Various (director)
BFI (studio)
PG (certificate)
344 min (length)
25 January 2021 (released)
22 January 2021
Four classic Marlene Dietrich films from her years at Universal 1940 - 1942 are included in this Limited Edition Blu-ray boxset: SEVEN SINNERS, THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS, PITTSBURGH and THE SPOILERS, with John Wayne as her co-star in three of the films.
SEVEN SINNERS (Tay Garnett, 1940) sees La Dietrich in the role of Bijou Blanche, an eccentric and controversal cabaret singer who’s been kicked off so many South Sea islands she can’t even remember how many. Reason? Men are lusting after her and thus fighting over her, resulting in venues getting smashed to pieces. Her constant travel companions include naval deserter and minder Little Ned Finnegan (Broderick Crawfod) and magician and pickpocket Sasha Mencken (Mischa Auer). Now the trio are ‘deported’ to the island of Boni Komba which is under U.S. protection. Soon though trouble keeps brewing all over again when Bijou performs nightly in the 'Seven Sinners' bar with US navy men fighting for the attention of the blonde beauty while Sasha contributes to the income with his pickpocket skills. Things get much more troublesome with the arrival of Navy Lieutenant Dan Brent (John Wayne) who falls for the torch singer hook, line and sinker. This provokes the jealousy of the considerably more straitlaced Dorothy Henderson (Anna Lee) and the dubious Antro (Oskar Homolka). In addition, Brent’s superiors are of the opinion that his romance with Bijou is damaging the reputation of the US Navy and urge him to re-consider his marriage plans… The film should have the alternative title 'The Marlene Dietrich Fashion Show' because she seems to sport a different outfit almost in every scene including her famous sailor outfit.
THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS is a 1941 comedy directed by Renè Clair and is equally light fare. Through a flashback (which is the actual film) we are told how the glamorous 'Duchess' Claire Ledux (Dietrich) disappeared without a trace on her wedding day in 1840. Only her wedding dress was later fished from the Mississippi... One year earlier: Claire Ledux lives in a posh villa in New Orleans (only too obviously a film studio) where she spends her daily routine dressing in the latest fashion creations while her black and extremely witty maid Clementine (Theresa Harris) is discreetly on the lookout for rich suitors benefiting her mistress. Claire's next plan is to hook up with the filthy rich banker Charles Giraud (Roland Young) which she successfully manages thanks to Clementines' help but as luck would have it during an accident involving her carriage she mets boat captain Robert Latour (Bruce Cabot) - a charmer with uncouth manners and little money. When Giraud throws a drink reception to introduce his future bride to high society, a self-styled Russian noble man called Zolotov (Mischa Auer again) unexpectedly appears and whispers into the banker's ear that he knows Claire from St. Petersburg where her reputation was a rather seedy one... Panicking and worried about her future, Claire now slips into a double role in which she pretends to be Claire’s wicked cousin Lili from Russia but Captain Latour, who is still after Claire, soon sees through her insidious game. Who will Claire choose in the end? An admittedly lively comedy in which the intelligence of the audience (and that of male leading actors Bruce Cabot and Roland Young) is rather challenged given the fact that the identical looking cousin 'Lili' could be Claire’s twin sister! The fact that maids and servants are black makes this film look unpleasantly dated though admittedly Theresa Harris has a considerably bigger and slightly more telling part than your usual black maid from this period of Hollywood cinema.
PITTSBURGH (Lewis Seiler, 1942) is the best film in this set and much more serious in tone. The film’s two male leads are John Wayne and Randolph Scott though actually this really is John Wayne’s film despite the fact that he only gets third billing in the opening credits (Wayne was at that time signed to a different studio). Charles 'Pittsburgh' Markham (Wayne) is a miner with great ambitions because he wants to make the city of Pittsburgh even richer thanks to its coal mines, but soon realizes that the future lies in the steel industry. In contrast to Markham, his colleague and best buddy Cash Evans (R. Scott) worries a lot more about things and is in favour of mutual friend Doc Powers (Frank Craven) working on a formula using coal tar for possible medical purposes. The once rock-solid friendship between Markham and Evans first starts to crumble when the two friends meet Josie Winters (Dietrich) during a boxing match organized by Markham and with Evans conned into the ring. Markham nicknames Josie 'Countess' because of her extravagant mannerisms and dresses but Josie (who also comes from a poor background) has a keen sense of social justice. After she points out that she doesn’t have the slightest plans to stay in her milieu but to make something of her life, Markham’s selfishness explodes with little consideration for others and with his own ambitions always at the forefront. When he joins forces with rich steel mill owner Morgan Prentiss (Samuel Hinds) via means of a forged signature it isn’t long before he marries his admittedly attractive daughter Shannon (Louise Allbritton)… not necessarily because of love but in order to further enhance his own career. Having hurt everyone’s feelings including Josie’s, the tide turns against Markham when Cash Evans no longer wants to be his friend but Markham still refuses to see the writing on the wall. Instead of putting an end to the lousy working conditions in the mines, Markham also puts an end to Doc Powers medical research as it doesn’t show profit. Only a mine accident during which Josie almost dies makes Markham a better person but old wounds heal slowly and his efforts to reverse the damage comes too late... The performances are excellent throughout and here Marlene is allowed to stretch her acting muscles beyond her ‘blond vamp’ image. Despite its huge success at the box office, PITTSBURGH was slated by the critics as a shameless and patriotic propaganda film inspiring steel workers to work even harder to help the war effort.
Final film THE SPOILERS (Ray Enright, 1942) transports us to the Klondike at the end of the 19th century, to be more precise the action takes place in the little town of Nome. Here the gold rush is in full of swing and corruption is rife. Saloon owner Cherry Malotte (Dietrich, who once again drapes herself in fur and employs a black maid) tries to prevent fraud when Flapjack and Banty arrive in town to check on their gold mine claim while two other men, Bennett and Clark, attempt to steal it. In on the scheme is new gold commissioner Alex McNamara (Randolph Scott) and even Judge Stillman (Sam Hinds again) turns a blind eye. With all this going on Cherry's old flame Roy Glennister (J. Wayne) returns from his European trip and begins a subtle romance with Helen Chester (Margaret Lindsay) who of all people happens to be the Judge's niece! Stupidly siding with McNamara the move costs Roy his friendship with longterm partner Al Dextry (Harry Carey). Roy should have known better because McNamara and the Judge plan to have him over by stealing in excess of $250,000. To complicate things further Helen declares her love for Roy but he still has feelings for Cherry… Unfazed, Helen tries to persuade Roy to rob the local bank to get his revenge on McNamara and the Judge but when the plan goes pear-shaped it’s good-hearted Cherry who jumps to Roy’s rescue… This is a real cracker with plenty of fist fights and shoot-outs and a hilarious stand-out performance from Mariette Canty as Cherry’s larger-than-life maid Idabelle. The film even features a cameo appearance by the ‘Bard of the Yukon’ himself, Robert W. Service who sadly doesn’t recite his famous poem ‘The Shooting of Dan McGrew’.
Bonus material includes various comments, a photo galleries and a 60-page illustrated info booklet.