Morocco

Marlene Dietrich is aboard ship to Mogador. An officer explains to fellow passenger Adolphe Menjou she's probably a vaudeville performer; they call one-way passages like her a suicide ticket. Her first night performing at Paul Porcasi's place she's a sensation. Soon she's beginning a tentative relationship with Foreign Legion private Gary Cooper. But Menjou is still in there, pitching.

Josef von Sternberg & Miss Dietrich's first American film still shows a lot of hesitancy with sound. There are vast silences between lines, giving this movie an air of being a chapter-heading show, with the lines explaining what is going on.... but you don't need to be told, the heat is palpable: not just the sexual heat, but the desert heat. Unfortunately, the prints available are not in great shape, and Lee Garmes' sharp images of von Sternberg's always rococo set designs are as much inferred as seen.

While traveling from Europe to Morocco by ship, the cabaret singer Mademoiselle Amy Jolly (Marlene Dietrich) meets the wealthy Monsieur La Bessiere (Adolphe Menjou) that offers to "help" her in Morocco, but Amy refuses his offer. Mademoiselle Amy Jolly is hired by Lo Tinto (Paul Porcasi) to sing in his nightclub and in her debut, she meets Monsieur La Bessiere again having dinner with his friends Adjutant Caesar (Ullrich Haupt) and his wife Madame Caesar (Eve Southern). He invites Amy to stay with him, but the singer feels attracted by the lady-killer Legionnaire Tom Brown (Gary Cooper). Amy invites Tom to go to her apartment after the show but their encounter does not work very well. Tom leaves her apartment and Amy follows him. Meanwhile Madame Caesar stalks Tom on the street but he returns with Amy to her apartment. However two thieves attack him and he self-defends and kills the guys. Tom is arrested and Adjutant Caesar unsuccessfully tries to force him to confess that he had met his wife. Monsieur La Bessiere offers to help Tom but he is assigned to a suicide mission with the Foreign Legion. La Bessiere proposes marriage to Amy, but she is divided between her true love with Tom and the comfortable life she might have with the millionaire.

"Morocco" is the first film of Marlene Dietrich in America with a strange triangle of love among a cabaret singer, a legionnaire and a millionaire. The romance has a daring scene for a 1930 film, when Marlene Dietrich kisses Eve Southern on the lips and a magnificent conclusion, unusual in Hollywood movies. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Marrocos" ("Morocco")

My favourite Sternberg-Dietrich vehicle will always be "The Scarlet Empress", but all their films are worth more than a cursory glance. They're, to my mind, the most interesting thing to come out of the early thirties (and, although dated, far less so than more recognized classics of the era because of their unadulterated FUN).

Sternberg made art department COUNTRIES for Dietrich to languish in, true in all their Hollywood films, and still dazzling today. Plot, narrative are shaky, sometimes almost nonexistent, allowing for spectacle to take over, and what a spectacle it all is! Dietrich is probably one of the most macabre, knowingly lewd feminine manifestations ever to grace the silver screen (well, at least Sternberg was knowing, Dietrich herself....?). Highly recommended.

'Morocco' may not be the best of the seven Marlene Dietrich-Josef Von Sternberg collaborations, but there is so much to love and what is loved about their other collaborations is seen aplenty in 'Morocco' as well.

Its weak link is the story, which does creak in the pacing at times, especially in the more uneventful stretches, and it is also threadbare thin and clichéd. Occasionally it is a little stagy in the dialogue too.

However, Dietrich makes her character a real person, her toughness hard-hitting, her risqué-ness sensual and her vulnerability deeply touching. Cooper has rarely looked so young and is incredibly handsome, while his acting was stronger in later years he is still likable and at ease. Menjou is wonderfully dapper. Sternberg directs sumptuously and with adroit atmosphere, of which 'Morocco' is rich in.

There are many memorable scenes, including Dietrich's ornate and deliciously outrageous first appearance, one of the most erotic nightclub scenes on film, a wonderfully romantic love scene and one of the most unforgettably hot kisses in cinematic history.

Visually, 'Morocco' looks great, especially in the luminous lighting and ravishingly atmospheric cinematography. The music is very catchy with some parts ahead of their time. Most of the script is clever and sophisticated and there is still a huge amount to keep one engrossed despite the unexceptional story.

In summary, very good and rich in atmosphere film that has a lot that is hard to forget in the long run. 8/10 Bethany Cox

It's interesting to read other reviews of Morocco. Some people just don't seem to have a clue, and it would be fascinating to learn what they think of as a good film from this era. Nevertheless, I was surprised to see that only one reviewer mentioned the sound, and that was to criticize it. Sternberg's use of sound as a tool jumped right out at me. There are numerous scenes in this film which have the possibility of being overly tedious and run the risk of being boring. Much is made of Sternberg's visual prowess and the rich texture displayed here, but I'm surprised that everyone seems to be missing the effect of the sound. Throughout the film, in scenes which need to build tension yet are visually somewhat tiresome (Legionaires marching in the street for example) Sternberg uses various sound devices artfully. We hear the monotonous drumbeat as the men march. The longer this goes on, the more irritating it becomes and as a result, puts the audience on edge. This adds to the tension of the scene immensely. The same thing happens in other parts of the film when we hear a short nearly monotone musical phrase repeated over and over ad nauseum, or when the sound of the wind blowing through the trees also becomes irritating. Each time, the scene is intended to build tension and each time, Sternberg's use of sound perfectly complements the visual to achieve the desired effect. This movie is on my "you gotta see this one" list.