Pasión fatal

Darling film starring Marlene Dietrich from 1941.

Flame of New Orleans takes place in -- right, New Orleans, in 1840, where Claire Ledoux, engaged to a banker, Giraud (Roland Young). Unfortunately for Claire, at a party, while she is up on stage singing, a man who knew her in Europe shows up. What he has to say is whispered in people's ears. By the time the song is through, so is Claire.

She gets out of it by telling her fiancée that they're talking about her cousin, who looks like her.

A sea captain, Robert LaTour (Bruce Cabot) owes Giraud money, so Giraud tells him that he will forgive the loan if LaTour can get this cousin removed and out to sea before the wedding.

Lots of great people in this, including Mischa Auer, Andy Devine, Laura Hope Crews, Franklin Pangborn, Theresa Harris, and Anne Revere.

Much of the movie takes place with a background derived from Donizetti's Lucia, the love duet in the beginning of the opera - in fact, there's a heavenly choir singing it at the end.

Marlene's clothes are beyond magnificent. Absolutely bedazzling with huge full skirts, sparkles, feathers - amazing. A must see for the costumes alone.

The whole cast is great, and Marlene is stunning as usual as she plays both her slutty cousin and the flirtatious Clare. Wait for the scene where Laura Hope Crews gives her a lecture on what she'll have to "endure" during marriage. Dietrich's face there is classic. And she was a class act all the way.

Well directed by Rene Clair.

Marlene D plays a dual role. As the Countess, she dresses like an ostrich and is a trickster who gets her way by fainting so she can bag a wealthy suitor. In her other role, she looks exactly the same yet seems to fool the rest of the cast. There you go, it can't be a good film. A Dietrich vehicle that has some amusing scenes at the beginning with potential suitor Bruce Cabot (Catour) resembling a Clark Gable type.

As always, Dietrich just glows star quality. Roland Young (Giraud) plays his part well as a wealthy, interested party and I also thought Anne Revere (Giraud's sister) and Melville Cooper (Giraud's brother-in-law) put in amusing, convincing performances.

As for the other characters, unfortunately, we get comedy sailors that include Andy "clear your throat" Devine (1st Sailor). Not funny. The better comedy comes from a surprising source – Mischa Auer (Zolotov). For a change, Mischa Auer doesn't miss the mark – he's funny in his role (the only time I can remember him successfully doing this) and Franklin Pangborn (Bellows) as Auer's European companion has that kind of face that screams comedy. He reminds me of one of my Portuguese cousins – she looks just like him.

It's a fluffy film that is completely unbelievable but entertains while it is going. I wouldn't recommend it, but it's OK - nothing too gripping going on.

Marlene Dietrich, ever since seeing her for the first time in the brilliant 'Witness for the Prosecution' (where she gives a very memorable performance), was a very engaging actress and performer. Especially in the 30s, where she was in a lot of films that played to her strengths. Also like some of Rene Clair's other films, my personal favourite (and my first watched film of his) being one of the best versions of one of Agatha Christie's best books 'And Then There Were None'.

'The Flame of New Orleans' is worth seeing, if more a one-time watch than repeated viewings worthy. Dietrich did much better before and since, though she is not disgraced here, and the same goes for Clair who doesn't come off too badly still either. There are a good deal of good things here, including Dietrich, but some quite serious drawbacks that take away from the enjoyment somewhat. Making for an inoffensive and above average if not much more than that film.

Admittedly the story can be a little over-complicated and in other places it can be quite flimsy, the central triangle could have done with more personality perhaps too and the ending can be seen from miles off.

Did find Andy Devine a bit wearing at times and his comedy overdone.

However, 'The Flame of New Orleans' benefits greatly from classy production values, the sets and production design being particularly great. The music is immensely appealing to listen to and fits the film's frothy nature very nicely. The script is gently witty, charmingly frothy and has a lively energy. While the story can easily be criticised, at least to me it wasn't dull and it has a genuine charm underneath all the froth.

Clair's direction has the right lightness of touch, and doesn't get pedestrian. Furthermore, Dietrich is luminous and brings a lot of grace and verve to the lead role. Roland Young and particularly Bruce Cabot make the most of their fairly sketchy characters, having quite nice chemistry with Dietrich. The rest of the cast do good jobs, with particularly amusing turns from Theresa Harris and Mischa Auer.

Altogether, good frothy fun though with not everything working. 7/10

Sandwiched in between some of her great films at Universal with John Wayne is this modest programmer for Marlene Dietrich that depends considerably on her charms to carry it off. Perhaps it might have been a much better film had the two leading men she wanted been available.

According to a recent biography of Marlene Dietrich, the two men she wanted for The Flame Of New Orleans were Cary Grant and Adolphe Menjou. She had worked with both before, Menjou in Morocco and Grant in Blonde Venus. She liked Menjou and sad to say MGM wouldn't make him available. At the time she and Cary Grant did not get along all that well, he played the other man in Blonde Venus. But in the interim he had gotten superstardom so Dietrich thought that Grant might prove to be a good screen partner now. Alas, that screen team was never to be.

Marlene and her maid Theresa Harris arrive in New Orleans where from the outset it's made plain to the viewer that Dietrich is out to hook a rich fish from the shores of Lake Pontchartrain. The one she looks to land is rich and fussy Roland Young and she does bait a trap for him. But a roistering sea captain played by Bruce Cabot spoils it all for her though eventually Young falls for her as expected.

Now if you can't figure out who she winds up with, there's something terribly wrong with you.

Cabot does give a strong performance as the captain, I'm sure he was a rougher type than Cary Grant would have been. Of course as was usual with Marlene and her leading man, the obligatory affair was had. But she also said she found Cabot to be something of a boor and dropped him quickly.

Theresa Harris had a very interesting and unusual role for a black actress of the time. She might be a maid, but she functions more like a partner in crime with Dietrich's schemes. She's nobody's fool in this film and even gets a love interest of sorts in Young's driver Clarence Muse.

The film did get an Oscar nomination for Best Art&Interior Direction and the sets were grand. Rene Clair did a very good job of conveying New Orleans of 1841. Still the film is minor league Dietrich and it could have been a lot better if she had gotten the players she wanted as co-stars.

The Flame of New Orleans (1941)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Claire Ledeux (Marlene Dietrich) is the most beautiful and most wanted woman in New Orleans. She can pretty much have her pick of any man and sure enough there are two of them wanting her. One is a successful and rich businessman (Roland Young) who could offer her anything. The other is a sea captain (Bruce Cabot) with plenty to offer.

The "flame" had clearly ran out by the time this movie was made. If you've never seen a Dietrich movie then you'll probably enjoy this one slightly more but if you've seen many of her films then you're going to notice this plot from pretty half a dozen earlier films. Once again we get a pretty standard plot that has Dietrich looking beautiful, seducing two men and of course she also gets a song to sing.

The biggest problem with THE FLAME OF NEW ORLEANS is the fact that there's just nothing here that we haven't already seen before. This certainly gives the film a very dull flavor because there's just nothing here to keep us overly amused and especially when you consider that the Dietrich-Cabot-Young love triangle isn't nearly the best we've seen from the previous films. All three cast members certainly do a good job with their performances but when there's no much of a story there's just so much you can do.

Director Rene Clair adds a little style to the picture but there's just nothing overly special here.