Morocco (1930)

A classic. One of those magic films in which everything works. The casting is a miracle: Dietrich and Cooper, the hottest couple in film history. Marlene never was better than in this film (well, in Shangay express perhaps), even if she looks too big (anyway not as much as in Der blaue engel). It retains the atmospheric brilliance and fascination of that famous (and overrated) first collaboration. Improuvements since that film: much better rhythm (the main problem with Der Blaue Engel, which at times looks completely dead), it gives more importance on gestures, faces and PEOPLE (not just icons or characters). One wonderful song and one of the best love scenes in all history (the one in the bedroom with Cooper playing with a fan and Dietrich showing her legs, neither of them were ever better than in here). The ending is appropriate, and you feel that after all that beauty and magical scenes, in that one hour and a half three people have changed, they just have a different attitude in life and a better understanding of what they need and what they look for). From my point of view the other masterpiece by Sternberg-Dietrich is Shangai Express.

Fmovies: The arrival of a sultry cabaret singer on the coast of MOROCCO arouses the interest of a young French Foreign Légionnaire.

Marlene Dietrich made her American movie debut in this intriguing & lavish film directed by her German mentor Josef von Sternberg. Mesmerizing & mysterious, her flawless face a mask only hinting at seductive delights, Dietrich teases & tantalizes, her halting English adding to her sphinx-like demeanor. From her rendition of the innuendo-laden "What Am I Bid For My Apple?" until her barefoot walk across the blistering dunes as one of the Legion's 'rear guard,'; she delivers a performance impossible to ignore.

Although he receives top billing, Gary Cooper seems to realize that this picture was going to belong to Dietrich. He makes the most of his role, not really heroic in the conventional sense, but sturdy and honest, while still enjoying pre-Code flings with every female within reach. Adolphe Menjou plays refreshingly against type, portraying a middle aged millionaire who will do anything for the woman he adores, even if that means relinquishing her to another man.

In small but vivid roles, Paul Porcasi plays Dietrich's nervous little theater manager and Ullrich Haupt is quietly intense as Cooper's cuckolded commandant.

Either if you're a man or a woman, you'll fall for Amy Jolly, that would be read 'amie jollie' = beautiful friend, in French speaking Morocco. Marlene Dietrich not exactly at her best, but very sexy, playing gracefully from a man-eater 'Carmen' (plenty of suggestions linking both characters) to a female sutler, following 'her man' into the desert. First, on high heels shoes, than taking her shoes off, and going on naked feet, along with a handful of native women, and donkeys, and she-goats. One tends to forget the great director (von Sternberg) behind this great woman-star, and that's unjust. The script may have been good, but it would not develop onto this smooth running 90 minutes of relative inaction (for 21st century standards), but for the cleverly devised sequences, photography, and dialogues.

I'm so glad I finally saw this movie yesterday on the big screen, at a special session. Those who can't afford this luxury, certainly can afford renting, nay, buying this video?

Morocco fmovies. 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.

What a sinister delight, Josef Von Sternberg guided Marlene to become Dietrich. He knew something about her that nobody knew, maybe not even her. but whatever it was it's still magic. When Gary Cooper sees her for the first time, she's dressed as a man and look at what happens in Cooper's eyes. Von Sternberg knew what he was doing. Deliciously twisted. She's in charge and yet she allows herself to surrender. Her masculinity blends to perfection with Cooper's femininity - It is clear now in 2018, I wonder how the 1930 audiences saw it. If you love movies, Morocco is a gift.

After her stunning international success in The Blue Angel, Marlene Dietrich was open to all kinds of film offers from all countries. She shrewdly negotiated with Adolph Zukor at Paramount Pictures in the USA and made her feature film debut in Morocco co-starring with Paramount's number one leading man Gary Cooper. She couldn't have predicted it, but it was a permanent move away from Germany.

Dietrich was a package deal for with her came the director of The Blue Angel Joseph Von Sternberg. No doubt Von Sternberg created the image that we now know her for, sensual, alluring, and standing by her man when she does make her choice.

One thing about Morocco I found different than most of the films I've seen of Dietrich is that she's not in control of the situation. In most films she usually is, but in Morocco Cooper's very much in charge. She's got a wealthy man in Adolphe Menjou panting after her, but she can't see him for beans. It's Gary Cooper an ordinary dogface Foreign Legionaire that she's fallen for.

Cooper in fact plays a part Tyrone Power would affect great success with later, a hero/heel. Cooper is carrying on an affair with the wife of one of the officers at his post when he meets Dietrich. The man must have had something going for him.

Von Sternberg did a great job in creating the atmosphere of not only Morocco, but of the Foreign Legion. Men with forgotten pasts and dubious futures, living only for the moment.

Although I think Marlene Dietrich did better films than Morocco in her Hollywood years, Morocco was a grand and auspicious beginning for her.