50 Years Ago: Marlene Dietrich in Warsaw, 1964

Marlene made her debut in Warsaw 50 years ago this month. We covered this visit in depth earlier:

Marlene's first visit to Warsaw, 16th January 1964.

Marlene brings lilacs to the Ghetto Heroes Monument.

In performance at Warsaw's Sala Kongresowa.

Jean Marais reads Jean Cocteau's Salutation to Marlene Dietrich (1954) [...

Jean Marais reads Jean Cocteau's Salutation to Marlene Dietrich, written in 1954 when Marlene appeared in Monte Carlo for a Polio benefit. (The recording, and Marlene's speech at the end, were likely done later).

Photos show Marlene at the benefit performance in Monaco, in Paris and London; with Marais and Cocteau (between 1954 - 1959); receiving the Legion d'honneur (1951); and at the 10th anniversary of the liberation of Paris.

TRANSLATION:

Marlene Dietrich! ... Your name, at first the sound of a caress, becomes the crack of a whip. When you wear feathers, and furs, and plumes, you wear them as the birds and animals wear them, as though they belong to your body.

In your voice we hear the voice of the Lorelei: in your look, the Lorelei turns to us. But the Lorelei was a danger, to be feared. You are not: because the secret of your beauty lies in the care of your loving kindness of the heart. This care of heart is what holds you higher than elegance, fashion or style, higher even than your fame, your courage, your bearing, your films, your songs.

Your beauty is its own poet, its own praise. There is no need for us to speak of it, and so I salute, not your beauty but your goodness. It shines in you, as light shines in the moving wave of the sea: a transparent wave coming out of the far distance, and carrying like a gift, its light, its voice, and the plumes of foam, to the shore where we stand.
From the sequins of the "Blue Angel" to the dinner-jacket of "Morocco", from the shabby black dress of "Dishonored" to the cockfeathers of "Shanghai Express": for the diamonds of "Desire" to the American uniform: from port to port, from reef to reef, from crest to crest, from breakwater to breakwater, there comes to us (all sails flying) a frigate, figurehead, a Chinese fish, a lyre-bird, a legend, a wonder: Marlene Dietrich!

(Translated by Christoper Fry)

Written as introduction for Miss Dietrich's appearance at the French Polio Benefit in Monte Carlo (Monaco

She's in the Air

There's been some talk about Marlene on the airwaves recently:

• Peter Riva recalled Marlene's death  for the BBC's programme, Witness (and shared other memories of his glamorous granny, too).
• Burt Bacharach, whose autobiography will be released soon, remembers working with Marlene early in his career.
• Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin's Werner Sudendorf talks about the collection in this German interview.

Marlene Dietrich in "The Child" (BBC, 1965)

Marlene's 1965 BBC radio play, The Child (written by Shirley Jenkins) makes its internet debut on Youtube:



Polskie Radio Gold

Terry Sanderson pointed me to a recently-posted Polskie Radio interview that Marlene Dietrich gave during her first Warsaw concert appearance in 1964, which you can hear here. Typically, introductions and commentary are rife with well-known biographical facts, but hosts Anna Piwowarska and Peter Gentle share Poland-related Dietrichiana that make the entire program--not just the 1964 interview--worth hearing.

With anecdotes from Angelika Kuźniak's Polish-language biography on Dietrich, Marlene, the hosts blend the personal with the professional. Gentle calls Dietrich "eccentric" for bringing 35 suitcases, claiming to have thin eyelids, and cleaning her hotel bathroom with chloroform. Piwowarska speculates that Dietrich banned photography at her concert because the flash cameras would have exposed her mythical foundation. Imagine what Dietrich would do if faced with the TSA's full-body scanners!

Piwowarska and Gentle relate many more stories, but I do want to highlight a professional and Poland-related one: Czesław Niemen led Dietrich's warm-up band and performed "Czy mnie jeszcze pamiętasz?"--a song that Dietrich later recorded with self-penned German lyrics as "Mutter, hast Du mir vergeben?" EMI has already had this Dietrich track removed from YouTube, as far as I can tell, but you can purchase or preview it on Amazon.

Regarding the interview, Dietrich mentioned that she enjoyed the vodka and Russian champagne, that she took a trip to the Warsaw ghetto, and that she and Polish audiences shared a mutual love for sad songs--which would explain why she took to Nieman's song. While listening to the program, I also realized that the archived footage audio was used in Schell's documentary. I never knew that Dietrich was speaking to a Warsaw audience in that clip! By the way, Piwowarska stated that Dietrich conducted interviews in French and German, so Polskie Radio's likely got more in their archives worth exploring.

So much is said, so do take a listen! Oh, and if you want to see a photo of Dietrich from her 1964 Warsaw trip, see this Flickr link. For another clip, watch this.

Taking Shots at Lady Lush

Tallulah Bankhead was an intoxicating character whose words you couldn't properly transcribe without italizing and CAPITALIZING, and--for years--I thought her surname was DARLING. Hopefully, we haven't already posted a clip from her 1950s NBC radio program, The Big Show, because I wouldn't want to commit the sin of repetition. On YouTube, many have already shared an excerpt from the January 7, 1951 show in which Dietrich guest starred, but the entire episode deserves a listen (even more than this lot legend about gold dust deserves a read). Available from Internet Archive, here it is:

When the guest stars introduce themselves, you may recognize some names associated with Dietrich: Fred Allen (whose Texaco Star Theater radio show featured Dietrich, readily available on TallulahDarling's YouTube page), Edward G. Robinson (Dietrich's Manpower co-star), and Danny Thomas (who went on that famous European USO tour with Dietrich).

During the show, Dietrich's appearance is hyped up, with Bankhead playfully demanding equal footing, as you'll hear in her exchange with singer Fran Warren.

WARREN: Oh, I'm very excited, Tallulah, what with Marlene Dietrich on the show. She's so glamorous!
BANKHEAD: Uh, I've heard that said about me, darling.
WARREN: And she's such an international celebrity.
BANKHEAD: I've heard THAT said about me, darling, TOO.
WARREN: I remember she was my ideal when I was a child!
BANKHEAD: And I've heard THAT said abou--UH! [laughs] OH, DARLING!

Once Dietrich makes her "appearance" 45 minutes into the show, it's one punchline after another. Dietrich then sings "Falling in Love Again" but not just the way she sang it--as Bankhead says--"35 years ago." This rendition features some over-the-top yet ethereal "ah-ah-ah"-ing choir, like in Mario Lanza's "Be My Love." Enjoy!

Marlene Dietrich, The Love Doctor

Dietrich recording her Monitor segments
(Note: The earliest date stamp is Oct. 24, 1958--
NOT May 1964 as stated on the Wikipedia page)

Happy New Year, all! For my own amusement, I'm going to change the tone of my blog entries from time to time. If that rubs you the wrong way, go read Proust with Maximilian Schell. Or--better yet--join us in blogging about Dietrich! In particular, I'd like to see a woman blogger in our crew. If you're interested, email us at lastgoddessblog@gmail.com or comment on this post. Now, I'll return you to our irregularly scheduled entry. . . .

Back in the 1950s, Marlene Dietrich dispensed relationship advice on the NBC radio program, Monitor. Then, the public didn't know that they were tuning in to the wisdom of a grandmother who pined for the married Yul Brynner, but Dietrich's private adolescent woes could have made her public views all the more insightful. It's like having a shrink who plays with the dolls before she doles them out.

Of course, I jest. It just so happened that folks had been soliciting Dear Dietrich's guidance since World War II, and Dietrich aptly employed her approachability when less movie roles were coming her way.

Many of you may be asking where you can find recordings of Dietrich's segments. Well, I have the same question! All that Steven Bach told us was that Dietrich "purred," but he may have been at a loss for words because that's how he described most of Dietrich's radio contributions. If you know where we can hear Dietrich's love doctor routine, don't keep them to yourself! In the meantime, I'll just have to settle for the notion that Dietrich responded to every query by purring the words: "Use Heinz vinegar."

At the very least, I can direct you to audio on The Monitor Tribute Pages. Click here and listen to the clip called "John Bartholomew Tucker hosts Monitor '75 -- Saturday, January 25, 10-11 a.m. ET," which features a brief interview with Dietrich at about 11:15. What do you think about Dietrich's views regarding television? I respectfully disagree because I could never imagine anything as ethereal as the creatures that I've recently seen on T.V.:

Get More: TV Shows, Full Episode Video, Reality TV Shows

French Radio's Marlene Tribute

In August, France Culture broadcast a series of five programmes dedicated to Dietrich.

Subjects include Marlene's love life, her role as muse and the Dietrich-Sternberg collaborations. Archive interviews with Marlene are used, as well as new interviews with Silke Ronneburg and Werner Sudendorf (from the Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin), Jean-Jacques Debout (whose songs Marlene recorded), Marlene's friend Louis Bozon and her grandson Peter Riva.

You can listen to the programmes on France Culture's site. The programmes are in French.

The Legionnaire and the Lady

Dietrich (a la Tante Valli?) & Clark Gable, Lux Radio Theater

When Marlene Dietrich first performed on Lux Radio Theater, the CBS-run program had recently begun airing from Hollywood with Cecil B. DeMille as its presenter. Not only was Dietrich's Lux Radio Theater debut an adaptation of her American debut film Morocco, it was also Lux Radio Theater's first film adaptation. In this June 1 1936 broadcast, called The Legionnaire and the Lady, Clark Gable took over the role of Gary Cooper, who coincidentally sat in the star-studded audience. Dietrich did not replicate Amy Jolly's drag king act, but she maintained the controlled cadence of her silver screen character, despite having mastered English so well that she had earned a reputation for critiquing her film scripts. Around the time of this broadcast, Dietrich had returned to Los Angeles from Arizona to complete another desert drama, The Garden of Allah, whose dialogue left a taste like rancid halvah in its stars' mouths and which failed to repeat Morocco's success.

Listen to The Legionnaire and the Lady below, or download it from Internet Archive. See photos from the Lux Radio Theater show at IMDB (with inaccurate dates).

Name Recognition: Shanghai Lily

Shanghai Express was Marlene Dietrich and Josef von Sternberg's most profitable collaboration, and the name "Shanghai Lily" was clearly on the tip of tongues at the Warner lot when James Cagney sang "Shanghai Lil" in 1933's Footlight Parade. That same year, Gene Kardos and his orchestra also recorded the song:

Marlene Dietrich Got Top Nod For A Foreign Affair

Trailer screenshot via Wikimedia Commons

On July 1 1948, The New York Times reviewer Bosley Crowther praised A Foreign Affair, singling out Marlene Dietrich's Erika von Schlütow for doing "the most fascinating job" by embodying the film's "romantic allure" and "vagrant cynicism."

Dietrich, John Lund, and Billy Wilder later reteamed for the radio series, "Screen Director's Playhouse," which you can explore and download at Internet Archive. I will, however, embed Dietrich's reprisals below. Note that the first recording aired on March 6 1949, and the second broadcast on March 1 1951. Should I spoil the surprise for those who've never heard these shows? Yes! Rosalind Russell and Lucille Ball took on the role of Congresswoman Phoebe Frost in the 1949 and 1951 programs respectively! If either Lucy or Auntie Mame had shared motion picture credits with Dietrich, the boys surely would have burst in their theater seats like Fourth of July fireworks!

Dietrich at the BBC

Dietrich makes wartime recordings for the BBC (photos via their website).

Marlene and Burt: Voices for Vista!

Louella Parsons interviews Marlene Dietrich

Hollywood gossip columnist interviewed Marlene on an episode of her CBS radio show, Sunkist Musical Cocktails on 20 May 1931. The transcript of the interview (which was very likely scripted), below, provides a fascinating glimpse into both Marlene's life at that time and the way in which publicity was utilised to shape and present her relatively new star persona.



MY RADIO CHAT WITH MARLENE DIETRICH

by Louella O. Parsons

Parsons: Good evening. I know from the many letters I have received since we announced that Marlene Dietrich was to be our guest star that the listeners-in are as thrilled as I am at having her here. I am happy to introduce -- say, by the way -- won’t you please tell me how you pronounce your name?
Dietrich: Mar-leen-a Deet-rich-and I am glad that you asked me that question because it is invariably pronounced Mar-leen Deet-rick.
Parsons: Well, one day, Marlene Dietrich -- how do you like my German accent? -- I hope to be able to speak German as well as you speak English. Where did yo learn your English?
Dietrich: Your German sounds all right. I was taught to speak English and French in the German schools as most German children are. That is a part of our education
Parsons: And very sensible. I think our American children should have better training in languages. By the way, were you ever outside of Germany and Austria before?
Dietrich: No - I was never in any other countries but Germany and Austria until I came to the
United States. It was in Vienna, of course, that I made my stage debut.
Parsons: Well, that’s very interesting news to me just as I am sure it must be to all those
listening today. I am surprised to find that you speak French and English without a German accent since your environment was so essentially German.
Dietrich: I try very hard to speak English as well as possible and if I succeed at times, it is because of my musical education, which undoubtedly developed my ear.
Parsons: I have heard you sing on the screen and, of course, I’ve listened to your phonograph records, but tell me -- do you play any musical instruments ?
Dietrich: Yes - I play the violin, piano and sometimes -- when I am provoked to do so -- the musical saw.
Parsons: I know everyone will want to know why you happened to become an actress.
Dietrich: I sprained my wrist because I practiced on the violin six hours a day and while waiting for my hand to become better I entered Max Reinhard’s School of Acting, and then I became an actress in his theatres.
Parsons: I wonder if you know how anxious we were to see you when we heard that Josef von Sternberg was bringing you to America? At that time most foreign actresses were on the wane. Among all the stars whose pictures you’ve seen since you've come to America, which is
your favorite?
Dietrich: Greta Garbo.
Parsons: It must be a case of mutual admiration because Miss Garbo has told her friends that your records are her favorites. You two girls dress in a similar manner. The mannish clothes
that you wear are the same type I’ve often seen Miss Garbo wearing at luncheon.
Dietrich: In Europe every well-dressed woman wears mannish clothes for morning attire. You must have noticed that other European women who come to Hollywood wear tailored clothes. Lilly Damita, for instance.

Parsons: Returning to the subject of your success in America at the time when other European players were on the wane -- your success must be a source of great gratification to you?
Dietrich: Yes -- I am quite happy about it. I love America -- but I love Germany, too; and you can understand that it makes me very sad sometimes to be deprived of the pleasure of making a film in the German language.
Parsons: I don’t blame you. The charm of the screen has always been its international appeal. And it’s a pity that the people who have made such successes in America cannot have their pictures shown abroad as they did in the silent days.
Dietrich: Sometimes it is possible - I just came from Europe a few weeks ago where Morocco is playing in all countries in the English language. There is so little dialogue and so much visual movement that this is one picture easy for foreigners to understand.
Parsons: There's one question I want to ask you. I have heard it said many times that you don’t like Hollywood and that you are very homesick.
Dietrich: It is true that I was very homesick the first time I came here. I had no friends and I was a complete stranger but I like Hollywood much better this time. I have grown accustomed to the sun and my little daughter, Maria, whom I brought with me this time, loves Hollywood,
hot sun and all.

Parsons: You must have seen Charlie Chaplin recently when he made his tour through Germany and England. I am curious to know how the German people received him. Did they like him?
Dietrich: Germany is mad about Mr. Chaplin and all other American stars. Everyone who visits
Germany gets a royal welcome.
Parsons: I don't know whether you know it or not, but I talked to Mr. von Sternberg because I
wanted to get something about your personality before we talked on the radio. He told me that, for one thing, he is lucky if you say three words in a whole conversation.
Dietrich: I do not believe in talking unless you have something to say.
Parsons: Among other things, Mr. von Sternberg told me that it was you who found the book Morocco for him. He also said you are intensely interested in the camera and the technical side of motion pictures.
Dietrich: I don’t think that’s so strange -- do you? -- that I should be interested in the inside
workings of picture making. I believe that everyone should understand the mechanics of his trade.
Parsons: I’m going to ask you a question that’s a little prosaic when applied to a glamorous being like yourself. If you don’t want to answer out loud just whisper in my ear. Is it true you
like to cook ?
Dietrich: I don’t mind telling out loud that I really and truly do like to cook. I have many German friends in Hollywood who are fond of goulash and since it's difficult to get anyone to cook it in the proper way, I cook it myself for my guests.
Parsons: Won’t you tell us something about your little daughter? Is she learning to speak English?

Dietrich: She is learning - but slowly. Her English now consists of "bye-bye," "Thank you very much," "swimming pool," and "Thank you, I am fine." She swims like a fish. She is in the pool all day long. Just the other day she said, "I love Hollywood and I will never leave it unless I can take my swimming pool along..
Parsons: How old is your little daughter and does she look like you? I realize, Miss Dietrich, these are very personal questions, but I know the people listening in who admire you are interested in her.
Dietrich: I am very glad to tell all about her. She is very blonde and I think she resembles my husband, but since everyone says he and I look alike, I suppose the baby resembles both of us.
Parsons: Do you find it easy to combine the duties of motherhood with those of being a successful actress?
Dietrich: Yes, I do, because my daughter is the greatest incentive I could possibly have. I have never been so happy in my life as since I’ve had her.
Parsons: Do you think little Maria will be an actress or a musician?
Dietrich: I hope that she will have enough talent to become an actress because I think it is the most beautiful and interesting career a woman can have. And now, Miss Parsons, I would like to say goodnight. You see, I promised to tell my little daughter a story before she goes to bed and it’s getting late.
Parsons: Goodnight, Miss Dietrich. Thank you very much for coming.

[This interview was originally republished by the MDCB in their newsletter.]

Marlene plays her Musical Saw