| All Dietrich films hosted by film critic Walter Chaw. To read more of Walter's film reviews, go to www.filmfreakcentral.net. |
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Stage Fright
Tuesday, November 18,
6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center |
1950. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Starring Marlene Dietrich, Jane Wyman, Michael Wilding, Richard Todd.
Hitchcock took his turn at comedy blended with suspense in this great Dietrich vehicle. The cast is superb with Wyman as the neophyte acting student who becomes entangled in a murder mystery involving a veteran actress (Dietrich), her lothario (Todd) and her dead husband. Dietrich often played entertainers, but rarely played temperamental divas – and in Stage Fright when she’s bad, she’s great! 110 minutes. Unrated. |
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Destry Rides Again
Tuesday, November 25, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center |
1939. Directed by George Marshall. Starring Jimmy Stewart, Marlene Dietrich.
After being named Box Office Poison (by American theater owners) in 1938, Dietrich made a raucous star comeback as a bawdy saloon madam who has eyes for the local sheriff (Stewart). Destry is also famous for one of the most rousing cat fights ever put on film; Dietrich and Una Merkel slug it out in a scene that took four days to film and left them both bruised and bloodied. 94 minutes. Unrated.
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Marlene
Tuesday, December 2, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center
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1984. Directed by Maximilian Schell. Starring Marlene Dietrich.
“That Marlene Dietrich refused to be filmed for her own feature-length documentary would seem to be a major snag. Yet, this omission creates the soul and much of the entertainment of Maximilian Schell's Marlene. Working with little support from Dietrich (she agreed to be recorded on audio tape only), Schell was forced to find innovative ways to film a camera-shy subject. And though Marlene dispenses with documentary purity, it is an absorbing, highly informative portrait of one of the screen's all-time sirens.” – Desson Howe, Washington Post. 94 minutes. Unrated.
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Blonde Venus
Tuesday, December 9, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center
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1932. Directed by Josef von Sternberg. Starring Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall, Cary Grant, Dickie Moore.
Blonde Venus represents the epitome of the collaboration between von Sternberg and Dietrich. It’s a fantasy of sensual lighting, strange and wonderful costumes, and the story of eine Übermutter who must make the ultimate sacrifice for her child. Throw in Dietrich doing a striptease out of a gorilla costume and wearing her signature male attire and, well, it’s just pure Marlene. 93 minutes. Unrated.
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Scarlet Empress
Tuesday, December 16, 6:30 - 9 p.m.
Shown in the Central Library, Level B2 Conference Center
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1934. Directed by Josef von Sternberg. Starring Marlene Dietrich, Sam Jaffe.
“ ‘(Scarlet Empress) is a relentless excursion into style.’ – Josef von Sternberg. That’s putting it mildly. Here is a film so crammed with style, so surrounded by it and weighted down with it, that the actors peer out from the display like children in a toy store. The film tells the story of Catherine the Great as a bizarre visual extravaganza, combining twisted sexuality and bold ribald humor as if Mel Brooks had collaborated with the Marquis de Sade.” – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times. And yet through it all, you can’t take your eyes off Dietrich. It is her magic: good film or great film, Marlene makes you look! 104 minutes. Unrated.
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