Il cantico dei cantici

"The Song of Songs" could never have been made once the new and MUCH tougher Production Code went into force in July, 1934. Up until then, believe it or not, films often had a lot of content that might shock folks today! A few films had nudit, such as in 1925's "Ben Hur". A few featured cursing or people flipping 'the bird' as in 1933's "Parachute Jumper". And, a few had practically EVERY sin known to mankind in them, such as with 1932's "The Sign of the Cross"...which depicted lesbianism, bestiality and more! This was because although there was a production code before 1934, studios routinely ignored it because they realized that sex sells! But by 1934, ticket sales waned and various conservative groups were pushing for boycotts...hence the tough new code.

When the story begins, the country girl, Lily (Marlene Dietrich) leaves her home and heads to the big city, Berlin. Soon she meets Richard (Brian Aherne) and he asks her to model for him, as he's a sculptor. Well, she quickly agrees...not realizing it means NUDE modeling! And, despite her misgivings, she goes through with it and the statue is exquisite*. Soon the pair fall in love, though Richard is a putz and isn't willing to marry her. However, his friend, Baron von Merzbach (Lionel Atwill), sees the statue and adores it...and is determined to meet and marry Lily! She doesn't love the Baron, but she is now alone and helpless. What's next? Well, quite a bit! See the film and find out for yourself what happens to sweet Lily.

This is an odd film, as it tries to be a wicked AND a nice film at the same time. You don't see any nudity...just the beautiful naked statue of Dietrich. And, although her character poses nude, she is no libertine but a nice and likable young lady.

So is it any good? Well, considering it has a lot of slick Paramount touches, it's obvious the studio wanted to make a prestige film. The director isn't her usual Josef von Sternberg but they instead assigned the film to Rouben Mamoulian (a very fine director) and it features an excellent supporting cast, lovely sets and period costumes. It simply looks great. As far as the story goes, it's quite good...though the resolution at the end did seem a bit abrupt. Still, this is one of the actress' better films...well worth seeing and very well made.

*To promote the film, apparently Paramount made many copies of the statue and set them to theaters around the country. I would LOVE to find and purchase one of the statues....though I've not been able to find anything more about it on the internet.

Interesting to see Dietrich, early in her Hollywood career, working with a director other than her Pygmalion, Josef von Sternberg. The latter director provided beautiful but often-static set-ups for framing her, while Mamoulian's musicality and fluid camera release her. (Think also of his direction of Garbo in "Queen Christina," and that film's famous scene in which she moves lovingly and rhythmically--it was timed to a metronome-- around the bedroom, watched by her lover. )

I think this is one of Dietrich's best performances. She passes through many phases, from naive young girl to earthy woman. Her song "Johnny" is sublime--and moving, when she angrily tears into the second chorus after spotting in the audience the lover who had abandoned and disillusioned her.

Marlene Dietrich stars as young German peasant girl Lily. After her father dies, leaving her an orphan, she travels from her old home in the country to the big city of Berlin where she works for her harridan of an aunt (Alison Skipworth). It's not long before she draws the attention of handsome sculptor Richard (Brian Aherne) who convinces her to nude model for him. She also attracts the attention of creepy older Baron von Merxbach (Lionel Atwill) who wants her for his own.

From the "scandalous" nude modeling scenes to the resulting statue, from the seamy dialogue to the ultimate fate of Lily, this classy film features more than its share of pre-code attributes. Director Mamoulian brings his usual attention to set design, lighting and camera placement. Dietrich is very good here, transitioning believably from the naive waif of the film's start to the jaded, world-wise woman of the finale.

If Song of Songs were Marlene Dietrich's first movie, it would be a shoe-in that she rise to instant stardom. This movie would make a star out of anyone and have everyone in the country talking about her. As it was, Marlene had already rocked Hollywood in The Blue Angel and shocked audiences with her tuxedo-clad, lady-kissing song in Morocco, so there was little higher to rise. She managed to top herself...and un-top herself in this movie where she models nude for sculptor Brian Aherne. This is one of the most explicit pre-Code movies I've ever seen, and that's saying quite a bit! It also shows quite a bit, so put the kiddies to bed before pressing play.

Marlene starts off the movie as an innocent, devoutly religious, young girl. She's an orphan sent to live with her aunt and work in a library, but when she sees the handsome, tortured artist working across the way from her bedroom window, her life changes. Brian spots her, too, and he comes to her at the library to ask her to pose for him. He uses the old line, "You mustn't think of me as a man," to get her to disrobe, and when she finally does, he falls in love with her body. Another man, Lionel Atwill, falls for the sculpture as well. He marvels at Brian's creation and vows to have the model for himself.

As much of a visual sensation as this movie is, it's also quite sad. Marlene is so sweet and innocent at the start of the movie, and she even raises the pitch of her normally low voice. She's adorable! It's heartbreaking to see her get corrupted, but she certainly is beautiful from start to finish.

This is such a nasty movie! In one scene, Lionel looks at Brian's initial sketches of Marlene's naked body as he's getting ready for bed. In another, Brian watches Marlene undress and fondles his clay statue. You can practically see him drooling! I was never a Marlene Dietrich fan, but it's no mystery why she was popular after this movie. As handsome as Brian is, it's a waste for him to be in the film. No one's looking at him!

THE SONG OF SONGS (Paramount, 1933), directed by Rouben Mamoulian, from the novel by Hermann Sudermann and play by Edward Sheldon, was released at a time when movie musicals proved popular again following an over abundance of them produced during the 1929-30 dawn of sound era. With the new cycle of successful musicals that began with 42nd STREET (Warners, 1933), THE SONG OF SONGS doesn't fit into that category in spite of its musical sounding title. In fact, it's a dramatic story about a German peasant girl named Lily who dreams about becoming like her favorite character from the Bible's "Song of Songs." Lily, as portrayed by Marlene Dietrich, appears in her fifth Hollywood production. Unlike her previous screen efforts ranging from her initial starring success in Germany's THE BLUE ANGEL (1929), to Hollywood's MOROCCO (1930), DISHONORED (1931), SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932) and BLONDE VENUS (1932), all under the direction of Josef Von Sternberg, THE SONG OF SONGS provides her with another director whose direction paved the way for a new and different Dietrich persona. 

The story revolves around Lily Czepanek (Marlene Dietrich), a shy German girl leaving the grave of her father for the next train to Berlin where she is to live with her aunt, Frau Rasmussen (Alison Skipworth). Working in her aunt's book store, Lily captures the attention of Richard Waldow (Brian Aherne), a young sculptor living across the street who selects her as his next model. Discovering she'll have to pose in the nude, Lily at first declines but after his assurance that he has no interest in her, she agrees to become the replica of the proposed statue he calls "The Song of Songs." When the aunt learns Lily has been sneaking out while asleep, she whips her. When all else fails, she turns her out into the street. With no where else to go, Lily, who has fallen in love with Waldow, comes to his studio only to find his best friend, August Von Merzbach (Lionel Atwill), a middle-aged baron, awaiting her with the news of Waldow leaving for Italy with no promise of returning. Desperately in love with Lily because of Waldow's statue, the Baron talks her into marrying him instead. Acquiring culture through French lessons, piano playing and social functions, Lily stirs up jealousy from Fraulein Von Schwartzfegger (Helen Freeman), the Baron's housekeeper, who soon arranges for Lily to have Edward Von Prell (Hardie Albright) act as her lover in hope of destroying both her reputation and marriage with the Baron.

With so many motion pictures made and remade, THE SONG OF SONGS was one that had, not one, but two earlier screen adaptations from the silent era each by Paramount: 1918 with Elsie Ferguson, and 1924 as LILY OF THE DUST starring Pola Negri. Aside from some European style camera techniques, THE SONG OF SONGS comes off best with its fine photography by Victor Milner and impressive musical score by the uncredited Nathaniel W. Finston. Mamoulian, a stylish director in his own right, quite different from Von Sternberg, brings out the best in Dietrich's performance from shy/ innocent girl to scandalous lady of confidence singing "Jonny" (by Frederick Hollander and Edward Heyman) in a night club. Von Sternberg would borrow this transformation style for Dietrich as Catherine the Great in his upcoming production of THE SCARLET EMPRESS (1934). Although Mamoulian leaves much to the imagination with camera capturing the motion of Dietrich's nude posing from head down to her bare shoulders, he manages to get by the censors by having camera capture both pencil sketch and statute in full form.

Had THE SONG OF SONGS been produced for MGM, chances are the Dietrich, Aherne and Atwill roles would have been played by Greta Garbo, Nils Asther and Erich Von Stroheim, or possibly that of Anna Sten, Melvyn Douglas and Reginald Owen under Samuel Goldwyn. Brian Aherne, in his Hollywood debut, does well as the poor sculpture interested more in art than marriage. His noteworthy scene occurs with him imagining Lily speaking to him through her replica of his statue; Lionel Atwill, looking very European with his white hair, bushy mustache, monocle and military hat containing skull and crossbones, comes off better as the jealous Baron, along with Alison Skipworth, in the manner of MGM's own Marie Dressler's performance from "Anna Christie" (1930), quite satisfactory as the very strict, boozing aunt. Dietrich, Atwill and Skipworth would be reunited under Von Sternberg's direction in THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN (1935).

Unseen regularly on commercial and later public television since the 1980s, THE SONG OF SONGS did make its rare cable television broadcast on the Movie Channel in 1991 before turning up on home video in 1998 as part of the "Marlene Dietrich Collection." When Marlene Dietrich was selected as "Star of the Month" in January 2002 on Turner Classic Movies, all of her films, especially those from Paramount, were presented, with the exception of THE SONG OF SONGS. It wouldn't be until June 13, 2017, that it finally premiered on TCM. Not quite the cinema masterpiece as anticipated, it's worth looking into solely as a rarely revived motion picture and being the only collaboration of Dietrich and Mamoulian. (***1/2)