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Blonde Venus
1932 Drama / Romance
Review
Blonde Venus marked the fifth
collaboration of the gifted Austrian director Josef von Sternberg with
screen legend Marlene Dietrich, a somewhat contrived melodrama that is
salvaged from the tepid sea of mediocrity by its stunning art design,
truthful performances and some moments of artistic brilliance.
The charismatic Dietrich is, as ever, resplendent and
attention-grabbing, whether she is playing the devoted mother and
housewife, the seductive mistress or the glamorous cabaret
singer. Here, she gets to sing three numbers, one of which, "Hot
Voodoo", provides the film’s artistic highpoint, with Dietrich emerging
kinkily from a monkey suit to the sound of jungle drums in an
atmosphere that is charged with wild eroticism. That von Sternberg was reluctant to make the film (and did so only under pressure from his studio bosses) is shown up most evidently in the film’s shaky plot, which is uneven, poorly structured and lacking in credibility. Despite this, von Sternberg’s creative flair and eye for detail save the day and the end result is both compelling and visually intoxicating. The opening sequence, in which Dietrich is discovered swimming nude in a river, like an immaculate fairytale princess, is one of the most poetic and sensual that the director ever shot. Dietrich may be the film’s biggest draw but her performance is effectively matched by those of her two talented co-stars, Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant, the latter of whom was on the brink of major Hollywood stardom. All this star power is virtually eclipsed, however, by seven year old Dickie Moore, whose captivating scenes with Dietrich resonate with the most touching poignancy and tenderness, revealing another, gentler side to Germany’s most celebrated screen actress. © James Travers 2008 Write a review for this film...User Comments
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Director:
Josef von Sternberg
Starring: Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall, Cary Grant, Dickie Moore, Gene Morgan Synopsis
Edward Faraday is an American research chemist whose experiments with
radioactive substances have given him a life-threatening illness.
His only hope is to undergo a course of treatment in Germany, but he
hasn’t the money to pay for this. His wife Helen tells him that
she can obtain the money if she returns to her former occupation as a
nightclub singer. Reluctantly, Faraday agrees and he soon gets
the money he needs, not realising that Helen earned most of it by
prostituting herself to the rich playboy Nick Townsend. When
Faraday returns to America, his illness cured, he is alarmed to
discover that both his wife and his young son are away from
home. When he learns that Helen has been continuing her affair
with Townsend he threatens to take her son away from her.
Horrified at the prospect of this, Helen goes on the run, taking her
son with her...
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