Amore di zingara

Golden Earrings (1947)

A tough movie to love, but the best parts of it--or the best part, that is, known as Marlene Dietrich--make it easy to like. The actions scenes, the chitchat, even the opening scenes where men talk with bizarre astonishment a man's pierced ears, are often unconvincing. Even the core plot, looking for a key German scientist before it's too late, stumbles over its own clichés. And even worse, a key weakness is the lead male, the low key and unemphatic Ray Milland.

Two years after the end of the war, when this film was made, there must have been a huge appetite for variations on stories about resisting the Nazis. This is a bizarre and highly unlikely one, not because Gypsies weren't involved behind the scenes in the action, but because the idea of a single gypsy woman taking in an Englishman who has to hide, for unexplained reasons, in Germany even though there is no war, is a stretch. (His mission is clear, but why an Englishman has to be undercover isn't historically clear to me.)

But this is what we have, and Dietrich, who is German and began her acting in Germany but by this point was long part of Hollywood, plays a very fictional Gypsy. She is used a little like she was in the famous Josef von Sternberg movies, for her "aura," which she had plenty of.

Most of the movie follows a series of encounters and difficulties with arrogant Nazis and between themselves. Much of the filming is at night, which is dramatic, and there are scenes of Gypsy camps that are part of a long line in Hollywood films. There is also an interesting followup of sorts from Hitchcock's "Notorious" the previous year, in the use of two key German archetypes, Reinhold Schunzel and Ivan Triesault. This is focusing on the details, which is what you have to do. Or just pull back and see a lovely romance unfold.

Mitchell Leisen loved the long flashbacks :"hold back the dawn" was a story the hero told the director himself;" to each his own" began with a shot of a middle age lady whose misfortunes were told ;" no man of her own" ,faithful to the novel ,began with a "give up the fight" feeling .He had also tackled the fantasy genre in "death takes a holiday".

"Golden earrings" is a long flashback,blending spy thriller scenes in a just-before-WW2 Germany with snatches of supernatural thrown in :the heroine knew his beloved one would come (she's a fortune teller anyway) and ,most amazing scene,the hero himself through her contact becomes a clairvoyant,seeing his mate's future in the palm of his hand.

I do not put,however ,"golden earrings " in the same league as the movies I mention above;I do not think it's underrated cause its flaws are glaring:first of all,like the Jews,the gypsies were persecuted and sent to concentration camps by the Nazis before and during the war ;so it is absolutely impossible to believe they are allowed -although one of the officers says they are an inferior race-to enter the scientist's desirable mansion to tell fortunes.Besides,everybody speaks English in Germany ,only some soldiers mumble a few German sentences and that's it.

I do like Ray Milland -a certainly underrated actor ,sadly remembered by too many people as the villain in "love story" ,his worst role- and Marlene Dietrich is arguably a fascinating actress ,but as Mardi Gras gypsies ,they cannot be taken seriously .

It just doesn't get any better than Golden Earrings! Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich were fantastic on the screen together in this one and the story line/plot was highly entertaining, full of suspense, action and drama that kept me on the edge of my seat. It's one of those movies that will have you laughing, holding your breath in anticipation of what might happen next as well as gasping when it does!!

Ray Milland is a British Intelligence officer who becomes a POW sole survivor seeking the secret of a poison gas formula meant for the Nazis. After escaping he meets up with Dietrich who is a gypsy and helps him stay alive during their travels while pursuing the formula. The real magic though is the romance which is developing between the two. It is just so much fun watching the transformation of Ray Milland from a stuffy British officer into the character he becomes that keeps you entertained. Marlene knows that she will never meet anybody quite like him ever again and she falls for him almost immediately.

With an excellent supporting cast and the gorgeous scenery I gotta admit, I just adored everything about this movie and I could easily tell you the entire film but I dislike watching a movie someone has described in detail so I am going to stop here and just say PLEASE, PLEASE do not think twice about popping the popcorn, pulling up your favorite easy chair and plunking this one into the DVD player because you are in for a treat and a wonderful time!

In my opinion Golden Earrings is what movie making was meant to be like! Enjoy!

Marlene Dietrich play a Gypsy who helps British spy (Ray Milland) during World War II. They try to stop the Nazis from using poisonous gases for war use. They get romantically involved with each other while there on the mission. A nice entertaining movie to watch.

Marlene Dietrich plays an European Gypsy woman in Pre-World War II Europe. Ray Milland played the British officer Denistoun who is on a mission. Ray Milland and Marlene Dietrich are excellent, entertaining, and enjoyable in the film. The story is fine and could have used more work but the Milland's British gentleman turned Gypsy in order to escape the Nazis does a fantastic job. It's interesting to see a character like Denistoun to transform into a Gypsy. The ending is worth watching the film. The film doesn't address the Nazi war crimes. European Gypsies were also targeted and persecuted by the Nazis during World War II. Still, this film is entertaining to watch and suspenseful. The cast is first rate in the Hollywood studio system factory where films were made faster even with mediocre scripts. Still, this film is one of my favorites with Marlene Dietrich.