall, from death due to radium poisoning. Dietrich underplays well and establishes a believable relationship with her son, Dickie Moore, a natural child star. Grant too is excellent and credible as an sophisticated playboy. Herbert Marshall is unable to rise above the clichés and offers a dreary unconvincing performance. The photography and sets are spectacular and Dietrich sings 3 songs in her usual intriguing manner. "Hot Voodoo" is famous because she steps out of a gorilla suit. The film was a box office failure at the time, not the least because it was an expensive production but it can be enjoyed today for the superb lighting, sets, costumes and staging.

- the last of the Dietrich/Von Sternberg collaboration is the 1935 "The Devil is a Woman". Dietrich plays a heartless Spanish woman who destroys all the men with whom she comes in contact. The plot and treatment are really like grand opera without the music. Visually, the film is a masterpiece and it looks superb. Dietrich is more animated than in the former films and a young Cesar Romero is very romantic opposite her. This is a film you either love or loathe. It certainly leaves an impression and it does contain my favourite Dietrich number, the funny and cynical "Three Loves have I" which she delivers with a great sense of irony.

- in 1941, Dietrich was guided by the famous French director, Rene Clair, in a throwback role to the Von Sternberg days. She plays an adventuress in New Orleans in 1841 who plots to marry a banker but departs at the altar to marry a sailor. Dietrich is too old for the part and the light touch Claire tries for fails whether it be due to the censorship or the plodding pace. The costumes are spectacular but there are too many shots of Dietrich, prettily posed, acting coy (very unconvincing) and lit for maximum visual effect but minimum dramatic or even comedic and by 1941, this was dated and tiresome. The sets are often 2 dimensional and some of the process shots are poor. Bruce Cabot is her less than magnetic leading man and Roland Young is miscast as the banker. One unintentionally funny moment - Cabot and Dietrich on the railing of the ship in the early morning and ships sails moving past behind them; you can visualise the film crew pushing the cardboard cutouts!

- The last film in the collection is the bizarre "Golden Earrings", released in 1947. The film is a wartime thriller but plays best as a comedy. Dietrich is entertaining as an earthy gypsy who helps British agent Ray Milland, hide from Nazis. The film is beautifully made by Mitchell Liesen but Milland looks uncomfortable and apparently loathed the experience. The scenes with Germans are surprisingly convincing and the film is good fun even if it is absurd and overlong.

All the prints are in great condition and with the Von Sternberg films, this is particularly gratifying since the photography and art direction are so good.
Marlene Dietrich - The Glamour Collection (Morocco/ Blonde Venus/ The Devil Is a Woman/ Flame of New Orleans/ Golden Earrings)

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