Blonde Venus Details

No one has ever looked lovelier destitiute than Dietrich.

I loved this film. I have only watched Dietrich in Blue Angel, Destry Rides Again and Morocco and was so impressed by her I decided to rent this film. I wasn't disappointed. The cabaret scenes are the highlights but the story never really dips and she is as engaging portraying a mother or being destitute. A young Cary Grant plays one of her suitors. As this film was made before the censorship became stricter there is a lovely skinny dipping scene at the beginning.

I shall be looking around for some more Dietrich films to watch.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Leading man trouble

This is similar to the other films that Deitrich made with her 'svengali' director Josef von Sternberg. They all carry his trademark of virtuoso lighting (perhaps over-lighting) and extremely busily dressed sets. For the time they were very adventurous and quite daring in their sexual frankness. There is a problem with the male lead in this one, Herbert Marshall, who is so 'wet' that any passion between him and Deitrich looks rather unbelievable. This may, of course, have been just the point Sternberg was making: beautiful women often chose rather wimpy men as their consorts. This might well be a worthwhile subject for a short thesis; it just doesn't appeal when I see it up there on the screen.