This post is part of the Russia in Classic Film Blogathon,
sponsored by Movies Silently & Flicker Alley.
Please explore posts by other participants here.
In her memoirs, Marlene Dietrich proclaimed "I have a
‘Russian soul' (which means that I easily give what is close to my heart)," a
sentiment that at least dates backs to her 1964 appearance in Moscow.
Given that her husband Rudolf Sieber's longtime mistress Tamara Matul was a White
émigré, Russia may have very well been close to Marlene's heart and soul for
decades before that. Russia has also breathed life into
Dietrich's films, which include The Ship of Lost Men (1929), Dishonored (1931),
The Scarlet Empress (1934), The Garden of Allah (1936), Knight Without Armour
(1937), Angel (1937), Destry Rides Again (1939), Seven Sinners (1940), and The Flame
of New Orleans (1941). This overview of the Russian characters, depictions of Russia and Russians, Russian caricatures, and even Russified characters in these films draws attention to the rarely acknowledged Russian essence of Dietrich's oeuvre.
