Fatalidad

A beautiful woman whose mystery provokes and rivets all viewers, a vamp, a spy, a seductress, a temptress, a woman of many faces and many names, desire embodied where just a look suffices to magnetize the strongest men. How predictable and 'kitschy' it may seem; nevertheless, how accurately it recalls a tendency widespread in the heyday of silver screen: make female celebrities as attractive as possible so that viewers can flock to see them in their most weird roles. They will become the dream of 'husbands' and envy of 'wives' And while Greta Garbo, the queen of MGM, appeared to stun many viewers as a spy lighting up the candles in THE MYSTERIOUS LADY, the burning desires really burst out here at Marlene Dietrich as a spy X27 playing the piano (manipulating everything) on the verge of climactic insanity.

DISHONORED, quite often compared to some other films of the time and treated in the inferior position to others, is undeservedly quite an underrated production. And sadly so because the cooperation of Josef Von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich boasts of some really valuable moments here. Set in the early 20th century Austria, the sets seem to stun equally as the music. The whole movie still occurs to be a visually and atmospherically arousing achievement. The use of classical music, which combines the traditional tunes of Johann Strauss's "The Blue Danube" waltz with the unconventional "Waves of the Danube" by Iosif Ivanovici, seems to manifest the core of the storyline: all those contradictory emotions, plans, events provoked by a woman with her black cat.

The woman who is not afraid of life nor death; the woman of many masks who selects within a broad spectrum of roles needed in closely-knit expectations: from a prostitute to a housewife. Consequently, she is a woman who prefers not to give her true name and appears as a mysterious cipher, X27. Besides, she is the woman who hunts for men and ... slowly goes on undressing...not so much driven by the flesh but the duty. There is no need to say more about the character because everything is rewarded by one name - MARLENE DIETRICH. Her marvelous performance is a purifying combination of conventional acting and unconventional ideas, a lovely manifestation of juxtaposing personality. She does a flawless job as a delicious teaser, a sophisticated woman, a masochistic pianist, an extremely funny little housewife but foremost a foxy spy greatly absorbing. Her character stands for a cat no matter if it is a humorous meow or sensual wow. Among her very best roles, many critics recall the finale, the execution when she stays cold mentally and delicious visually (even the lipstick). The moment, though considerably different, is sometimes compared to or rather contrasted with Garbo's walk filled with 'holy bliss' in MATA HARI. Though great is the moment, I prefer another one: seduction of Colonel Kranau (Victor McLaglen) where Marlene embodies desire. "I have a feeling we've met before" appears literal and metaphorical. Moreover, the source inspiration for the the manner the scene is shot, Picasso's "Les Damoiselles D'Avignon," is a worthwhile effect on the screen (Keith Uhlich analyzes it accurately in his 2003 review). And the men?

Warner Oland as General Von Hindau gives a terrific performance in his short but crucial moments for the storyline. Acquainted with X27 at the mask ball (a scene also filled with associations: note the bird and the balloon, for instance), he invites her to his room and there...so much happens, so much is revealed, such a tension grows... Victor Mc Laglen is also captivating as Colonel Kranau who does not merely come to see her for a kiss but... Nevertheless, the man who remains, to me, most memorable is Gustav Von Seyffertitz (also an accurate example for recalling THE MYSTERIOUS LADY).

An interesting film thanks to Marlene and the mysterious lady she portrays. A little bit shocking film like most of Von Sternberg's films but what would it all be if the director were not present, somehow? All in all, no masterpiece but a worth seeing pre-Code production! Highly recommended for silver screen lovers. 7/10

Dishonoured is an under-appreciated masterpiece. Frequently omitted from lists of collaborations between Dietrich and Von Sternberg, the film is absolutely essential to an understanding of the director's artistic technique and the actor's evolution into her status as an icon for every subsequent femme fatale. Von Sternberg applies a rich sequence of layers of style and character that embellish Dietrich's icily stunning allure as an intelligent woman engaged in a deadly quest for more temporal power in the form of top secret military intelligence and empowerment over the men she manipulates. Along the way, his penetrating interpretation of social conventions depicts a chiaroscuro of surrealistic fantasy in contrast with the gritty reality of doom that engulfs his heroine who is ultimately transformed into a martyr to her own - and universal - femininity.

Well now this is just very silly. As others have pointed out, Victor McLaglen acts his best but is fatally miscast - too rigid, charmless, snide and creepy in a role that is crying out for a Clark Gable or Cary Grant.

On the other hand Dietrich was never more beautiful, and you can feel Sternberg's worshipping of her through the camera lens. The photography is luscious and the BluRay restoration a joy. Warner Oland has a small role as something other than Charlie Chan, which is very odd to see.

The story, dialogue and characters are thoroughly unbelievable at every turn, and the whole thing, really, is just a delirious but delightful mess, a stilted, fevered, nonsensical fairytale dream about spies, but no less likeable for all that. Accept it and love it for what it is, because it isn't like anything else.

DISHONORED (Paramount, 1931), written and directed by Josef Von Sternberg, stars German born Marlene Dietrich in her second Hollywood film, and third under Von Sternberg. Following the enormous success of German made production, THE BLUE ANGEL (Ufa, 1929), and her Hollywood debut, MOROCCO (Paramount,1930), Dietrich was offered the opportunity to not only be the only female in the major lead, but a chance to break away from typically playing cabaret singers to that of a prostitute turned spy during the World War. With spy melodramas being common ground on screen, the best known being Greta Garbo's interpretation of both MGM's THE MYSTERIOUS WOMAN (1928) and as MATA HARI (1931), DISHONORED attempts on becoming something different, different in terms of Von Sternberg's directorial style, giving this production more of a European than American impression. Although this method was hardly new by 1931, it still should leave a lasting impression, especially for film students.

Opening title: "1915 - A ring of steel encircles Vienna ... strange figures emerge from the dust of the falling Austrian empire, one of these, listed in the secret files of the war office as X-27 might have been the greatest spy in history ... if X-27 had not been a woman."  The story opens in Vienna on a rainy night where a crowd of people witness a body being carried away into an ambulance. Overhearing a streetwalker (Marlene Dietrich) making a comment, "I am not afraid of life, although I am not afraid of death either," a mysterious man (Gustav Von Seyffertitz) approaches her. Escorting her to her apartment, he offers her a job making some easy money as a spy. After turning him over to the police, the man identifies himself as chief of Secret Service Headquarters, leaving the officer his calling card to give to the girl. Realizing the man's sincerity to his country, and a chance for adventure, the girl arrives at the headquarters where she accepts her new role in spite of possible danger and high risks. Working under the name of X-27, her first assignment is spying on General Von Hindau (Warner Oland), whom she meets at a masked ball, who's suspected of being a traitor passing information to the Russians with a clown being his contact. Her job soon finds her trailing that of Lieutenant Kranau (Victor McLaglen) and Colonel Korvin (Lew Cody) as possible threats to her country. Although she proves herself an exceptional spy, X-27 betrays her trust when she falls in love with one of the enemy spies. 

While DISHONORED is slowly paced in true essence of Von Sternberg's direction, a method that tends to bore contemporary viewers, the visuals, however, are outstanding. Overlooking its spy vs. spies scenario, it's interesting pointing out what Von Sternberg does with the camera, especially extreme close-ups of Dietrich's face superimposed by action occurring someplace else between two other characters as she plays her favorite piece on the piano ("The Anniversary Waltz"), or a superimpose of a cat's eyes to reflect the mood of Dietrich's unafraid character. With Dietrich donning several disguises, her best turns out to be the that of giggling shy Russian peasant girl.

While it's been stated that McLaglen's role was originally intended for Gary Cooper (bad casting), Dietrich's leading man in MOROCCO, Victor McLaglen appears to be an unlikely candidate as a Russian spy, a role that should have gone to either Paramount's own leading man of Fredric March, or a European import in the range of Nils Asther, for example. Barry Norton's one brief bit in the firing squad scene where he makes pleas about disobeying orders leaves a lasting impression long after the movie is over. Von Sternberg would reunite Dietrich with DISHONORED co-stars Von Seyffertitz and Warner Oland, in what's considered to be their finest collaboration, SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932), featuring Clive Brook.

Commonly shown on commercial television up to the 1980s, cable TV presentations of DISHONORED have been exceptionally rare. Notable broadcasts have been on the Movie Channel (1991) and Turner Classic Movies (January 2002) as part of its "Star of the Month" tribute to Marlene Dietrich. This and other Dietrich productions during her Paramount years have been distributed on video cassette. As much as DISHONORED tends to be more Von Sternberg than Dietrich, it is Dietrich who makes the film much better than it actually is. (**1/2)

Having just viewed this movie for the first time, I must say that from what I've seen written about Dishonored it seems somewhat unappreciated. While perhaps not a masterpiece on the level of other von Sternberg/Dietrich pairings, such as the two greats The Blue Angel and Blonde Venus, like them both it oozes with the unmistakable marks of its director: the stark dialogue, the lavish attention to atmosphere (such as all the wonderful interiors), and a pervading sense of marvelous oddness. Von Sternberg shows us that the real triumph of his cinema is not one of the reality it affords, but one of style, of which Dishonored has enough to spare.