Marlene Dietrich (27 December 1901 – 6 May 1992) was a German and American actress and singer.
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In the 1920s, she acted on the Berlin stage and in silent films, making her film debut in 1922. She was propelled to international fame by director Josef von Sternberg, who cast her as Lola-Lola in The Blue Angel (1930). The film's commercial success brought her a contract with Paramount Pictures in the United States.
Paramount sought to market Dietrich as a German answer to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's Swedish actress Greta Garbo. Her first American film, Morocco (1930), directed by Sternberg, earned Dietrich her only Academy Award nomination. She would appear in several other films directed by Sternberg, including Dishonored (1931), Blonde Venus (1932) and Shanghai Express (1932).
Dietrich and Sternberg's last two film collaborations, The Scarlet Empress (1934) and The Devil Is a Woman (1935)—the most styled of their collaborations—were their least successful at the box office. Her first sound film without Sternberg was 1933's The Song of Songs, directed by Rouben Mamoulian, although she and Sternberg would later work together another two times.
Without Sternberg, Dietrich—along with Joan Crawford, Mae West, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn and others—was labeled "box office poison" after the film Knight Without Armour (1937) proved a box office failure. In 1939, however, her stardom was revived when she played a cowboy saloon girl in the Western comedy Destry Rides Again opposite James Stewart, singing "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have".
While Dietrich arguably never fully regained her former screen glory, she continued performing in films, including appearances for such distinguished directors as Billy Wilder, Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Welles, in successful films that included A Foreign Affair (1948), Stage Fright (1950), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Touch of Evil (1958) and Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Her final film appearance was as herself in the 1984 documentary Marlene.
In 1999, the American Film Institute named Dietrich as the ninth-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema.
Film
editSilent feature films
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | Im Schatten des Glücks | Unknown | Unconfirmed role |
| 1923 | The Little Napoleon | Kathrin | |
| 1923 | Tragedy of Love | Lucy | |
| 1923 | Man by the Wayside | Kramerstochter | |
| 1924 | The Monk from Santarem | Unknown | |
| 1924 | Leap Into Life | Mädchen am Strand | |
| 1925 | Dancing Mad | Dance extra | |
| 1926 | Manon Lescaut | Micheline | |
| 1926 | Madame Wants No Children | Dancer | Uncredited |
| 1927 | A Modern Dubarry | Kokotte | |
| 1927 | The Imaginary Baron | Sophie | |
| 1927 | Heads Up, Charley | Edmee Marchand | |
| 1927 | His Greatest Bluff | Yvette | |
| 1927 | Café Elektric | Erni | |
| 1928 | Princess Olala | Chichotte de Gastone | |
| 1929 | Dangers of the Engagement Period | Evelyne | |
| 1929 | I Kiss Your Hand, Madame | Laurence Gerard (Lucille in the US) | |
| 1929 | The Woman One Longs For | Stascha | |
| 1929 | The Ship of Lost Souls | Ethel Marley |
Sound feature films
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | The Blue Angel | Lola-Lola | Separate German and English versions were shot simultaneously. |
| 1930 | Morocco | Mademoiselle Amy Jolly | |
| 1931 | Dishonored | Marie Kolverer | |
| 1932 | Shanghai Express | Shanghai Lily | |
| 1932 | Blonde Venus | Helen Faraday | |
| 1933 | The Song of Songs | Lily Czepanek | |
| 1934 | The Scarlet Empress | Princess Sophia Frederica / Catherine II | |
| 1935 | The Devil Is a Woman | Concha Perez | |
| 1936 | I Loved a Soldier | Anna Sedlak | Unfinished film |
| 1936 | Desire | Madeleine de Aupre | |
| 1936 | The Garden of Allah | Domini Enfilden | Her first Technicolor film |
| 1937 | Knight Without Armour | Countess Alexandra Vladinoff | |
| 1937 | Angel | Maria Berker | |
| 1939 | Destry Rides Again | Frenchy | |
| 1940 | Seven Sinners | Bijou Blanche | |
| 1941 | The Flame of New Orleans | Countess Claire Ledoux | |
| 1941 | Manpower | Fay Duvall | |
| 1942 | The Lady Is Willing | Elizabeth Madden | |
| 1942 | The Spoilers | Cherry Malotte | |
| 1942 | Pittsburgh | Josey "Hunky" Winters | |
| 1944 | Kismet | Jamilla | |
| 1944 | Follow the Boys | Herself | |
| 1946 | Martin Roumagnac | Blanche Ferrand | |
| 1947 | Golden Earrings | Lydia | |
| 1948 | A Foreign Affair | Erika von Schlütow | |
| 1949 | Jigsaw | Herself | Uncredited cameo |
| 1950 | Stage Fright | Charlotte Inwood | |
| 1951 | No Highway in the Sky | Monica Teasdale | |
| 1952 | Rancho Notorious | Altar Keane | |
| 1956 | Around the World in 80 Days | Saloon hostess | Cameo |
| 1956 | The Monte Carlo Story | Maria de Creveçoeur | |
| 1957 | Witness for the Prosecution | Christine Vole (Helm) / Cockney woman | |
| 1958 | Touch of Evil | Tanya | |
| 1961 | Judgment at Nuremberg | Frau Bertholt | |
| 1962 | Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler | Narrator | Voice |
| 1964 | Paris When It Sizzles | Herself | Uncredited cameo |
| 1978 | Just a Gigolo | Baroness von Semering | |
| 1984 | Marlene | Herself | Voice |
Short films
edit| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1928 | Die gluckliche Mutter | Dietrich biographer Steven Bach notes that the release of this film has not been verified. |
| 1935 | The Fashion Side of Hollywood | Promotional short film publicizing costumes designed by Travis Banton. |
| 1937 | Screen Snapshots Series 16, No. 7 | |
| 1943 | Show Business at War | |
| 1944 | Memo for Joe |
Television
editComplete list of television appearances (excluding news footage):
- Unicef Gala (Düsseldorf, 1962): Guest Appearance
- Cirque d'hiver (Paris, 9 March 1963): Cameo as "Garcon de Piste"
- Deutsche-Schlager-Festspiele (Baden-Baden, 1963): Guest Appearance
- Grand Gala du Disque (Edison Awards) (The Hague, 1963): Guest Appearance
- Galakväll pa Berns (Stockholm, 1963): Concert, with introduction by Karl Gerhardt and orchestra conducted by Burt Bacharach
- Royal Variety Performance (London, 4 November 1963): Guest Appearance
- The Stars Shine for Jack Hylton (London, 1965): Guest Appearance
- The Magic of Marlene (Melbourne, October 1965): Concert, with orchestra conducted by William Blezard.
- The 22nd Annual Tony Awards (New York, 21 April 1968): Acceptance Speech
- Guest Star Marlene Dietrich (Copenhagen – for Swedish Television, 1970): Interview
- I Wish You Love (An Evening with Marlene Dietrich) (London, 23 & 24 November 1972): Concert TV Special, with orchestra conducted by Stan Freeman.
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1932 | Academy Awards | Best Actress | Morocco | Nominated |
| 1958 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress – Drama | Witness for the Prosecution | Nominated |
| 1958 | Laurel Awards | Top Female Dramatic Performance | Witness for the Prosecution | 2nd Place |
| 1960 | Star on the Walk of Fame | Motion Picture | — | Won |
| 1962 | David di Donatello Awards | Special David | Judgment at Nuremberg | Won |
| 1980 | German Film Awards | Honorary Award | — | Won |
| 2003 | Online Film & Television Association | OFTA Film Hall of Fame | — | Won |