A Pecadora

This was a fair adventure story with some eccentric characters. For example:

Albert Dekker as "Dr. Martin, the musician; Broderick Crawford as "'Litle Ned' Finnegan," Marlene Dietrich's punch-happy protector, and Dietrich as 'Bijou Blanche," a cabaret singer bouncing from place to place.

Dietrich loved to play Cabaret singers and "Bijou Blanche" is a great name for her. She didn't look pretty in here, more grotesque with the super-thin eyebrows and tons of lipstick. She was definitely unappealing....and I like her, normally. Her "makeup" sins, if nothing else, made me dump this VHS.

Of note, John Wayne, Anna Lee, Mischa Auer, Billy Gilbert, Richard Carlson, Oscar Homolka, Reginald Denny and James Craig are all familiar names that add to the cast. Yet despite all the impressive names, I don't think it was that great. I wouldn't watch it again.

After Marlene Dietrich at a new studio, Universal, had made something of a comeback in Destry Rides Again, the studio was understandably looking for new properties to follow it up.

They certainly got one in Seven Sinners, a really great blend of satirical comedy and drama. Certainly Dietrich is no poor man's Sadie Thompson. One wonders why she never did her own version of Rain. She pokes fun at that type of character, but there is a skillful blend of both drama and satire in this film.

Stagecoach was done the year before and with it John Wayne finally joined the list of A players. Director Tay Garnett had Wayne in mind for this film, but Dietrich would have the final approval. The story goes he deliberately arranged for Dietrich to have lunch at the studio commissary at a time Wayne would be there. She took one look at Wayne who reminded her so much of former lover Gary Cooper, she said to Garnett in that Dietrich baritone, "Daddy, buy me that."

This is Dietrich's film, but there's enough action to satisfy any Wayne fan. Tay Garnett assembled a good supporting cast with good girl Anna Lee, Dietrich retainers Mischa Auer and Broderick Crawford, befuddled owner of the Seven Sinners Cafe Billy Gilbert, and the very sinister Oscar Homolka.

Up until All the King's Men, the part that Broderick Crawford played here was a typical part, the dumb lug who's the hero/heroine's friend. He does it well, but Crawford resented the typecasting. He was quoted as saying that while he never considered himself the world's greatest wit, he did resent playing half a one all the time back in the day. This was Crawford's only film with Wayne and that's interesting because both of them were heavy boozers.

Dietrich like in Destry Rides Again has two good songs to sing written by fellow German expatriate Frederick Hollander and Frank Loesser, I've Been in Love Before and The Man's in the Navy. She also sings I Can't Give You Anything But Love, one of the great standards back in the day.

Seven Sinners is classic Marlene Dietrich one of her most enjoyable films and John Wayne fans will like it also.

"Seven Sinners" is a decent, light-hearted comic romp, first and foremost a vehicle for Marlene Dietrich, with John Wayne as a co-star. Dietrich plays "Bijou", an entertainer at the title island nightclub who is always being deported from various islands because trouble tends to always follow in her wake. (Such as the barroom brawl that plays out behind the opening credits.) Here, Bijou is wooed by an easygoing Navy captain named Dan Brent (The Duke), just one of the people who's fallen under her spell. The latest trouble arises in the form of a character named Antro (Oskar Homolka), a smooth yet menacing type.

The first-rate supporting cast also includes Albert Dekker as an initially gruff ships' doctor, Broderick Crawford as a well-intentioned lug, the luminous young Anna Lee as the governors' daughter, Mischa Auer as a magician who has a tendency to steal anything that isn't nailed down, Billy Gilbert as harried nightclub boss Tony, Samuel S. Hinds as the governor, and Vince Barnett as a bartender, et al. The Duke is quite engaging, and he and Dietrich do make a good pair. Basically, this very lively comedy does showcase the sexy Dietrich very well, giving her the opportunity to belt out a few numbers.

Overall, "Seven Sinners" offers nothing really substantial, but it IS entertaining to watch while it lasts; it's Homolka who injects tension with his mere presence. You just KNOW that this character is going to be a real problem. Crawford and especially Auer tend to steal the show whenever Dietrich is not around. This may not be the best team-up of Dietrich and The Duke, but it delivers undemanding fun for a little under an hour and a half.

Six out of 10.

Both Marlene Dietrich and John Wayne are at their physical peak in 'Seven Sinners', a South Seas island romp that concludes with one of the most colorful barroom brawls in movie history. Dietrich is a Sadie Thompson kind of character, island hopping as she is deported from one tropical island to another--always attracting a bunch of attentive admirers with a knack for inciting riots. It's a film that's briskly entertaining from start to finish.

Dietrich has never been more appealing, gorgeously gowned and photographed to advantage whether appearing in skin-tight glittering gowns or sporting lacey parasols or wearing a sailor's uniform. She projects the same sort of character she played in 'Destry Rides Again'. John Wayne is young, handsome and earnest in one of his earlier roles. James Craig can be spotted briefly as an admiring ensign. Mischa Auer and Oscar Homolka have some colorful supporting roles, but the most enjoyable member of the cast is Billy Gilbert as the night club owner who sees trouble brewing the minute Dietrich shows up at his tavern.

Breezy entertainment with a couple of good songs done in the stylish Dietrich manner.

An OK Marlene Dietrich film. I didn't find her as beautiful and talented as a lot of others must have. John Wayne looks very young and earnest. It was interesting to see Broderick Crawford in a role like this. But, again, this film was just OK. Grade: C-